Our Faith
- Every word of the original autographs, consisting of the Old and New Testaments with no Apocrypha, were given by inspiration of God [II Tim. 3:16]. This inspiration can come in a variety of forms as God moved [II Pet. 1:21] the prophets. The doctrine of inspiration is of little value apart from the doctrine of preservation. God has to keep His promise [Psa. 12:6-7] to preserve the words, not just the message or the meaning. The King James Bible is the preserved, inspired word of God.
- The Holy Trinity of God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the Head of the Trinity. God is omniscient - Job 37:16, omnipotent - Psa. 147:5, omnipresent - Isa. 66:1, eternal - Psa. 41:13, the Creator and Sustainer of all things - Gen. 1:1. He is perfect in holiness - Lev. 11:44-45, righteousness - Psa. 50:6, faithfulness - Psa. 36:5, mercy - Psa. 103, and love - John 3:16.
- God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is fully God - John 1:1-14. He is the second person of the Trinity, not a lesser deity - I John 5:7. Without changing his person, he became man by miracle of the virgin birth - I Tim. 3:16. He was tempted in all points like as we are, yet he is without sin - Heb. 4:15. He was crucified, buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures - I Cor. 15:1-4. He is now our High Priest making intercession for us - Rom. 8:34.
- God the Holy Spirit is fully God - Acts 5:3-4, and is the third person of the Trinity - I John 5:7. He is the divine agent in creation - Job 33:4, revelation - I Cor. 2:9-14, inspiration - II Pet. 1:21, and illumination - John 16:13. In this dispensation, the Holy Ghost works upon the unbeliever in regard to the conviction of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come - John 16:8-11. He does a work upon the believer as He seals - Eph. 4:30, fills - Eph. 5:18, intercedes - Rom. 8:26-27, guides - John 16:13, and empowers - Acts 1:8.
- Faith is believing what God said - Heb. 11:1, I Pet. 1:23. We are saved by grace through faith - Eph. 2:8-9. This happens when we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior - John 1:12. We are washed from our sins by the blood of Jesus Christ - Col. 1:14, and our spirits are literally born again - John 3:7, I Pet. 1:23. Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition for salvation - Acts 20:21.
- The Return of the Lord Jesus Christ is in two parts. The first part is the coming of the Lord "for" His saints - I Thess. 4:16-18, I Cor. 15:51. This is the great Hope of the Church - Titus 2:13. After the rapture will be a seven year period called the Great Tribulation - Dan. 9:24-27. The second part is the Lord coming back "with" the saints. He shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives - Zech. 14:4-9. He will establish a literal kingdom that will last for 1000 years. At the end of that time, he will raise all the dead and living outside the church to be judged - Rev. 20.
- The Church consists of the saints during this Church age. They are the body of Christ - I Cor. 12:27, the Bride of Christ - Eph. 2:22-32. The Church began shortly after the death of Jesus, and will be completed at the rapture of the Church. Christ is the head of this Church - Eph. 5:23. Local churches are congregations of believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel, who are to observe the ordinances God gave to the church. There is a church government of pastor and deacons, along with the necessary legal offices to be able to conduct the church business. The head of the local church is the pastor.
- Church ordinances are Baptism - Matt. 28:19-20, of believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior - I Pet. 3:21, and Communion - I Cor. 11:20-34, for fellowship of the saints with God.
- Hell is a literal place of fire and torment. The souls of the unsaved at death descend immediately into hell - Luke 16. They are kept in punishment until the final judgment of all the unsaved when they will be cast into the lake of fire to burn forever - Rev. 20:13-15. The sad fact is that hell was created for Satan - Matt. 25:41, but man's rebellion places his judgment there also. Jesus Christ died and rose again so that nobody has to go to hell if they will repent - I John 2:2, II Peter 3:9
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