SOVEREIGN GRACE CHAPEL

I. DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES (Bibliology)

A. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, and are infallible and authoritative. They were inspired both verbally and plenarily. The Scriptures in their original autographs are the very word of God, and are therefore without error and utterly reliable with regard to fact and teaching. The Scriptures are also infallible in matters of history, geography, and science.

B. The Old Testament consists of: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

C. The New Testament consists of: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude, and Revelation.

D. All other apocryphal and religious writings are not to be included as Scripture.

E. The Scriptures form our only source of authority. There is no need to add to them by non-canonical apostles, prophets, revelations, visions, or dreams.

F. The whole Scripture, Old and New Testament, is totally sufficient for all matters pertaining to faith, practice, and doctrine.

Matt. 24:35; John 10:35; 2 Cor. 11:3-4; Gal. 1:8-9; Eph. 2:20-21; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:4; 2 Pet. 1:21; Jude 3.

G. We hold to the "Chicago Statement on Inerrancy" which is stated in the Appendix.

H. The Dispensations.

We believe that the dispensations are stewardships by which God administers His purpose on the earth through man under varying responsibilities. We believe that the changes in the dispensational dealings of God with man depend on changed conditions or situations in which man is successively found with relation to God, and that these changes are the result of the failures of man and the judgments of God. We believe that different administrative responsibilities of this character are manifest in the biblical record, that they span the entire history of mankind, and that each ends in the failure of man under the respective test and in an ensuing judgment from God. We believe that three of these dispensations or rules of life are the subject of extended revelation in the Scriptures, viz., the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the present dispensation of grace, and the future dispensation of the millennial kingdom. We believe that these are distinct and are not to be intermingled or confused, as they are chronologically successive.

We believe that the dispensations are not ways of salvation nor different methods of administering the so-called Covenant of Grace. They are not in themselves dependent on covenant relationships but are ways of life and responsibility to God which test the submission of man to His revealed will during a particular time. We believe that if man does trust in his own efforts to gain the favor of God or salvation under any dispensational test, because of inherent sin his failure to satisfy fully the just requirements of God is inevitable and his condemnation sure.

We believe that according to the "eternal purpose" of God (Eph. 3:11) salvation in the divine reckoning is always "by grace through faith," and rests upon the basis of the shed blood of Christ. We believe that God has always been gracious, regardless of the ruling dispensation, but that man has not at all times been under an administration or stewardship of grace as is true in the present dispensation.

(1 Cor. 9:17; Eph. 3:2, 3:9, ASV; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:4, ASV.)

We believe that it has always been true that "without faith it is impossible to please" God (Heb. 11:6), and that the principle of faith was prevalent in the lives of all the Old Testament saints. However, we believe that it was historically impossible that they should have had as the conscious object of their faith the incarnate, crucified Son, the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and that it is evident that they did not comprehend as we do that the sacrifices depicted the person and work of Christ. We believe also that they did not understand the redemptive significance of the prophecies or types concerning the sufferings of Christ (1 Pet. 1:10-12); therefore, we believe that their faith toward God was manifested in other ways as is shown by the long record in Hebrews 11:1-40. We believe further that their faith thus manifested was counted unto them for righteousness (Cf. Rom. 4:5-8; Heb. 11:7).

II. DOCTRINE OF GOD (Theology Proper)

A. Initial Statement

There is but one God, the Maker, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in all of them. To Him all people owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6-8; 1 Cor. 8:4; Col. 1:15-17; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3.

B. Trinity

1. God is revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These are the three persons of the Trinity.

2. Each has personal attributes and distinction. There is no confusion of persons within the Godhead. Thus, we reject the heresies of Sabellianism, modalism, patripassianism, and unitarianism which confuse the persons.

3. In the Trinity there is also no division of substance or essence. Thus, we reject Polytheism, Tritheism, Ditheism, Arianism, and Macedonianism.

4. We receive the Nicene Creed in its statements concerning the doctrine of the Trinity as it sets forth Biblical doctrine against heretics. It states:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets."

5. We receive the Athanasian Creed in its statements concerning the doctrine of the Trinity as it sets forth Biblical doctrine against heretics. It states:

"Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all else, hold the true catholic faith. Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled will without doubt perish for eternity. This is the true catholic faith, that we worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God. Without confusing the persons or dividing the divine substance. For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is still another. But there is one Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, equal in glory and coequal in majesty. What the Father is, that is the Son and that is the Holy Spirit: The Father is uncreated, the Son is uncreated, the Holy Spirit is uncreated; The Father is unlimited, the Son is unlimited, the Holy Spirit is unlimited; The Father is eternal, the Son is eternal, the Holy Spirit is eternal; And yet they are not three eternals but one eternal, just as there are not three who are uncreated and who are unlimited, but there is one who is uncreated and unlimited. Likewise the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet there are not three who are almighty but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord, and yet they are not three Lords but one Lord. For just as we are compelled by Christian truth to acknowledge each person by himself to be God and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Christian religion to say that there are three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made nor created nor begotten by anybody. The Son is not made or created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. Accordingly there is one Father and not three Fathers, one Son and not three Sons, one Holy Spirit and not three Holy Spirits. And among these three persons none is before or after another, none is greater or less than another. But all three persons are coequal and coeternal, and accordingly as has been stated above, three persons are to be worshipped in one Godhead and one God is to be worshipped in three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must think thus about the Trinity."

Matt. 28:19; John 1:14; 14:9-11; 15:26; 1:1; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 11:14; Gal. 4:6.

C. Person of the Father

1. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, is uniquely the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. His Fatherhood is fundamental to the divine being and has always existed. See 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:3; Rom. 15:6; 1 Pet. 1:3. The Son is said to be "begotten of the Father" in Jn. 1:14, 18; 3:16; Col. 1:15; 1 Jn. 4:9. The Father affirms this relationship in Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Lk. 9:35; Heb. 1:5-10. The Son also affirms this relationship in Jn. 5:17-26; 8:54; 14:12; 17:5; Lk. 2:49.

2. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, is also the father of the whole nation of Israel. This is stated in Ex. 4:22; Dt. 32:6; Is. 64:8; Mal. 1:6; 2:10.

3. God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, is also the father of all who believe in Christ as stated in Jn. 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 2:18-19; Rom. 8:14-17; 1 Jn. 3: 1; Eph. 4:6.

4. Some of the works of the Father include the determination of the decree Ps. 2:7-9; Jn. 6:37-38; 17:4-7; election Eph. 1:3-6; creation 1 Cor. 8:6; sending the Son Jn. 3:16; 5:37; 8:16; raising the dead Jn. 5:21; 1 Cor. 15:15; revelation Rom. 1:2; judgment 1 Pet. 1:17; disciplining of sons Heb. 12:9; Jn. 15:1-2.

D. Person of the Son

1. The one Lord Jesus Christ is eternally begotten of the Father, true God from true God, begotten, not made or created in time. He was eternally pre-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit. There was never a time when the Son did not exist. Through Him all things were made.

2. He took upon Himself true human nature, both body and soul, by a virgin conception, yet without sin and without diminishing anything of the deity. He perfectly fulfilled the law, suffered, died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners, was buried, and rose again the third day. He ascended to the Father, at whose right hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church and Sovereign of the universe.

3. Any opinion which denies the Son's true deity and true humanity or the hypostatic union of His two natures is damnable heresy. Some of these heresies include: Arianism, which denies the true deity of Christ; Adoptionism, which denies the true deity; false Kenosis theory, which denies the deity, saying that Christ emptied Himself of the deity in the incarnation; Nestorianism, which makes two persons in Christ and denies the hypostatic union of the natures into one person; the false theory of peccability, which says that Jesus could have sinned, thus denying the perfect deity and perfect humanity, which was also condemned at the Council of Nicea with Arius' other views; Eutychianism and Monophysitism, which deny the true deity and true humanity and hypostatic nature of the two, making the nature of Christ a mixture of the two or a third something; Docetism, which denies the true humanity of Christ; and Apollinarism, which denies a rational soul in Jesus; Monothelitism, which denies Christ's human will.

4. We accept the statements of the Nicene Creed as it set forth the Biblical doctrine of Christ.

5. We receive the statements of the Chalcedonian Creed as it set forth the Biblical doctrine of Christ. It states:

"We, then, following the holy fathers, all with one consent, teach men to confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect in Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the virgin, Mary, the mother of God, according to the Manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably; the distinction of the natures being by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one Subsistence, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God, the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; as the prophets from the beginning have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ himself has taught us, and the Creed of the holy fathers has handed down to us."

6. We receive the Athanasian Creed as it set forth the Biblical doctrine of Christ,

stating:

"It is also necessary for eternal salvation that one faithfully believe that our Lord Jesus Christ became man. For this is the right faith, that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is at once God and man: He is God, begotten before the ages of the substance of the Father, and He is man, born in the world of the substance of his mother, perfect God and perfect man, with reasonable soul and human flesh, equal to the Father with respect to his Godhead and inferior to the Father with respect to his manhood. Although he is God and man, he is not two Christs but one Christ: One, that is to say, not by changing the Godhead into flesh but by taking on the humanity into God. One, indeed, not by confusion of substance but by unity in one person. For just as the reasonable soul and the flesh are one man, so God and man are one Christ.... This is the true catholic faith. Unless a man believe -this firmly and faithfully, he cannot be saved."

Matt. 1:23; 3:17; 17:5; Lk. 3:22; John 1:1,14; chapter 8; Acts 3:22; Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:22; Phil. 2:7; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; 3:16; Heb. 1:2-3; 2:14; 4:15; 5:5-6; 7:26.

E. Person of the Holy Spirit

1. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He possesses personality and is truly God. He proceeds from the Father and the Son.

2. His works include creation, revelation, and inspiration.

3. In the Old Testament He worked indwelling some, enabling some for service, and restraining sin.

4. He was agent in the virgin conception, anointing, filling, sealing, leading, & empowering of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was also involved with the Son and the Father in the work of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. His works in New Testament believers include regenerating, convicting, effectually calling, indwelling, baptizing, sealing, distributing gifts, filling, teaching, guiding, assuring, and interceding.

6. The Holy Spirit distributes gifts to the Church and to each individual member of it as He wills. Some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit given to the early church were temporary, given for the establishment of the Church, for example apostles, prophets, gifts of miracle working and healing (i.e. faith healers), and discernment of spirits.

7. The gift of tongues was a supernatural endowment of speech and understanding of a human language or languages previously unlearned by the recipient. It was given in apostolic times and in apostolic presence as a sign of judgment on unbelieving Israel, as a sign that God was about to cut off national Israel and graft in the Gentiles. Tongues in not angelic language nor non-cognisant prayer language, nor evidence of an experience subsequent to conversion known as charismatic theology as the baptism or filling with the Holy Spirit.

Matt. 28:19; Jn. 3:3-6: 14:16-17; 16:7-15; Acts 2:33; 5:3-4; Rom. 8:26-27; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13; 5:18; Gen. 11:7; Deut. 28:49; Isa. 28:1 1; Jer. 5:15; Joel 2; Acts 2:8; 1 Cor. 14:21; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 2:20-21; Heb. 2:4.

F. Creation

God created all things from nothing. Adam and Eve were created by God after His own image in perfect righteousness.

Gen. 1 & 2; 1 Cor. 8:6; Rev. 4:1 1.

G. Providence

God from all eternity decreed all things that come to pass, and perpetually governs all creatures and events. However, He is in no way the author or approver of sin, nor does His decree in any way violate the responsibility and accountability of man for all his acts and failures to act.

Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Dan. 4:34-35.

III. DOCTRINE OF ANGELS (Angelology)

A. We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless, spiritual beings, known as angels. We believe that one, Lucifer, the highest in rank, sinned through pride, thereby becoming Satan. We believe that a great company of the angels followed him in his moral fall, some of whom became demons and are active as his agents and associates in the prosecution of his unholy purposes, while others who fell are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

B. We believe that Satan is the originator of sin, and that, under the permission of God, he, through subtlety, led our first parents, Adam and Eve, into transgression, thereby accomplishing their moral fall and subjecting them and their posterity to his own power.

C. We believe that Satan is the enemy of God and the people of God, opposing and exalting himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped; and that he who in the beginning said, "I will be like the most High," in his warfare appears as an angel of light, even counterfeiting the works of God by fostering false religious movements and false systems of doctrine.

D. Although Satan is the enemy of God, he is nevertheless under the divine control of God, and his evil is being used by God in the execution of His eternal purpose.

E. We believe that Satan was judged at the cross, though not then executed, and he, a usurper, now rules as the "god of this world." He is called "god" not because of his intrinsic nature or as if there is any other God besides the One, for that would be polytheism. Be he is called god by reason of the sway and influence he has over fallen humanity. Similarly Jesus called mammon "lord" and apostle Paul called the belly "god."

F. The believer is to resist Satan by using the armour of God spoken of in Ephesians 6 and the epistles of James and Peter. The believer should not rebuke or revile Satan, as is the habit of false prophets.

G. At the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years, and after the thousand years he will be loosed for a little season and then cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where he shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

H. We believe, that a great company of angels kept their holy estate and are before the throne of God, from where they are sent forth as ministering spirits to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19; 1 Tim. 3:6; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Gen. 3:1-19; Rom. 5:12-14; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; 11:13-15; Eph. 6:1012; 2 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:20; Job 1; Acts 2:23; Matt. 6:24; Phil. 3:19; Col. 2:15; Rev. 20:13,10; Lk. 5:10; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 7:12; Jude 1:8-10; Jam. 4:7-8; 1 Pet. 5:8-9.

IV. DOCTRINE OF MAN (Anthropology)

A. Creation

Adam and Eve were the literal, historical parents of the entire human race. The account in Genesis, Chapters 1 & 2 is historical, not mythical or allegorical. Hence, evolutionary theory is contrary to the teaching of Scripture on creation.

B. Nature

1. The Scriptural teaching that man was created in the image of God does not infer that the essence of God is corporeal or that God has a body. Rather the image of God in man refers to his spiritual aspects.

2. We hold that man is a unit made up of material and immaterial aspects, body and soul, corporeal and spiritual. Thus we hold to a dichotomist view of man and reject trichotomy as unscriptural having its origins not in Scripture, but in Greek philosophy.

Heb. 11:3; Ps. 33:6; Jer. 32:17; 1 Cor. 15:39; Gen. 2:7; Ecc. 12:7; Isa. 10:18; Matt. 10:28; Lk. 1:46-47; 8:55; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:34; 2 Cor. 7:1; Rom. 8:10; Eph. 2:3; Col. 2:5.

C. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, by disobedience lost the rightness and innocence with which they were created and became corrupt.

D. The imputation of Adam’s sin is immediately transmitted to all of his posterity. All men sinned in him, whether realistically or federally, and are guilty of that sin. As a result they are all under its consequence which is eternal condemnation.

Adam is also the seminal head of all men in that his corruption, which is a result of his fall, is transmitted to all men seminally and it becomes theirs.

E. We reject any form of the mediate transmission of Adam’s sin to his posterity. This view states that the guilt of Adam’s sin is not ours, because we did not sin in him, but only that his corruption becomes ours, which is the cause of our first sin and guilt.

F. All persons are born in a sinful state and condition called original sin which consists of both the immediately imputed guilt and the seminally transmitted corruption of Adam’s first sin. We believe that the transmission of sin from parent to child is best explained in the traducian view of the origin of the soul rather than the creationist or pre-existence views. Through our parents both our material and immaterial parts, including the sinful nature, are transmitted from generation to generation.

G. From this corrupt nature proceeds all transgressions. All persons are wholly inclined to evil, and continually, and are opposed to all that is spiritually good in the sight of God. Their minds, understandings, wills, affections, emotions, and moral capacities are corrupted, along with having the judgment of death in their bodies. Therefore, although completely responsible and accountable to do so, man is unable of himself to repent of sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

H. Because of the corrupt condition of man and original sin which is passed down to persons in their conception, we reject the theories of the "age of accountability", "baptismal regeneration" and the "imputation of Christ’s righteousness" which grants heaven to any and every infant and child, without the absolute and necessary conscious personal exercise of faith in the Person and Work of Christ. We believe that those chosen by God for salvation are physically preserved until the time that they express personal saving faith in Christ.

I. The belief in the doctrine of original sin and man's total depravity by no means denies that a vast amount of virtue prevails toward mankind through fallen mankind by the common grace of God; yet man is essentially alienated from his Creator.

Gen. 3:11-13; Rom. 5:12-21; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10-18; 8: 6-8; Gen. 46:26 & Heb. 7:1-10; Gen. 5:3; Ps. 51:5; Acts 17:26; 1 Cor. 11:8; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 1-2.

V. ELECTION

A. Election is God's eternal choice of some persons to eternal life--not because of foreseen merit or faith in them, but because of His mercy in Christ.

B. Election is an eternal and internal decree having nothing to do with the will of the creature, but God's own good pleasure.

C. Those who have been predestined to be saved are called, justified, sanctified, and glorified in time.

Rom. 8:30; Eph. 1:11,14; 2:5,8,9; II Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 1:9.

We hold to the theological system of soteriology (doctrine of salvation) known as the five points of Calvinism. While these points are scattered throughout the doctrinal statement, they are more fully explained in the book The Five Points of Calvinism by Thomas and Steele. It is expected that all members have read this book and understand these points. (A further explanation of the atonement is found in the book Definite Atonement by Dr. Gary Long.)

VI. ATONEMENT

A. The death of the Lord Jesus Christ was a penal substitutionary atonement which absolutely secured the salvation of the elect.

B. God limited the extent of the atonement to the elect alone. This limitation by God's own design and decree is a limitation in its extent, not in its intrinsic worth or value, which is infinite.

C. The Lord Jesus Christ did not die either sufficiently or effectually for all men without exception. His blood was not shed for the damned.

D. We reject not only the concept of general or universal atonement, but also the governmental, moral-example, and ransom-to-Satan views of the death of Christ.

Matt. 1:21; 26:28; John 10:11,15; Rom. 5:6-10; Eph. 5:25-26; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Titus 2:15; Heb. 9:12-14; 13:12 .

VII. EFFECTUAL CALLING AND REGENERATION

A. By His Word and His Holy Spirit, God calls us into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ. In so doing, He implants new life in us, changing the whole man in all his parts from death unto life.

B. In regeneration, God, by the Holy Spirit, enlightens our minds, renews our wills, and imparts the gifts of faith and repentance necessary for the expression of that new life.

C. Regeneration is instantaneous.

D. In regeneration, man is totally passive.

E. Regeneration precedes the expression of faith and repentance called conversion.

F. The elect, once regenerate, do infallibly come to Christ in faith and repentance, yet ever so willingly.

John 3:3-8; Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10; 2 Thess. 2:4.

VIII. REPENTANCE

A. Repentance is a saving grace, and like all other gifts, comes from God. The repentant person, by the Holy Spirit, is convicted of the evil of his sin and humbles himself for it, with godly sorrow, hatred of it, self-abhorrence, and a purpose to endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things. In repentance man is active, expressing the God-given gift. God does not repent for the sinner.

Lk. 18:13-14; 24:46-47; Acts 2:37-38; 5:31; 20:21 ; 1 Thess. 1:9.

IX. FAITH

A. True faith is a saving grace by which we rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation as offered to us in the gospel; believe the word of God to be true, and seek to appropriate its teaching to ourselves. God does not believe for the sinner. Repentance and faith are the two gifts that when initially exercised constitute conversion.

B. True faith as defined above is distinguished from historical faith, i.e. mere assent to historical facts about God and Christ. It is also distinguished from temporary faith in that true faith produces good works, fruit of the Holy Spirit, and endures to the end.

Eph. 2:8; Rom. 4:3; 10:9-10, 17; Heb. 11:6.

X. JUSTIFICATION

A. Justification is a forensic act of God's free grace whereby He pardons our sins and accounts us righteous in His sight. This is not based on anything we have done, but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.

B. Justification is a forensic act in that it is associated with the courts of justice. It concerns itself with the legal pronouncement of the judge that the person involved is thereby declared righteous. Thus, justification is a declaration of righteousness in a legal sense, and deals with our standing or relationship rather than our state or conduct.

Rom. 3:20-30; 4:5; 8:33; Lk. 18:13-14.

XI. SANCTIFICATION

A. Those who are united to Jesus Christ are by regeneration renewed in their whole nature after the image of God, and set apart by God to share in His holiness. This is definite sanctification.

B. Because of the remaining effects of the former corrupt nature, there is a progressive aspect to sanctification, whereby the Holy Spirit, indwelling the believer, promotes true holiness of life. We reject the concepts of eradication of the sin nature, perfect holiness, and entire sanctification during our sojourn on earth in our mortal bodies.

C. On the other hand, we reject the concept that a person can be a Christian without any holiness or sanctification whatsoever, that Jesus can be one's Savior without also being one's Lord. Any justification without sanctification is no justification at all.

Jn. 1 7:1 7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 6:1 1; 2 Cor. 3:18; 5:17; Phil. 2:12-23; 1 'Mess. 5:23; Gal. 5:16-23; James 2; Heb. 12:5-11; Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Jn. 3:2.

XII. ETERNAL SECURITY AND PERSEVERANCE

A. We believe that, because of the eternal purpose of God toward the objects of His love, because of His freedom to exercise grace toward the meritless on the ground of the propitiatory blood of Christ, because of the very nature of the divine gift of eternal life, because of the present and unending intercession and advocacy of Christ in heaven, because of the immutability of the unchangeable covenants of God, because of the regenerating, abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are saved, we and all true believers everywhere, once saved, shall be kept safe forever.

B. We believe, however, that God is a holy and righteous Father and that He does not overlook the sin of His children. He will when they persistently sin, chasten them and correct them in infinite love; but having undertaken to save them and keep them forever, apart from all human merit, He, who cannot fail, will in the end present every one of them faultless before the presence of His glory and conformed to the image of His Son. Thus, those whom the Father chose, the Son substituted for, and the Spirit set apart will never totally or finally fall away from the state of grace, but will persevere to the end.

Jn. 5:24; 10:28; 13:1; 14:16-17; 17:11; Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 6:19; Heb. 7:25; 1 Jn. 2:1-2; 5:13; Jude 24.

XIII. ASSURANCE

A. We believe that it is the privilege, not only of some, but of all who are born again by the Holy Spirit, to be assured of their salvation from the very day they repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. This assurance is not founded upon any fancied discovery of their own worthiness or fitness, but wholly upon the testimony of God in His written Word. This assurance excites within His children filial love, gratitude, and obedience.

Lk. 10:20; 22:32; 2 Cor. 5:1; 6-8; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 10:22; 1 Jn. 5:13.

XIV. THE CHURCH

A. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, which is composed of God's elect in this age. The church was established on the Day of Pentecost and did not exist in the Old Testament period. The Church is new covenant in scope and design and is not to be confused with national Israel.

B. We believe the Church is both universal and local.

C. Christians are to gather in local churches, be committed to a local assembly of believers, and be under the established leadership of that church. To each local assembly God has given authority and responsibility for administering order, discipline, and worship. The officers in the Church are elders and deacons.

D. We reject the concept of para-church organizations, which are not under the authority of a local church, because they circumvent, supplant, are autonomous from, and exercise authority over local churches with no Biblical mandate or warrant. They also rob local churches of their responsibilities, prerogatives, glory, and funds, and to a large extent are responsible for the Church's weakness.

Matt. 28:18; 16:17; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:7-13; Rev. 1:13; 2:1; Jer. 32:31; Matt. 26:28; Lk. 22:20; Acts 13:2-3; 14:23; 26-28; 15:22,32,33,35,36,40; 18:22-23; 20:17; Eph. 4:11-14; Tit. 1:5.

XV. BAPTISM

A. Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ obligatory for every believer, by immersion in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is a symbol of union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. It signifies the washing away of sins and is a prerequisite for church membership.

B. The usual mode of baptism is immersion, except in life threatening situations where charity would be expressed.

C. Baptism is to be administered by the elders of the church with deacons assisting.

D. We reject infant baptism and any concept of baptismal regeneration.

Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38,41; 22:16; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 1:13; Col. 2:12.

XVI. THE LORD'S SUPPER

A. The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ to be administered with the elements of bread and "fruit of the vine," (See Lk 22:18; Mk 14:25) and to be observed by the Church until He returns. Its purpose is to commemorate Christ’s death, to confirm the everlasting covenant in Christ’s blood, and to strengthen union with Christ in His love, as well as union and communion with each other.

B. If there is unforgiveness between members, this should be removed before coming to the table.

C. The Lord's Supper is in no sense a re-sacrifice of Christ. Christ is spiritually present at the Lord's Supper. We reject the concepts of consubstantiation and transubstantiation.

D. This ordinance is to be administered exclusively by the elders of the church, with deacons assisting.

2 Cor. 11:23-26; Lk. 22:19-20.

XVII. EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS

A. It is the duty of every church and every Christian to extend the gospel to all men everywhere and to make disciples, teaching them to observe all that Christ commanded.

B. As faith comes by hearing the word of God, we are to seek by methods sanctioned in Scripture to persuade men to seek Jesus Christ and His salvation. We reject all man-centered sales techniques in evangelism.

Matt. 28:19; Rom. 10:14-17; 1 Cor. 9:22.

XVIII. THE LORD'S DAY

A. On the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, Sunday, we are to give ourselves to the worship and service of God. To neglect public worship for the pursuit of worldly pleasure or gain is sin, and should be repented of by change in practice.

B. All true worship must be produced by the Holy Spirit and be according to revealed truth in Scripture. It is the obligation of believers to worship God based upon deep reflection of the Godhead in His essence, attributes, and works, and not upon the whims of their emotions.

Matt. 22:37-38; John 4:23; Acts 20:7; Deut. 6:4.

XIX. THE STATE

A. Civil government is ordained of God and it is the duty of Christians to obey those who have the rule over them in all matters consistent with the teaching of Scripture.

B. Christians are also to pray for their rulers.

Matt. 22:21; Mk. 12:17; Lk. 20:25; Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17.

XX. THE BLESSED HOPE

A. We believe that, according to the word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto His coming and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that this event is the blessed hope set before us in the Scripture, and for this we should be constantly looking.

John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14.

XXI. THE TRIBULATION

A. We believe that the translation of the church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week during which the Church, the body of Christ, will be in heaven. The whole period of Israel's seventieth week will be a time of judgment on the whole earth, at the end of which the times of the Gentiles will be brought to a close. The latter half of this period will be the time of Jacob's trouble, which our Lord called the great tribulation. We believe that universal righteousness will not be realized previous to the second coming of Christ, but that the world is day by day ripening for judgment and that the age will end with a fearful apostasy.

Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:1-19:21; Matt. 24: 15-21; Jer. 30:7.

XXII. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

A. We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the pre-millennial, visible, bodily, and personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, in person on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great

glory to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land and to give her the realization of God's covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God.

Deut. 30:1-10; Isa. 11:9; Ezek. 37:21-28; Matt. 24:15-25,46; Acts 15:16-17; Rom. 8:19-23; 11: 25-27; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 20:1-3.

XXIII. THE ETERNAL STATE

We believe that at death the spirits and souls of those who, have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for His own, whereupon soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain after death conscious of condemnation and in misery until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of H

Doctrinal Statement

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