ARTICLE I
THE SCRIPTURES: We believe that the Bible is
the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and in the original manuscripts it was verbally (every
word) inspired; that God, the Holy Spirit, is its author; that the salvation of sinners is
its end, and that eternal truth without any mixture of error is its content; that it is
indestructible and forever settled in heaven; and that it is the supreme standard by which
all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. II Timothy 3:14-17 and
II Peter 1:19-21
ARTICLE II
THE TRUE GOD: We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an intelligent,
spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe, infinite
in love and holiness and all other perfections, to whom we owe the highest love,
reverence, and obedience. He is revealed to us in the Bible as Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence,
or being; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices
in the great work of redemption. John 4:24, 15:26; Romans 1:20; Hebrews 3:4; Psalm 83:18,
147:5; Jeremiah 10:10; Revelation 4:11
ARTICLE III
THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was and is and shall be the
eternal Son of God, co-equal with the Father and Holy Spirit; that He was with the Father
and the Holy Spirit in the beginning (John 1:1); that He came to earth being
supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; that He was God
in the flesh; that while here on earth He lived a sinless and spotless life; that He died
a supernatural and vicarious death upon the cross for the sins of mankind; that He bodily
rose from the dead the third day; and that He ascended to the right hand of God from
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead and to reign eternally.
ARTICLE IV
THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe that God in this age manifests Himself through the Holy
Spirit, who possesses distinct personal attributes; that He is eternally co-existent with
the Father and the Son: that His basic ministries are conviction of sin, regeneration of
the heart upon faith, guiding, helping and empowering believers to live godly lives. We
believe that all believers are indwelt by Him, and that those who are indwelt by the Holy
Spirit may be progressively filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit by appropriating
faith. The fruit of the Spirit in the believer's life is love, joy, peace, long suffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. In all things, the Holy Spirit is to
glorify Christ. (Galatians 5:22,23: John 16:1-15)
ARTICLE V
THE FALL OF MAN: We believe man was created by the special act of God in a state of
perfect innocence under the law of his Maker; but by willful and voluntary disobedience
and transgression he fell from that perfect state of innocence, in consequence of which
all mankind are now sinners by nature and by choice, and being by nature utterly void of
that holiness required by the law of God, and positively inclined to evil, is therefore
under the just condemnation of God to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse. Genesis
1:27, 1:31, 2:16, 3:6-24; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18, 1:20, 1:32, 2:1-16, 3:9-19, 3:23,
5:15-19, 8:7; John 3:16; Psalm 51:5.
ARTICLE VI
THE WAY OF SALVATION: We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly and only through
the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord; that saved sinners are
sustained and kept by the power of God through the shed blood of Christ and the
intercessory work of Christ on our behalf at the right hand of God; and that anyone who is
thus truly saved is eternally saved and can never be lost. John 1:1-14, 3:16; Ephesians
2:8-9; Matthew 18:11-14; John 10:27-30; Philippians 2:5-8; Isaiah 53:45; Hebrews 2:9-18.
ARTICLE VII
REGENERATION: We believe that in order to be saved every sinner must be regenerated or
born again; that the agents in this new birth are the Word of God and the Holy Spirit;
that these two work together in the heart, bringing conviction of sin and conversion; that
by it we become partakers of the divine nature and a transformed life that leads us to
love all men and to practice righteousness; that one is born again or regenerated the
moment he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
ARTICLE VIII
REPENTANCE: We believe that repentance and faith are Scriptural necessities to
regeneration and are also inseparable graces; that both of these are wrought in the inner
man by the Holy Spirit; that when one repents and believes in Christ, he will turn to God
with contrition and confession, calling on God for mercy. Romans 10:13
ARTICLE IX
JUSTIFICATION: We believe that justification and righteousness are inseparably united in
the Scriptures; that justification may be defined as the judicial act of God whereby He
justly declares righteous one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ; that the believing
sinner is justified because Christ, having borne the sinner's sins on the cross, has been
"made unto him righteousness," (I Corinthians 1:30); that the saved, justified
sinner has been in God's court, only to find that nothing is laid to his charge (Romans
8:1) and that justification secures for us every spiritual blessing that is needed for
time and eternity.
ARTICLE X
SANCTIFICATION: We believe that the word sanctification means primarily to set apart any
one or anything wholly for God's use; that scriptural sanctification is in three tenses:
we were sanctified in Christ eternally when we accepted Christ as Saviour and Lord; we are
now being sanctified daily through the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit
and the cleansing of the Word of God and prayer; and that we shall be completely
sanctified when we meet Christ in our resurrection bodies; that by daily and progressive
sanctification we gradually grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ. II Peter 3:18
ARTICLE XI
THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS: We believe that all who have been truly saved and
regenerated by the Holy Spirit of God will be faithful to Christ until death or until He
returns; that this continuance in the faith is a mark which distinguishes them from mere
professors; that all true believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto
salvation. I Peter 1:3-5
ARTICLE XII
LOCAL NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH: We believe that the local, visible, New Testament, Church of
Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and
fellowship in the gospel; meeting together regularly for worship, teaching and preaching
of God's Word, and the observance of the ordinances of Christ; governed by the teaching of
His Word, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word,
and all are welcome who have truly been saved regardless of race or color.
ARTICLE XIII
THE UNIVERSAL BODY OF CHRIST: We believe that in the New Testament the Holy Spirit refers
to the universal body of Christ, sometimes called the Church; that his body is made up of
all who are truly saved regardless of race, color, or denomination; that one becomes a
member of the Body of Christ the moment he accepts Christ as his Saviour and Lord (I
Corinthians 12:13); that his body is a holy temple for the habitation of God through the
Holy Spirit; that it is one flesh with Christ, and is espoused to Him a chaste virgin is
to one husband. Ephesians 2:21-22, 5:30-31; II Corinthians 11:2-4
ARTICLE XIV
BELIEVERS' BAPTISM: We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only ordinances
of Christ given to the Church; that Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in
water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that this act is a symbol and a
public testimony of our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour; that its effect
is symbolic of our death to sin and resurrection to newness of life; that it is a
prerequisite to the privileges of Church membership and to the Lord's Supper. Matthew
3:13-17; Romans 6:1-10; I Corinthians 12:13
ARTICLE XV
THE LORD'S SUPPER: We believe that the Lord's Supper and Believers' Baptism are the only
ordinances of Christ given to the Church; that the Lord's Supper is a provision of bread
and wine, as symbols of Christ's body and blood, partaken of by the members of His Church,
in commemoration of the suffering and death of our Lord; showing our faith and
participation in the merits of His sacrifice, and our hope of eternal life through His
resurrection from the dead; its observance to be preceded by faithful self-examination.
Luke 22:14-20; I Corinthians 11:17-34
ARTICLE XVI
THE LORD'S DAY: We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day (Revelation
1:10); that it was established for regular observance in the New Testament; that it
commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises
of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private; that we should refrain from
those amusements that detract and take away from the Lord's Day, and rest from secular
employment, the only exception being works of necessity and mercy.
ARTICLE XVII
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD: We believe that the Scriptures clearly teach that Jesus rose
from the dead, and because He lives, we shall also live after death; that the Scriptures
teach that there will be two great resurrections: all the dead in Christ shall rise first
(I Thessalonians 4:16-17 and Revelation 20:5), and appear in heaven before Christ at the
Judgment Seat (II Corinthians 5:10), and all the wicked dead shall be raised together to
stand before God at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15); that these two
resurrections will be separated by the one thousand year reign of Christ on this earth.
ARTICLE XVIII
THE RETURN OF OUR LORD: We believe that the return of our Lord is in two distinct phases;
in the first phase that Lord descends into the air to catch away His bride, the Church (I
Thessalonians 4:13-18); in the second phase, He comes to earth with His saints (Revelation
19:11-16) to cleanse the earth of wickedness and to live and reign with them for one
thousand years; that the time of His coming in the air is nowhere revealed; that it is the
duty of every believer to live in readiness because His coming is imminent and will be
sudden (I Corinthians 15:51-53; I Thessalonians 5:1-5); that the time of His coming to the
earth with His saints is likewise unknown except that it will come at the end of the Great
Tribulation Period.
ARTICLE XIX
CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: We believe that civil government is of divine
appointment, for the interest and good order of human society; that those in authority are
to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed; except in those things that are
contrary to the Word of God and opposed to the will of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
(Romans 13); that the Church and state should be separate and that the Church should not
resort to civil power or authority to carry on its work; that the Christian ideal is a
free Church in a free state; that the Church has the right to form and propagate opinions
in the sphere of religion without interference by any civil power. The state has no right
to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose
taxes for the support of any form of religion.
ARTICLE XX
EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS: We believe that it is the duty of every Christian man and woman,
and the duty of every Church of Christ to seek to extend the gospel to the ends of the
earth (Matt. 28:19-20); that the new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the
birth of love for others; that missionary effort on the part of all believers rests thus
upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life. It is also expressly and repeatedly
commanded in the teaching of Christ; that it is the duty of every child of God to seek
constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other means sanctioned
by the gospel of Christ (Acts 1:5-8).
ARTICLE XXI
STEWARDSHIP: We believe that God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual;
all that we have and are we owe to Him; that we have a spiritual debtorship to the whole
world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in our possessions;
that we are therefore under obligation to serve Him with our time, talents and material
possessions; that we should recognize all these as entrusted to us to use for the glory of
God and helping others; that all Christians should cheerfully, regularly, and liberally
contribute of their means to advancing the Redeemer's cause on earth (Luke 12:42; 16:1-8;
Titus 1:7; II Cor. 8:1-19; 12:1-15).
ARTICLE XXII
THE WORLD TO COME: We believe the Scriptures teach that the end of the world is
approaching; that at the Last Day, Christ will descend from Heaven, and raise the dead
from the grave for final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that
the wicked will be judged to endless sorrow, and the righteous to endless joy; and this
judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven and hell, based upon God's
righteous judgment.
ARTICLE XXIII
LICENSE TO PREACH PROCEDURE: In the event a member of this church requests a license to
preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he shall first submit to an examination by the pastor
and deacons, or the pastor and a ministry team especially appointed for that purpose by
the church. This examination is to determine the applicant's qualification and fitness to
preach under a license of this Church. Upon recommendation of the pastor and deacons or
ministry team, and upon approval of ninety percent (90%) of the members present at any
regular business conference of the Church, a license shall be granted.
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