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I. The Triune God |
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| 1. We believe in one
eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign of the universe; that He
only is God, creative and administrative, holy in nature, attributes,
and purpose; that He, as God, is Triune in essential being, revealed as
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. |
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II. Jesus Christ |
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| 2. We believe in Jesus
Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally
one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was
born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is
the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very
man, the God-man.
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and
that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with
all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith He
ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us. |
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III. The Holy Spirit |
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| 3. We believe in the
Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead, that He is ever
present and efficiently active in and with the Church of Christ,
convincing the world of sin, regenerating those who repent and believe,
sanctifying believers, and guiding into all truth as it is in Jesus. |
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IV. The Holy Scriptures |
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| 4. We believe in the
plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the
66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration,
inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things
necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is
not to be enjoined as an article of faith. |
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V. Sin, Original and Personal |
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| 5. We believe that sin
came into the world through the disobedience of our first parents, and
death by sin. We believe that sin is of two kinds: original sin or
depravity, and actual or personal sin.
5.1. We believe that original sin, or
depravity, is that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam
by reason of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness
or the pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is
averse to God, is without spiritual life, and inclined to evil, and that
continually. We further believe that original sin continues to exist
with the new life of the regenerate, until eradicated by the baptism
with the Holy Spirit.
5.2. We believe that original sin
differs from actual sin in that it constitutes an inherited propensity
to actual sin for which no one is accountable until its divinely
provided remedy is neglected or rejected.
5.3.We believe that actual or
personal sin is a voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally
responsible person. It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary
and inescapable shortcomings, infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures,
or other deviations from a standard of perfect conduct that are the
residual effects of the Fall. However, such innocent effects do not
include attitudes or responses contrary to the spirit of Christ, which
may properly be called sins of the spirit. We believe that personal sin
is primarily and essentially a violation of the law of love; and that in
relation to Christ sin may be defined as unbelief. |
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VI. Atonement |
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| 6. We believe that Jesus
Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His
meritorious death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin,
and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is
sufficient for every individual of Adam's race. The Atonement is
graciously efficacious for the salvation of the irresponsible and for
the children in innocency but is efficacious for the salvation of those
who reach the age of responsibility only when they repent and believe. |
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VII. Free Agency |
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| 7. We believe that the
human race's creation in Godlikeness included ability to choose between
right and wrong, and that thus human beings were made morally
responsible; that through the fall of Adam they became depraved so that
they cannot now turn and prepare themselves by their own strength and
works to faith and calling upon God. But we also believe that the grace
of God through Jesus Christ is freely bestowed upon all people, enabling
all who will to turn from sin to righteousness, believe on Jesus Christ
for pardon and cleansing from sin, and follow good works pleasing and
acceptable in His sight.
We blieve that all persons, though in the possession
of the experience of regeneration and entire sanctification, may fall
from grace and apostatize and, unless they repent of their sins, be
hopelessly and eternally lost. |
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VIII. Repentance |
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| 8. We believe that
repentance, which is a sincere and thorough change of the mind in regard
to sin, involving a sense of personal guilt and a voluntary turning away
from sin, is demanded of all who have by act or purpose become sinners
against God. The Spirit of God gives to all who will repent the gracious
help of penitence of heart and hope of mercy, that they may believe unto
pardon and spiritual life. |
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IX. Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption
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| 9. We believe that
justification is the gracious and judicial act of God by which He grants
full pardon of all guilt and complete release from the penalty of sins
committed, and acceptance as righteousness, to all who believe on Jesus
Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior.
10. We believe that regeneration, or
the new birth, is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of
the repentent believer is spiritually quickened and given a
distinctively spiritual life, capable of faith, love, and obedience.
11. We believe that adoption is that
gracious act of God by which the justified and regenerated believer is
constituted a son of God.
12. We believe that justification,
regeneration, and adoption are simultaneous in the experience of seekers
after God and are obtained upon the condition of faith, preceded by
repentance; and that to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit
bears witness. |
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X. Entire Sanctification |
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| 13. We believe that
entire sanctification is that act of God, subsequent to regeneration, by
which believers are made free from original sin, or depravity, and
brought into a state of entire devotement to God, and the holy obedience
of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with the Holy Spirit, and
comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin and
the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the
believer for life and service.
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of
Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire
consecration; and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears
witness.
This experience is also known by various terms
represneting its different phases, such as "Christian perfection,"
"perfect love," "heart purity," "the baptism with the Holy Spirit," "the
fullness of the blessing," and "Christian holiness."
14. We believe that there is a marked
distinction between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is
obtained in an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter
is the result of growth in grace.
We believe that the grace of entire sanctification
includes the impulse to grow in grace. However, this impulse must be
consciously nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and
processes of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of
character and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor one's
witness may be impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately
lost. |
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XI. The Church |
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| 15. We believe in the
Church, the community that confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, the covenant
people of God made new in Christ, the Body of Christ called together by
the Holy Spirit through the Word.
God calls the Church to express its life in the unity
and fellowship of the Spirit; in worship through the preaching of the
Word, observance of the sacraments, and ministry in His name; by
obedience to Christ and mutual accountability.
The mission of the Church in the world is to continue
the redemptive work of Christ in the power of the Spirit through holy
living, evangelism, discipleship, and service.
The Church is a historical reality, which organizes
itself in culturally conditioned forms; exists both as local
congreations and as a universal body; sets apart persons called of God
for specific ministries. God calls the Church to live under His rule in
anticipation of the consummation at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
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XII. Baptism |
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| 16. We believe that
Christian baptism, commanded by our Lord, is a sacrament signifying
acceptance of the benefits of the atonement of Jesus Christ, to be
administered to believers and declarative of their faith in jesus Christ
as their Savior, and full purpose of obedience in holiness and
righteousness.
Baptism being a symbol of the new covenant, young
children may be baptized, upon request of parents or guardians who shall
give assurance for them of necessary Christian training
Baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or
immersion, according to the choice of the applicant. |
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XIII. The Lord's Supper |
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| 17. We believe that the
Memorial and Communion Supper instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ is essentially a New Testament sacrament, declarative of His
sacrificial death, through the merits of which believers have life and
salvation and promise of all spiritual blessings in Christ. It is
distinctively for those who are prepared for reverent application of its
significance, and by it they show forth the Lord's death till He comes
again. It being the Communion feast, only those who have faith in Christ
and love for the saints should be called to participate therein. |
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XIV. Divine Healing |
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| 18. We believe in the
Bible doctrine of divine healing and urge our people to seek to offer
the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick. We also believe God
heals through the means of medical science. |
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XV. Second Coming of Christ |
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| 19. We believe that that
Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming
shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we
are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet
the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord. |
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XVI. Resurrection, Judgment, and Destiny
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| 20. We believe in the
resurrection of the dead, that the bodies of the just and of the unjust
shall be raised to life and united with their spirits--"they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation."
21. We believe in future judgment in
which every person shall appear before God to be judged according to his
or her deeds in this life.
22. We believe that glorious and
everlasting life is assured to all who savingly believe in, and
obediently follow, Jesus Christ our Lord; and that that finally
impenitent shall suffer eternally in hell. |
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