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There is one God, who is infinite, sovereign, eternal and the creator of
everything. He is holy in His attributes and His nature. He is Triune in His essential
being and is biblically revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is very
God and very man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He
died
upon the cross, the Just for the unjust as a substitutionary sacrifice,
and all who
believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. The Holy
Spirit is a
divine person sent to indwell, guide, teach, and empower the believer,
and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The Old and New Testaments are the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of
God
as originally given. They were written by men who were guided by the Spirit, and
as such they stand as the only authority of God's plan for the salvation of mankind.
The Bible is the only safe rule of faith and practice for Christians. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; he
fell
through
disobedience, thereby incurring both physical and spiritual death. All
men are born
with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be
saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The
portion
of the impenitent
and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; that of the
believer is
everlasting joy and bliss. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men. Those who
repent
and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life,
and become the children of God. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the
Holy Spirit
and
sanctified wholly, thereby being separated from sin and the world and
fully dedicated to the will of God, and receiving power for holy living
and effective
service. This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in
the life of the
believer subsequent to conversion. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the
healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught
in
the Scriptures, and are privileges for the Church in this present age. The Church consists of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Through
the merits of His blood, they are born into the family of God and
remain in it so
long as they are walking in the Light. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Head of the Church, which is His body. He has commissioned the Church
to proclaim the
Gospel to all the world. The local church is a body of believers who are joined together for this
purpose,
as well as for the worship of God, for edification through the Word, for prayer and
fellowship, and the observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
There shall
be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the
former a
resurrection unto life; for the latter a resurrection unto judgment.
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a vital doctrine of the
Bible and is
the vibrant
hope of the Church. This coming will be a visible, personal return for
the Church.
Since there is no method of predicting when He will return, the
incentive for active
holy living is magnified.
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