Matthew
28:19-
20 "Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all
things whatsoever I have commanded you....."
The
Following Doctrinal Statements are the Beliefs of the Board, Administration,
and Faculty:
The
Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to
be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for
faith and life, inerrant in every matter in the original writing,
infallible and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16–17).
The
Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-identical in
nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes
and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The
Person and Work of God the Father
We believe that the Father is the first person of the one, Triune
God, a self-existent spirit, unseen by men, who shares one essence
with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, and possesses the same
attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, love, truth, holiness,
righteousness, and goodness (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 5:46; 6:26;
7:28; 14:9–10; 15:9; 17:11, 25; Matthew 6:8, 32; Ephesians
3:20; James 1:17). He receives worship and is the One to whom
human beings relate through Christ, having sent Jesus Christ and
the Holy Spirit to the earth (John 4:23; 8:42; 14:6, 26).
We
believe the Father resurrects the dead, and that heaven belongs
to Him (John 5:21; 14:2; Romans 6:4). He controls the timeline
for eschatological events (Acts 1:6–7). He draws the elect
to Christ, having chosen them before the foundation of the world
(John 6:44; Ephesians 1:3). He predestines believers to adoption
as sons and preserves them in their relationship to God (John
17:11; Ephesians 1:5).
We
believe the Father is to be the focal point for believers in their
Christian lives and in their fellowship (Romans 6:11; 1 John 1:3).
He cares for them, comforts them, hears and answers their prayers,
honors believers that serve Jesus Christ, leads them, and gives
them gifts (John 12:26; 15:1; 16:23; Romans 6:11; 2 Corinthians
1:3–4; 1 Thessalonians 3:11; James 1:17; 1 John 1:3).
The
Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, eternally God, became man,
without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God
and redeem sinful men (Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 2, 14).
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption
through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious,
substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made
sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans
3:24–25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5; 2:24).
We
believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is
now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest,
He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate
(Acts 1:9–11; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1–2).
The
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world
of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; revealing Christ to
men and enabling them to believe; and, that He is the supernatural
agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of
Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption
(John 16:8–11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2
Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13–14).
We
believe that He guides believers into all truth, anoints and teaches
them, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to
be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John
2:20, 27).
The
Creation and Man
We believe that the book of Genesis presents a historically accurate
account of the origin of man, the fall of Adam and Eve, and consequently
the entire human race, the worldwide flood, the call of Abraham,
and the origin of God’s chosen people, Israel. Included in
this is our belief that special creation of the existing universe,
consisting of time, space, and matter, was accomplished in six
literal, twenty-four hour days, as detailed in Genesis chapter
one.
We
believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God,
but that when man sinned the human race fell and became alienated
from God. Man, thus, is totally depraved and of himself, utterly
unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26–27; 5:2;
Psalm 51; Romans 3:22–23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3, 12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by
grace and received by personal and purposeful faith in the death
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood
was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins (1 Corinthians
15:1–5; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8–10; 1 Peter 1:18–19).
The
Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice
in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s
Word; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty
as an occasion to the flesh (Romans 13:13–14; Galatians 5:13;
Titus 2:11–15: 1 John 5:10–13).
The
Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that the regenerated person retains his corrupt, sinful,
depraved nature, but at the moment of salvation also becomes a
partaker of the divine nature, capable of pleasing God through
the ministries of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 6:13; 8:12–13;
Galatians 5:16–25; Ephesians 4:22–24; Colossians 3:9–10;
1 Peter 1:14–16; 1 John 3:5–9).
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as
not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation
from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures,
practices and associations is commanded by God (Romans 12:1–2,
14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; 1 John
2:15–17; 2 John 9–11).
Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by
life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to
proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Matthew 28:19–20; Mark
16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19–20).
Ministry
and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts;
that the gifts of evangelist and pastor-teacher are given to the
church for the equipping of the saints today; that each believer
has a spiritual gift for the purpose of ministry to others, such
as the gifts of ministry, helps, leadership, administration, exhortation,
giving, mercy, and teaching; that the gifts of prophecy, speaking
in tongues, and the working of sign miracles ceased as the New
Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became
established (Romans 12:6–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11; 2
Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7–12; 1 Peter 4:10).
We
believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in
accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7;
James 5:14–15; 1 John 5:14–15).
We
believe in the autonomy of the local church (Acts 13:1–4;
20:28; Romans 16:1; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4–7; 1 Peter
5:1–4).
We
recognize the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s
Supper as a scriptural means of testimony for the church today
(Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 18:8; 1 Corinthians
11:23–26).
Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal
sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life
which define man’s responsibilities in successive administrations
of God. These dispensations are divinely ordered stewardships
by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these—the
dispensation of law, the dispensation of the grace of God, and
the dispensation of the kingdom—are the subjects of detailed
revelation in Scripture (John 1:17; 2 Corinthians 3:6–18;
Galatians 3:13–25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2–10; Colossians
1:24–25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2–6).
The
Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and cause
of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and
man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire
(Job 1:6–7; Isaiah 14:12–17; Matthew 4:2–11; Revelation
20:11).
The
Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent,
pre-tribulational and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
for the church; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His
saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom, which will begin
only after the second advent (Zechariah 14:4–11; 1 Thessalonians
1:10; 4:13–18; 5:9; Revelation 3:10; 19:11–16; 20:1–6).
The
Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to
eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment
(Matthew 25:46; John 5:28–29; 11:25–26; Revelation 20:5–6;
22:12).
We
believe that the souls of the justified are, at death, absent
from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss
they await the first resurrection, when soul and body are reunited
to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians
5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:32; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation
20:4–6).
