Revelation: the content of the
Bible has been revealed by God in order to reveal Himself to man.
Inspiration: through inspiration
God made certain that this revelation about Himself was
written down without error in the original documents (every
Scripture is God-breathed)
Authority: Since the Bible is
without error, it is our authoritative guide in all spiritual matters.
Canonicity: The Bible is our sole
source of information for faith and practice. I do not
accept the apocryphal books as canonical.
Theology (God)
The Bible reveals a single, triune
God, existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in
power and glory, and having the same attributes and
perfections. Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:4.
1. The Father plans and supervises.
Eph. 1:11; 3:11.
2. The Son carries out the Father's
plans and links the Godhead to Man. 1 Tim. 2:5; John 4:34;
Heb. 10:7.
3. The Holy Spirit reveals
information about God's plan to men. John 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:10.
Christology (Christ the Son)
The Incarnation
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal
Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God. John
1:1,2,14.
The Virgin Birth
He was conceived of the
Holy Spirit and born ofthe<>. Luke 1:35.
His Substitutionary Death
He accomplished our redemption
through His death on the cross as a substitutionary
sacrifice. 1 Cor. 15:3; 1 Pet. 1:18,19.
His Resurrection
His literal physical resurrection
from the dead guaranteed that redemption forever. Heb.
10:9-14; 1 Pet. 1:3-5.
His Present Session
The Lord Jesus Christ in His
glorified body is now in Heaven, exalted at the right hand
of God the Father, where He presently fulfills the ministry
of representative, intercessor, and advocate as the high
priest for His people. Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John
2:1,2.
Pneumatology (The Holy Spirit)
The Salvation Work of the Holy
Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person who
convicts the world of sin; at the moment of salvation He
indwells a believer, baptizes him into the body of Christ,
and seals him unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11; Rom.
8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 1:13,14.
The Post Salvation Work of the
Holy Spirit
It is the duty of every believer to
be filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit fills the
believer at the time of salvation and completely controls
him until he sins, after which filling is conditioned upon
the acknowledgement (confession) by the believer of his
personal sin to God the Father in private prayer. Eph. 5:18;
Gal. 5:16; 1 John 1:9.
Spiritual Gifts
The Holy Spirit sovereignly bestows
one or more spiritual gifts on every believer. Heb. 2:4; 1 Cor. 12:7-11.
Angelology (Angels)
Existence
There exists a superior creation
called angels, now divided into two categories known as
"elect" and "fallen" angels. Fallen angels are further
divided into two section: imprisoned and free demons). 1
Tim. 5:21; Mark 8:38; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; 1 Tim. 4:1.
Satan
The Bible reveals the personality
and program of Satan, the leader of the fallen angels. His
falls and future confinement in the Lake of Fire, with all
fallen angels and unbelieving humans, to experience
everlasting conscious torment, are clearly set forth. Isa.
14:12-14; Ezek. 28:12-17; Job 1:6,7; Rev. 12:7-9; 20:10.
Anthropology (Man)
Creation
Genesis provides the account of
creation in which God created the universe out of nothing by
His spoken word, and during the seven consecutive days there
recorded. Gen. 1; Psalm 33:6,9.
The Fall of Man
Man was created in the image and
likeness of God, but in Adam's sin the human race fell,
inheriting a sinful nature and becoming alienated from God.
Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:22,23; Eph. 2:12.
Total Depravity
In the state of total depravity man
is totally unable to retrieve his lost condition. Rom.
4:4,5; Tit. 3:5; Isa. 64:6.
Hamartialogy (Sin)
The Scriptures describe three
categories of sin: Imputed Sin, Inherent Sin, and Personal
Sin.
Imputed Sin: At birth every member
of the human race shares in the responsibility and penalty
for Adam's sin. Rom. 5:12; 5:18,19; 1 Cor. 15:22.
Inherent Sin (Sin Nature): At birth
every member of the human race inherits a capacity which
entices and enables him to commit personal acts of sin. Rom.
6:6; 7:17,18; Eph. 4:22.
Personal Sin: Personal acts of sin
fall into three categories:
Mental Sin. 2 Cor. 10:5
Sins of the tongue. James 3:5,6
Open sins. Rom. 6:12,13
Soteriology (Salvation)
Since God is unable to be unfair to
any person, loves all men equally, desires all men to be
saved, is not willing that any should perish, invites all
men to be saved, and has atoned for the sins of the entire
world, He has used the drawing ministry of Christ and the
convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit to make it genuinely
possible for any member of the human race to receive the
Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. John 12:32; 16:7-11; Acts.
10:34,35; 16:31; Isa. 45:21; Rom. 8:32; John 3:16; Rom. 5:8;
1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 2:2; 1 John 2:2.
God, in eternity past, because of
His love for and foreknowledge of all those who would
respond to His universal invitation to believe in Christ,
provided for them to share His eternal destiny. Psalm 2:9; 2
Tim. 1:9; Eph. 1:4; Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Pet. 1:2.
Salvation was provided totally by
the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of all members of the
human race as a free gift. Each person must decide either to
accept or reject God's offer of the gift of salvation. Eph.
2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18,19.
Having decided to receive Jesus
Christ as Savior, the believer is kept secure forever,
disciplined when necessary by the Father, as a beloved
child. Rom. 8:38,39; Heb. 10:14; John 10:27-30; John 3:3-7;
1 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 12:6-13.
Ecclesiology (The Church)
The Universal Church, which is the
Body and future Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism
made up of all born-again believers, irrespective of their
affiliation with Christian organizations. Eph. 1:22,23;
5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 4:11-16.
The local church is an assembly of
believers meeting together for the purposes of worship,
spiritual edification, prayer, fellowship, and witnessing.
Acts. 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.
The Lord Jesus Christ instituted
the Ordinances of baptism by immersion and the Lord's
Supper, but these in no way affect the salvation of man.
Matt. 28:19,20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26.
Baptism
It is the command of the Lord Jesus Christ that every
person who has accepted Christ as Savior be baptized in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This baptism in no
way affects the salvation of the individual, but is designed
to be a symbolic testimony of the identification of the
believer with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
The Scriptural mode of baptism is by immersion, being the
truest picture of our Lord's death, burial, and
resurrection. Matt. 28:19,20; Mark 1:5; Matt. 3:16; Acts
8:36-39.
The Lord's Supper
Our Lord instituted the ordinance of the Lord's Supper,
which is commanded for all believers. The two elements of
the Lord's Supper, the bread and wine, represent the
physical and spiritual death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and
remind the believer that Christ died for all men and that He
will come again to receive His own. Scripture requires that
a partaker of the Lord's Supper be a believer in Christ and
in fellowship with the Father by means of confession of
known sins to Him. Luke 22:14-10; Matt. 26:26-30; 1 Cor.
11:23-32.
Eschatology
I believe: that Christians will be taken to meet Christ
in the air, the dead immediately preceding the living, to
stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ; that there will be
seven years of tribulation on the Earth, during part of
which the Anti-Christ will reign; that Christ will then
return physically to the Earth and conduct a 1,000 years
reign; that people who reject Christ will be condemned at
the Great White Throne Judgment; that there will be a final
battle between Satan and his angels; that Satan and his
angels will be incarcerated and finally condemned to the
lake of fire; and that Christians will either participate in
or be witness to these things.
