Church of the Bible

Statement of Faith

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 the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
 

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 Christ

1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of 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).

2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mankind as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that the sufficiency of this atoning sacrifice to accomplish the redemption and justification of all who trust in Him is assured by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; Romans 4:25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Peter 2:1).

3. 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 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; 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).

2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and that 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 Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 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 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
 

Sanctification

We believe that the will of God for every believer is to be made holy and like Jesus Christ. At the point of salvation, the believer receives a holy standing before God due to the righteousness of Christ, often referred to as positional sanctification. The new birth creates within every believer a new nature which is made after the likeness of God in true holiness and righteousness. There still remains in the believer tendencies toward sin which are in constant conflict with the new nature. The biblical process of spiritual growth, often called progressive sanctification, requires removing the sinful patterns of the unsaved condition and replacing them with patterns of godly character. The Holy Spirit accomplishes these changes as the believer, by faith, yields in obedience to the Word of God and puts to death all sinful practices. The believer will ultimately be made completely holy when he enters the presence of Jesus Christ either at death or the rapture of the Church (Romans 6:11-13; Romans 8:13; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 4:24; Philippians 1:6; Philippians 3:21; Colossians 3:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10, 14; 1 John 3:2).
 

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5).

2. We believe that it is the privilege of believer 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).
 

The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Romans 6:13; Romans 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 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 of God (Romans 12:1-2; Romans 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John vv. 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 (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20).
 

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

1. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Corinthians 13;8-13; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12).

2. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15).
 

The Church

1. We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).

2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; Acts 15:19-31; Acts 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

4. We believe in the ordinances of believer's Water Baptism and the Lord's Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church age (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 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 ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of them--the age of law, the age of the church, and the age of the millennial kingdom--are subjects of detailed revelation in scripture (John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-27; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6).
 

The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the 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; Matthew 25:42; Revelation 20:10).
 

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that "Blessed Hope," the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation, and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6).
 

The Eternal State

1. 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; John 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).

2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss thy await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6).

3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Matthew 25:42-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude vv. 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).

Where the Holy Bible is Wholly Taught