We Are an incorporated body of people of like precious faith, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ individually for eternal life through His vicarious death and the power of His resurrection; believing the Bible to be God’s authoritative Word and the revelation of His will to man and accepting it as our all-sufficient rule for faith and conduct; and believing that Christian fellowship, mutual edification and evangelical effort, in and through, the form and body of local churches is God’s ordained order for His people and that those of each local church are enjoined to assemble themselves together for
worship, fellowship, counsel, and instruction in the Word of God, and the work of the ministry; and for the exercising of those mutual gifts and offices provided for in the New Testament and that the local church is charged by the Word of God to walk in the light of that Word by the Spirit in all godliness fear and love; and believing that these things are essential to obtaining the Christian goal, and further, believing that God has called us, anointing us to emphasize the fullness of the Gospel in and through the Baptism with the Holy Ghost (which is our distinctive testimony) according to the Scriptures.
(Acts 1:4, 5:2:4,39; 10:44-47; 19:2, 6)
Therefore, we have accepted the following Statement of Fundamental Truths and have adopted the Constitution, which do herein appear. We shall seek, by the grace of God, to be governed by the Constitution as are herein set forth and will also seek to teach and propagate the doctrines as are contained in the Statement of Fundamental Truths.
Statement of Fundamental Truths
1. The Scriptures Inspired. The Bible is the inspired Word of God, a revelation from God to man, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason. (II Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20)
2. The One True God. The one true God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent, self-revealed “I AM” and has further revealed Himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association, i.e., Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Matthew 28:19)
3. Man, His Fall and Redemption. Man was created good and upright for God said, “Let Us make man in our image, after our likeness.” But man, by voluntary transgression, fell and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God. (Genesis 1:26-31; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21)
4. The Salvation of Man. (A) Conditions of Salvation. The grace of God, which brings salvation, hath appeared to all men, through the preaching of repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost and being justified by faith in Jesus Christ and eternal life. (Titus 2:11; Romans 10:13-15; Luke 24:47; Titus 3:5-7) (B) The Evidence of Salvation. The “inward evidence” to the believer of His salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. (Romans 8:16) The “outward” evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
5. Baptism in Water. The ordinance of Baptism by a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures, by all who have repented and, in their hearts, have truly believed in Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they have the body submerged in water as an outward symbol of cleansing, while their heart has already been sprinkled with the Blood of Christ as in inner cleansing. Thus, they declare to the world that have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4; Acts 20:21; Hebrews 10:22)
6. The Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements, bread and the fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (I Corinthians 11:26); a prophecy of His second coming (I Corinthians 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers “until He comes.”
7. Regeneration. All persons who turn from their sins and put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ receive a new birth by which their life is regenerated by the power of God’s Holy Spirit. (John. 3:3-6; Tit. 3:5). At that time forth the regenerated person has God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within them enabling them to live a holy life. (I Corinthians 3:16; II Pet.1: 3-4)
8. The Evidence of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the Person of the Holy Spirit to be one that indwells and seals a person when they receive Christ as personal Savior (John 8:15; Ephesians 4:30) and bears witness with our spirit that we are Sons of God (Romans 8:16). The believer is encouraged to walk in cadence with the Spirit who guides, teaches, convicts us of sin and interprets our prayers before God the Father. (Galatians 5:16; John 8:26; Romans 8:26; 1 John 3:27).
10. Sanctification. The Scriptures teach a life of holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Sanctification is the will of God for all believers and should be pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Sanctification is experienced in basically three ways:
A. Instant or Positional Sanctification. This is what happens to each and every person the minute they put their trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we are saved through faith in Jesus, we are sanctified in the eyes of God through the Blood of the cross. As God the Father looks at us, He sees the holiness of Jesus, which is imputed to us, and does not see our sin. (Heb. 10:10 & 14)
B. Progressive or Practical Sanctification. This is that process by which we strive to live on a day-to-day basis by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to Christ in holy living through the power of God’s divine nature within our lives. (Rom. 6; Philippians 2:12,13; 2 Peter 1:3,4)
C. Final Sanctification. This is when we are totally set free from the presence of sin within our life after seeing Jesus our Lord and being made like Him because of seeing Him as He really is in all His glory. (I John. 3:2)
11. The Church. The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the Church of the First-born, which is written in heaven. (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23)
12. The Ministry and Evangelism. A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for a two-fold purpose: (A) The evangelization of the world, and (B) The edifying of the Body of Christ. (Mark 16:15-20; Ephesians 4:11-13)
13. The Rapture. The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation, together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church. (I Thessalonians 4:16, 17; Titus 2:12; 1 Corinthians 15:51; Romans 8:23)
15. The Millennial Reign of Jesus. The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, the salvation of national Israel, and the millennial reign of Christ on earth are the Scriptural promise and the world’s hope. (II Thessalonians 1:17; Revelation 19:11-14; Romans 11:26, 27; Revelation 20:1-7)
16. The Lake of Fire. The devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, and whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, shall be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake, which burns forever with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. (Revelation 19:20; Revelation 20:10-15)
17. The New Heavens and the New Earth. We, “according to His promise, look for new heavens, and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness.” (II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21 and 22)