I. The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's
revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine
instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth,
without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is
totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God
judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the
true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all
human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All
Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine
revelation.
Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms
19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16;
36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39;
16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2
Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.
II. God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent,
spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and
Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other
perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect
knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the
future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love,
reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us
as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but
without division of nature, essence, or being.
A. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His
creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the
purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and
all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God
through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all
men.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2;
Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah
43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9;
28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7;
Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6;
Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1
John 5:7.
B. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus
perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human
nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself
completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by
His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He
made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from
the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the
person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into
heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One
Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the
reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory
to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now
dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew
1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19;
Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29;
10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22;
20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4;
3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6;
15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians
1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1
Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews
1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25;
3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16;
5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men
of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to
understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects
regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer
into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts
believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God
through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final
redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will
bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens
and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and
service.
Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah
61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark
1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24;
14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55;
8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans
8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13;
Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1
Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter
1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.
III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created
them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of
gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning
man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom
of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin
into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed
the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his
posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin.
Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become
transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can
bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative
purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that
God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man;
therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy
of respect and Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5;
Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans
1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1
Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians
1:21-22; 3:9-11.
IV. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered
freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His
own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest
sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and
glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus
Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby
believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart
wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the
sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the
acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to
Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of
His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ.
Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor
with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which
the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress
toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of
the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue
throughout the regenerate person's life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed
and abiding state of the redeemed.
Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26;
27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24;
10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31;
17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10;
6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30;
6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25;
6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians
1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus
2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26;
1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.
V. God's Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He
regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent
with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in
connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign
goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes
boasting and promotes humility.
All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in
Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state
of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin
through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair
their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and
temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7;
Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34;
Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24;
6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans
5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2;
15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2
Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39?12:2;
James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.
VI. The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous
local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the
faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of
Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges
invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the
ends of the earth. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of
Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation each
member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural
officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted
for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as
qualified by Scripture.
The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ
which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every
tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.
Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6;
13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians
1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22;
3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy
2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation
2-3; 21:2-3.
VII. Baptism and the Lord's Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience
symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour,
the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection
to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in
the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is
prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's
Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of
the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine,
memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second
coming.
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke
3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7;
Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12.
VIII. The Lord's Day
The first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is a Christian institution
for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ
from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual
devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord's Day should
be commensurate with the Christian's conscience under the Lordship of
Jesus Christ.
Exodus 20:8-11; Matthew 12:1-12; 28:1ff.; Mark 2:27-28; 16:1-7;
Luke 24:1-3,33-36; John 4:21-24; 20:1,19-28; Acts 20:7; Romans
14:5-10; I Corinthians 16:1-2; Colossians 2:16; 3:16; Revelation 1:10.
IX. The Kingdom
The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the
universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully
acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of
salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to
Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom
may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of
the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.
Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6; Matthew 3:2; 4:8-10,23;
12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43;
8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7;
17:22-31; Romans 5:17; 8:19; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Colossians
1:13; Hebrews 11:10,16; 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10; 4:13; Revelation 1:6,9;
5:10; 11:15; 21-22.
X. Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its
appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return
personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and
Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be
consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in
their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will
dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44;
25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26;
17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1
Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians
3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2
Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13;
Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14;
Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.
XI. Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every
church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all
nations. The new birth of man's spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the
birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus
upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and
repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ
has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty
of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by
verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods
in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-6; Isaiah 6:1-8; Matthew 9:37-38;
10:5-15; 13:18-30, 37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke
10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8;
2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 3:1-11; 1
Thessalonians 1:8; 2 Timothy 4:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter
2:4-10; Revelation 22:17.
XII. Education
Christianity is the faith of enlightenment and intelligence. In Jesus
Christ abide all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All sound
learning is, therefore, a part of our Christian heritage. The new birth
opens all human faculties and creates a thirst for knowledge. Moreover,
the cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the
causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along
with these the liberal support of the churches. An adequate system of
Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for
Christ's people.
In Christian education there should be a proper balance between
academic freedom and academic responsibility. Freedom in any orderly
relationship of human life is always limited and never absolute. The
freedom of a teacher in a Christian school, college, or seminary is
limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, by the authoritative nature
of the Scriptures, and by the distinct purpose for which the school
exists.
Deuteronomy 4:1,5,9,14; 6:1-10; 31:12-13; Nehemiah 8:1-8; Job
28:28; Psalms 19:7ff.; 119:11; Proverbs 3:13ff.; 4:1-10; 8:1-7,11;
15:14; Ecclesiastes 7:19; Matthew 5:2; 7:24ff.; 28:19-20; Luke 2:40; 1
Corinthians 1:18-31; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 4:8; Colossians
2:3,8-9; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17; Hebrews 5:12-6:3;
James 1:5; 3:17.
XIII. Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we
have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to
the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding
stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to
serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should
recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and
for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should
contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically,
proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's
cause on earth.
Genesis 14:20; Leviticus 27:30-32; Deuteronomy 8:18; Malachi
3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4,19-21; 19:21; 23:23; 25:14-29; Luke
12:16-21,42; 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47; 5:1-11; 17:24-25; 20:35; Romans
6:6-22; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 4:1-2; 6:19-20; 12; 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians
8-9; 12:15; Philippians 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19.
XIV. Cooperation
Christ's people should, as occasion requires, organize such associations
and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of
the Kingdom of God. Such organizations have no authority over one
another or over the churches. They are voluntary and advisory bodies
designed to elicit, combine, and direct the energies of our people in the
most effective manner. Members of New Testament churches should
cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary,
educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's
Kingdom. Christian unity in the New Testament sense is spiritual
harmony and voluntary cooperation for common ends by various groups
of Christ's people. Cooperation is desirable between the various
Christian denominations, when the end to be attained is itself justified,
and when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or
compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New
Testament.
Exodus 17:12; 18:17ff.; Judges 7:21; Ezra 1:3-4; 2:68-69; 5:14-15;
Nehemiah 4; 8:1-5; Matthew 10:5-15; 20:1-16; 22:1-10; 28:19-20;