Articles of Faith

1-1 The Holy Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, infallible Word of God, a divine revelation, the original writings of which were verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit. They are the supreme and final authority of faith and conduct. 1-2 Inspiration is a special act of the Holy Spirit by which He guided the writers of the Scriptures so that their words would convey the thoughts He wished conveyed, would bear a proper relationship to the thoughts of the other inspired books, and would be kept free from error of fact, doctrine, and judgment.51-3 The Holy Scriptures, the written Word of God, are composed of all books of the Old Testament and New Testament, namely:

2-1 There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance,eternally equal in power and glory.

3-1 There is but one living and true God,1 immanent, transcendent,infinite in being and perfection, pure spirit,2 invisible, immutable,3eternal, almighty, all wise,4 most holy, most free, most loving, mostgracious, most merciful, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth,forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin,5 the rewarder of them thatdiligently seek Him, and withal most just and terrible in His judgments,hating all sin. He will by no means clear the guilty

4-1 Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the Word,1 the eternal and true Godwho is of one substance and equal with the Father.2 He took on Himselfman's nature, with all of its essential properties except sin: Beingconceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary,3 He embodiedtwo perfect and distinct natures in one person. He is truly God and trulyman, the only mediator between God and man.4-2 The Lord Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to man.4 In the daysof His humiliation5 He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, taughtthe will of God,5 was crucified, and died. He was buried and arosebodily from the dead on the third day. The Lord Jesus offered Himselfa sacrifice for sins,6 satisfied the justice of the Father, propitiated thewrath of God, reconciled God and man,7 and obtained an eternalinheritance.4-3 The Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, from whence He hadcome, and was exalted, taking His place at the right hand of the Father,where He makes intercession on behalf of all who come to God throughHim.

5-1 The eternal1 Holy Spirit, proceeding from the Father and the Son,2is of the same substance and equal in power and glory with the Fatherand the Son. By Him the prophets were moved to speak the Word ofGod, and all writers of the Holy Scriptures were inspired to recordinfallibly the mind and will of God.3 He is the only efficient agent in theapplication of redemption. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, andof judgment,4 moves them to repentance, and regenerates5 them by Hisgrace, enabling them to embrace Jesus Christ by faith.5-2 The Holy Spirit indwells all true believers, baptizing them into onebody, of which Christ is the head.6 He, the divine Comforter,Intercessor, and Advocate, empowers the believer for service.

1 The triune God, according to His sovereign will, created out of nothing and out of things that He had made, by immediate and mediate action, the worlds and all that is in them.1 He is the Governor and Upholder of the creation by His wisdom and by the word of His mighty power.2

1 Satan is a created angelic being who fell from his first estate.1 Heis the god of this age, ruling by the permissive will of God.2 He exercises authority over the unsaved, tempts the believer to sin, andcontinually accuses the brethren before the throne of God.37-2 He has been defeated by the finished work of Christ on Calvary.During the millennium he will be confined to the abyss,4 to be releasedat the end of that period to lead the armies of evil against God. He willbe finally judged and doomed to the lake of fire.5

8-1 God, by a special, instantaneous act, created man in His image1 --holy, righteous, and possessing true knowledge2 -- by forming him outof the dust of the earth and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life.Thus man became a living soul.8-2 Our first parents did not remain in the glorious and happy state oftheir original creation, but, through the subtlety and deception of thedevil,3 they disobeyed and transgressed the command of God thecreator, incurring on themselves and their posterity the sentence ofspiritual and physical death. The guilt and consequences of Adam's sinare imputed to the whole human race, so that all men are guilty,4inherently corrupt, totally depraved,5 and subjects of the wrath of God.6

1 Sin is any lack of conformity to the will of God1 or anytransgression of the law of God. 2 Sin separates man from God, incurringHis wrath and judgment, and is manifest in the selfishness, rebellion,unbelief and total depravity of man’s being.3 Sin is the cause of thecurse on and defilement of the created universe. 4

1 In his original creation man was endowed with the ability to willand do good or evil and was accountable for his willing and doing.1 Butthrough the fall of Adam man lost his ability, apart from God's grace,2 to will and to do those things necessary for a right relationship withGod;3 however, he is still accountable to God for obedience to all of Hiscommands.4 Man has not lost his ability to make decisions,5 but left tohimself, he acts only in accordance with his fallen, sinful nature.610-2 Only by God’s infinite grace can man will or do anythingnecessary to his salvation. 7 By that grace, God saves those men whomHe causes to will and to do good;8 however, He does this withoutnullifying man’s ability to act responsibly. 9

1 Election is a free act of the sovereign God in which from eternity,1for reasons known only to Himself,2 and apart from any foreseen faithand/or goodness found in man,3 He graciously chose from among thefallen mankind a people unto salvation, that they might be conformedto Christ’s image.4 Those so chosen He redeemed by His Son 5 and sealsby His Spirit

1 Salvation is the work of God1 in which He reconciles fallen mento Himself,2 ultimately removes the consequences of the curse,3 andbestows upon His redeemed Creation4 the riches of His grace, all to Hisglory.512-2 Salvation is offered in the gospel to all men6 and is accomplishedin all the elect.7 It is received by grace through faith and theinstrumentality of the Holy Spirit,8 apart from works or human merit.9Salvation centers in a person, Jesus Christ, and receiving Him10 includesthe remission of sins on the grounds of His shed blood on the cross,11the imputation of His perfect righteousness,12 the reception of the HolySpirit,13 and the impartation of eternal life.14

1 Repentance unto life is a gift of God1 and a voluntary act of man,2accomplished by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit through theWord of God. Repentance consists in a knowledge of sin,3 a sense ofguilt and corruption that results in the confession and forsaking of sinand a turning to God4 that results in loving, obedient service.5

1 Regeneration, or the New Birth,1 is an instantaneous creative actof God through the agency of the Holy Spirit,2 whereby divine life isimparted to those dead in sin, making them members of the family ofGod.3

1 Justification is the act of God's grace whereby the sinner isdeclared righteous solely through faith1 in the redemptive work ofChrist.2 By this action the righteousness of Christ is imputed,3 sin ispardoned, and the sinner is restored to divine favor.4

1 Sanctification is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit in thebeliever1 that purifies the life2 and conforms the whole man to the imageof Christ as the Word of God is believed and obeyed.3 It begins atregeneration,4 continues throughout the believer's life5 on earth, andreaches its completion at the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.6

1 Salvation is the work of God, from its commencement to itsconsummation.1 Those regenerated by the Word of God through thework of the Holy Spirit become partakers of the divine nature.2 They arepreserved by the power of God3 so that they shall never totally or finallyfall away,4 but shall persevere unto the end.5

1 The Church is the body of which Christ is the head.1 All thoseredeemed by His blood2 and born of His Spirit are members of that bodyand are in mystical union and communion with Christ3 and fellowbelievers.4 The Church is universal and local, visible and invisible. Thevisible Church consists of all those professing faith in Christ. Theinvisible Church is composed of all those born of the Spirit.518-2 The purpose of the Church is to worship God,6 to edify the saints7and to evangelize the world.818-3 The Head of the Church administers the affairs of His bodythrough overseers chosen by Himself and selected by the people.  A properly constituted local Church must include the ministry of God's Word, the observance of the ordinances, the oversight by elders,10and the exercise of discipline.11 The overseers of the Church are to beprayed for, obeyed, and honored.12

19-1 The Church has been commissioned by Jesus Christ to preach thegospel to all nations.1 Each Particular Church and every believer bearresponsibility for this commission.219-2 God has clearly revealed in the Gospel the only way of salvationsufficient for and applicable to the whole lost race of mankind.3 Basedon His infinite and perfect love and His expressed desire that all men besaved,4 He bids that the Church - with urgency, compassion, andpersuasion - proclaim the gospel to all people and invite them tobelieve.519-3 It is the duty and privilege of everyone who hears the gospel torepent and receive its merciful provisions.6 Those who do are saved,7and those who continue in impenitence and unbelief incur aggravatedguilt and perish by their own fault.8

Water baptism,1 the immersion of the believer, is avisible testimony to the work of regeneration2 and a mark of identification and union with Christ.3 It has no saving or cleansing power, but itis the answer of a good conscience before God; hence, it should beadministered only to those who have, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,realized the forgiveness of sins and possess the assurance of acceptancewith God.

20-2 The Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is an ordinance of theNew Testament,1 in which, by the giving and receiving of bread andwine, according to the appointment of Jesus Christ, His death isproclaimed.2 Those who worthily partake in this remembrance of Himfeed upon Him to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace,3 havetheir union and communion with Him confirmed, and testify and renewtheir thankfulness and commitment to God4 and their mutual love andfellowship each with the other as members of the same mystical body.5The Scriptures direct that each one spiritually examine himselfbefore partaking of the bread and the cup "until He come."6

The first day of the week has been recognized by the Church asthe Lord's Day since apostolic times.1 We believe, therefore, that itought to be observed by all believers, voluntarily and in love, as acontinuation of the sabbath principle,2 a day of remembrance of theresurrection of our Lord from the dead and a day of worship of God, restfrom physical toil, service for the Master, and fellowship of the saints.Christians should engage only in duties of necessity and mercy on theLord's Day.

It is the believer's privilege to seek the will of the Lord in mattersof physical healing. This healing, whether by natural, medical, orsupernatural means, must come from the omnipotent God who createdthe human body. The believer may implore the Lord for physicalrestoration according to the Scriptures,1 and if the healing is for thehighest glory of God, His power will be displayed.2

God ordained and instituted civil government1 for the welfare ofsociety, to promote and to protect the good and restrain and punish theevil.2 It is the duty of Christians to pray3 for those in authority, to renderdue loyalty,4 respect, and obedience5 to them, and to pay taxes andcustoms demanded of them. Where demands of civil law militate againstthe supreme and higher law of God, Christians should obey God ratherthan man.6

The bodily resurrection of Christ is the basis for the resurrectionof man.1 At the return of the Lord the bodies of the righteous dead willbe raised, and the living believers will be caught up together with themto meet the Lord in the air.2 Believers will, at the resurrection, receivespiritual and immortal bodies like Christ's own glorious body.324-2 The event of the resurrection is divided into two stages, separatedby a period of a thousand years and differing in respect to both theirsubjects and their issues.4 The first resurrection includes only therighteous dead.5 The second resurrection is universal and occurs at theclose of the millennium when all the unregenerate dead are raised to bebrought before the great White Throne for judgment.6

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the personal visible, bodilyreturn of our Lord to this earth1 to conform believers to His image andto establish the millennial kingdom. In connection with Christ's returnthere will be the resurrection of the righteous dead,2 the rapture of thesaints,3 the salvation of Israel,4 the great tribulation,5 and theinauguration of the millennial reign.6 Following the millennium will bethe resurrection and judgment of the unrighteous. The righteous will beeternally glorified with Him; the unrighteous will be eternally punished.25-2 The Second Coming is the believer's source of encouragement andcomfort inspiring him to active service for Christ, and is a motive forpurification and holy living.7

The Scriptures enumerate several judgments that differ in time,place, subjects, and results. All judgment has been entrusted to the Sonby the Father.126-2 Through the death of Christ on the cross, the believer's sins havebeen judged, and he has passed from death unto life.2 In no case do theredeemed come again into judgment concerning their eternal destiny.Each saint, however, will be required to give an account before thejudgment seat of Christ regarding his works and conduct.326-3 The unregenerate will be judged, condemned, and banished toeternal damnation in the lake of fire.4

The Millennium is that aspect of the Kingdom of God that will beushered in when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the Earth to rule inrighteousness. The unfulfilled Messianic prophecies will then becompleted.1 During this period, Satan will be bound and his deceitfulactivities2 thus restricted. The created universe will undergo atransformation,3 with universal prosperity and peace prevailing onearth.4 The saints will reign with Christ,5 and the earth will be full of theknowledge and glory of the Lord.6

There are two final, eternal destinies for man: heaven for therighteous and penitent, and hell for the unrighteous and impenitent.1 Atthe great white throne judgment, all of the enemies of God will beconsigned to the place of eternal conscious punishment, from whichthere is no escape.2 The new heavens and the new earth shall be created3as the final state in which the righteous shall dwell forever in thepresence of God.4