What We Believe

Statement of Faith of Redemption Baptist Church

 

A. The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible, comprised of 66 books—the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament—is the very Word of God. We believe that it is verbally inspired (that every single word was given to the human authors by the Holy Spirit); plenary (that every part of it is God’s complete Word—that it does not merely “contain” the Word of God); and utterly without error in every way—whether it speaks of science, geography, chronology, history, archaeology, or spiritual truth. We believe that God’s Word is the supreme, all-sufficient authority in all matters of faith, daily living, and godly conduct. (For this reason, we reject fallible, man-made philosophies, such as psychology.)   We believe that divine revelation ceased with the book of Revelation, and that we now have the complete and final Word of God. Moreover, we believe that God has, through the ages, providentially preserved every single word of the original manuscripts—in the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Old Testament, and in the Greek Textus Receptus of the New Testament. (Because the King James Version is the only current English version that is translated from these perfectly preserved texts, we regard this faithful translation as the Word of God in our language; and we shall use only this translation in all our preaching and teaching.) We believe that the Bible is to be interpreted literally, and in its proper grammatical and historical context. Scripture is to be interpreted figuratively and symbolically only when the Scripture itself specifically gives us warrant to do so, or when the context of the Scripture itself, in comparison with other Scriptures, clearly reveals that it should be interpreted symbolically. (Psalm 12: 6-7; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:3, 19-21; Revelation 22:18-19)

B. The Godhead

We believe that there is only one true God, Who is the Creator of the universe, and the Sustainer of all things. He is eternal, immutable, sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent: yet, He is transcendent (above and separate from) His creation. God is not an impersonal force, but a personal Being. God is one God, Who consists of three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, inseparable in essence, and possessing all the same attributes and perfections. (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 139:1-24; Isaiah 40:12-31; 43:10,11; 44:6; Lamentations 3:22-24; John 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 5:7)

  1. God the Father is immortal, invisible (incorporeal, a Spirit), eternally self-existent, sovereign, omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is absolutely perfect in holiness, and boundless in love, for He hears and answers prayers. He sent His Son to redeem mankind, and is ready and willing to save all who will come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. (Leviticus 11:44; Psalm 19:1; 139:1-24; John 3:16; 4:24; 2 Peter 3:9)
  2. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the only begotten Son of God, the Word of God, and Creator of all things. He exists eternally as God, having always been one with His Father and with the Holy Spirit. Having no human father, He was miraculously conceived of a virgin (who herself was a sinner in need of salvation) by the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost. He is 100% God and 100% Man—the Son of God and Son of Man. He lived a sinless life, having been tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. On the cross, He shed His precious blood for the remission of sins, bearing all the sins of mankind in His own body. He died, was buried, and rose again the third day in a real, glorified body. He has now ascended to heaven, where He still bears the nail scars for eternity.       He stands at the right hand of the Father, as the believer’s High Priest, Advocate, and Intercessor.       He will one day return visibly to earth in power and glory. (Isaiah 7: 14; 53; Matthew 1:18-25; 28:6-7; Mark 16:6, 19; Luke 24:2-6, 39, 51; John 8: 58; 14:10; 20:24-29; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 3:25-26;1 Corinthians 15:4; Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5; 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-14; 2:17; 8:6; 12:2; 1 Peter 1:18,19; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 1:7; 3:21)
  3. We believe that the Holy Spirit, Who is equal with the Father and with the Son, has been sent in Jesus’ name to glorify and bear witness of the Son. In the world, He restrains evil and convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. As the Divine Agent of the New Birth, He regenerates, indwells, sanctifies, and seals the believer at the moment he puts his faith in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the seal, or security, of the believer’s inheritance until the Resurrection Day. He recalls Scripture to the believer’s mind, and illumines its meaning to him. He guides; teaches; comforts; sanctifies; intercedes in prayer; imparts gifts and graces; and empowers believers to live godly lives (when they are allowing themselves to be controlled by the Spirit). We believe that the sign gifts of tongues and miracles, which were imparted by the Holy Spirit, ceased at the end of the Apostolic Age, and that believers should not seek these things today, either as evidence of salvation, as a “baptism of the Spirit,” or as a “second blessing.” (Mark 1:8; Luke 24:49; John 1:33; 14:26; 16:7-13; 1 Corinthians 13:8-10; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 1:13,14; 5:18)

C. Creation

We believe that God created the universe, all living things, and Man, in 6 literal, 24-hour, solar days—out of absolutely nothing (with no pre-existing materials). We believe that Adam, unlike the animals, was created in the image of God; that every person who has ever been conceived was present in the loins of Adam; and that every living thing was made to reproduce after its own kind. We also believe in the Bible’s account of a real, universal Flood, through which only eight people, Noah and his family, survived. We hold these truths to be foundational to the rest of Scripture, and to the Gospel. We utterly reject all attempts to harmonise the Bible with the so-called “science” of evolution, or with the idea of long ages (Gap Theory, Old-Earth Theory, Day-Age Theory, Theistic Evolution, etc.). (Genesis 1-11; 2:7, 21-23; Acts 4:24; Romans 5:12-14)

D. The Devil, or Satan

We believe in the existence of a real spirit being named Satan, who was originally created by God as a holy and righteous angel, the highest in heaven. Through prideful ambition to sit on God’s throne, he fell, and drew 1/3 of the angels of heaven (now demons) to make war against God. Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven; and their abode is now in the atmosphere of this world. He is the tempter and accuser of man, having lured our first parents, Adam and Eve, into sin. He is the “god of this world,” the father of lies, and the author of all false religions. Though Satan is bent on hurting and destroying man, God is nonetheless sovereign (in complete control), restraining evil, and overruling all Satan’s wicked devices for good. Satan can do nothing that God does not, in His sovereignty, permit. Satan was defeated and judged at the cross, and his doom is sure. During the Millennial Reign, he shall be bound for 1,000 years; and at the end of the world, he shall be finally judged, and cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. (Genesis 3:1-15; Job 2:1-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 4:1-3; Luke 22:3-4; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; Philippians 2:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)

E. The Fall and Depravity of Man

We believe that God created Man in His own image (with a spirit that is able to commune with God), and that Man was created with a body, soul, and spirit. God created man in a state of perfect holiness and sinlessness. However, our parents, Adam and Eve, voluntarily sinned against God, and fell into sin (transgression of God’s law). Because of their sin, they were cut off spiritually from God, and were brought under the sentence of physical death, spiritual death (separation from God), and eternal death (eternity in hell). Though Adam and Eve were personally restored to a relationship with God through God’s plan of atonement, their sin nature has been passed down to all their descendants. All men are sinners by nature and by choice, and are, apart from God’s mercy, justly under God’s condemnation. Every part of our being—our will, our emotions, our thought processes—is warped by sin; and our natural bent is towards evil and rebellion. Without God’s divine intervention, we are utterly hopeless, being utterly void of God’s required holiness, and completely unable to remedy our lost, depraved condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:16,17; Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Isaiah 53:6; 64:6,7; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:18-20; Romans 3:9-20,23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19; Revelation 20:11-15)

F. Salvation

  1. We believe that salvation is wholly by the grace (unmerited favour) of God, through the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, on the cross. Jesus Christ, by the appointment of the Father, freely took on human flesh, and was born of a virgin: yet He was totally without sin. His death on the cross and the shedding of His precious blood (without which salvation would not be possible) provided full atonement for all sins of all men. His death was completely voluntary, and was carried through for the express purpose that Christ might take our sin upon Himself, and pay sin’s penalty in full. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree—the Just dying for the unjust. He paid for every sin of every man and woman who has ever lived, or who ever shall live, leaving nothing to be paid by us. (Matthew 1:18-25; John 3:16; 10:17-18; Acts 13:39; Ephesians 2:8,9; Hebrews 9:22; 10: 5-18; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18; 1 John 2:2)
  2. We believe that the Law that God gave to Moses was never meant to be a means by which one could merit salvation—neither in Old Testament times, nor today. Rather, it is God’s divine standard of righteousness, before which we all have fallen short, and by which we all have been declared “guilty.” Justification is the act of God by which the guilty sinner is declared to be righteous and innocent before God. Justification is made possible both through the shed blood of Christ, and through the power of His bodily resurrection from the dead. It is not bestowed on account of any righteousness that we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s complete work for our salvation. The moment a person puts his complete faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed (accounted) to him as though it were his own. In position (judicially), the redeemed sinner is now considered to be just as if he had never sinned: and he possesses full pardon for sin, and eternal life. The addition of church membership, prayers, baptism, “sacraments,” or any other system of good works, “graces,” or rituals to salvation, is an offense to the redeeming blood of Christ, and constitutes “another gospel” that is under God’s curse. Those who are trusting in their own good works, merit, or religious performance in any way, either to obtain or to keep their salvation, have not been justified, and are still under God’s condemnation.  (Romans 3:19-25; 4:1-8,25; 7:7-14; 11:5-6; Galatians 1:6-9; 3:1-9)
  3. We believe that salvation is a spiritual birth (the “new birth”) into the family of God. This New Birth does not take place by a process, or by any human effort, but rather by the grace of God. It is instantaneous and free. The moment a person repents (has a genuine, sorrowful acknowledgment of his sin, the desire to be saved from it, and the resolve to turn from sin to God) and believes on Jesus Christ (puts his complete trust/dependence in Christ alone for salvation), the Holy Spirit enters that person, regenerates him, seals him, and brings him into eternal life (a relationship with God). The regenerated person has now passed from spiritual death unto spiritual life.  (Mark 1:15; Luke 18:9-14; John 1:12-13; 3:1-21; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)
  4. We believe that God, in His mercy, spares infants from hell, bringing them to heaven with Him if they should die, until they reach an age at which they are able to understand their sinful condition, and respond to God in faith. Though this “age of accountability” is known only to God, and undoubtedly varies from child to child, we do not believe that it takes very long for a child to comprehend his accountability before God, and to exercise faith unto salvation. For this reason, Christian parents have the solemn responsibility to instruct their children in the Way of salvation from the day they enter this world. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; 2 Samuel 12:18-23; Proverbs 22:6; Jonah 4:11; Matthew 18:10; Mark 10:13-16; Romans 3:20; 7:7-9; Hebrews 1:13,14)
  5. We believe that the Lord’s atonement is not limited in respect to whom salvation is offered (i.e., only to “the elect”): rather, salvation was purchased for all men, and is freely offered to “whosoever will come” to the Father through Christ. We do not believe that the free will of man to accept or reject God’s gift of salvation in any way conflicts with God’s sovereign purpose in election. God willed from eternity past to save all who would choose to accept His free gift of salvation; and in His omniscience, He foreknew who would respond, in faith, to the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and call upon His name—as well as who would reject the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and suffer eternal condemnation. Believers were not predestined to be saved, but were predestined, after salvation, to be “conformed to Christ’s image” (referring to sanctification—both in this life, and in its final perfection on the Resurrection Day). (Matthew 22:9-14; John 3:16; Romans 3:11-13; 8:29; Hebrews 1:13,14; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2; Revelation 22:17)

G. Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the setting apart of the believer from sin unto God. Sanctification begins at the moment of salvation. In position, the saved person is now set apart eternally unto God, and, for that reason, is called a “saint”—a saved, sanctified one—regardless of his spiritual attainments. The saved individual never ceases to be a saint: he is saved for eternity. However, sanctification is also a continual, daily process by which the believer is to be separated more and more from the sins of the flesh, and conformed more and more to the image of Christ (taking on His holiness). God saves the sinner, in fact, so that he can live a life of good works through the regenerating power of His Spirit. The believer finds the power to live unto righteousness as he daily, hour by hour, yields himself to God, and allows the Holy Spirit to control him, and to mortify the deeds of his flesh. This is done through daily prayer, reading and meditating on the Scriptures, and seeking the Lord’s help to overcome sin. We do not believe that one shall, in this life time, ever attain to sinless perfection. Though the believer has a new nature in Christ, his old, sinful nature (the flesh) is ever present. Sanctification shall be complete (perfected) on the Resurrection Day, when the believer’s soul and spirit (already cleansed and made fit for heaven) shall be united in his new, resurrected, glorified body, free from every trace of sin and rebellion. (Psalm 51:1-19; 119:11-13; Romans 1:7; 6:11-12; 8:14-17; 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 15:52-54; Ephesians 2:10; 5:18; Philippians 3:13,14,20,21; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 5:23; Hebrews 9:14; 10:14; 1 John 3:2,3)

H. The Priesthood of All Believers

We believe that Jesus Christ is our one and only High Priest before God the Father, and that every born-again child of God is called a “king and priest” before God. That is, the believer has direct access into God’s presence through Jesus Christ, and has the responsibility to study God’s Word for himself, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The idea of an elite human “priesthood” (clergy) through whom the laity must go to confess sins, interpret Scripture, and approach God, is a blasphemous insult to our High Priest, Who made possible this privilege of direct access to God through the offering of Himself. (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Peter 2:5-10)

I. Eternal Security and Preservation of the Saints

  1. We believe that those who have truly been saved by the grace of God are “kept by the power of God”—that they are saved forever, and can never again be lost, and come into the condemnation of hell. We do not view this as a “marginal” issue: rather, it is the very heart of salvation. If salvation can be lost, then salvation is not truly by the grace of God alone, since the keeping of our salvation would depend upon our own good works. Though believers certainly can fall into sin (in which case God will chastise them, even to the point of physical death), they cannot fall from salvation. The Father holds the believer in the palm of His hand, and none can pluck him out. Christ stands before the Father as the believer’s eternal Advocate, ever declaring the saved sinner to be judicially righteous, and fully pardoned. The Holy Spirit is the seal of the believer’s redemption until the Resurrection Day. For God to cast out those whom He has received would be to deny Himself and His Word. (John 6:37; 10:29; Romans 4:1-8; 8:1; 11:5,6; Ephesians 1:13,14; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 12:6-8; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 2:1; 5:16)
  2. We believe that the teaching that salvation can be lost is a deadly error. It is, in fact, “another Gospel”—one that denies the complete, effectual, “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus Christ for sinners, and instead places the sinner’s salvation in his own hands. Though continuance in Christ’s Word and submission to His lordship are conditions for right fellowship with the Lord after a person has been saved, they are not conditions for salvation, nor for the keeping of salvation. Though the fruit of the Spirit is evidence of a Christian’s continuing submission to the Holy Spirit in his life (i.e., sanctification), it is not the condition for salvation, nor for the keeping of salvation.       Perseverance in godly works (however weak and anemic it may be, as in the cases of Lot and Sampson), is the outward evidence of faith, not the condition for the keeping of salvation. Jesus Christ freely, completely, and instantaneously saves all who put their complete trust in Him for salvation; and He, according to His promise, keeps them for eternity. (Luke 6:46; John 5:24; 8:31; Galatians 1:6,7; 3:1-3; 5:22-25; Philippians 1: 6; Hebrews 10:10-18; James 2:14-20)

J. Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in His bestowment of spiritual gifts to the believer, and that He imparts to each believer at least one gift for the edification of the body of Christ. We believe that God has retained only the ministerial gifts of evangelist and pastor-teacher for the growth and maturity of saints today. (The offices of “apostle” and “prophet” ceased at the end of the Apostolic Age, and no new revelations or prophecies are being given today.)

We also understand the Scriptures to indicate that the “sign gifts” of tongues, interpretation of tongues, working of miracles, and prophecy were given for the purpose of being a sign of judgment to the Jewish people, and of authenticating God’s message and His messengers while the New Testament was still being written. (Tongues were never an evidence of salvation, and were never imparted to every believer.) The Word of God being now complete and totally sufficient for our needs, these particular gifts have now vanished away and ceased entirely for the remainder of this present church age.

We certainly believe that God can and does still work miracles, such as healing of the body; but we do not believe that He does so through human agency any more. When God does choose to heal today, He does so in response to the “prayer of faith”; and we are to pray “according to His will.” We believe that God is sovereign, and is not obligated to heal our physical infirmities: for it is still “appointed unto men once to die.” Additionally, we hold that the text “with His stripes we are healed” refers not to the healing of the body, but rather to the healing of the sin-sick soul (salvation). (1 Corinthians 12: 4-11; 13:8-10; 14:22-25; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-16; Hebrews 9:27; James 5:15; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 5:14; Revelation 22:18,19)

K. The Church

  1. We believe that a church is a local, visible assembly of born-again believers who have been scripturally baptised (by complete immersion under water) upon public and credible confession of faith in Jesus Christ, and who have voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, mutual edification and fellowship, service to God, and observance of the ordinances. It is the living organism that Christ has instituted for the propagation of the Gospel. The mission of the church is to make disciples (win souls to Christ), baptise them, and build them up in the faith, so that they also can carry out our Lord’s Great Commission. It is the duty and privilege of every believer to join a Bible-believing local church and actively serve the Lord through that body. (Matthew 18:18-20; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-47; 13:1-4; 1 Corinthians 11:2; 12:4-31; 2 Corinthians 8-10; Ephesians 4:11-16)
  2. The local church has absolute right of self-government, and is free from the interference of any kind of religious hierarchy. (We believe in cooperating with other true New Testament churches for the furtherance of the Gospel; but every church is to be the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation.) The church is congregational in polity. It elects its own pastor, deacons, and other officers; and it disciplines its members in order to keep purity in the body, and in order to restore the erring to repentance. We believe that the church has two offices—that of bishop (also called “pastor” or “elder”), and deacon. Only men (never divorced) are to be pastor or deacon. Though women may teach children, and older women may instruct younger women, the woman may not have teaching authority over the man. The church has two ordinances—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the church, and the Rock upon which it is built. (Matthew 18:15-17; Acts 2:42-47; 6:1-6; 13:1-4; Romans 6:1-10; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 11:1-34; Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:25-30; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:11,12; Titus 1:5-9; 2:3,4; 3:1-13; 1 Peter 2:5-8; Revelation 2:1—3:22)
  3. We utterly reject the dogma in Catholic, Orthodox, and Reformed Theology that the church is the new “Spiritual Israel,” or the “replacement” of national Israel. In this present dispensation, the nation of Israel has been temporarily set aside because of her unbelief; and the church, composed of both Jew and Gentile, is God’s programme. However, God still loves and protects the descendants of Abraham, and He has not cast them off forever. During the coming Tribulation period, multitudes of Jewish people will believe on Christ through the witness of 144,000 Jewish men; and when Christ returns to earth at the end of the Tribulation, the surviving Jewish believers from the Tribulation period will be given entrance into the 1,000-year Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and will in habit their ancient homeland of Israel. They shall then be elevated to a position of glory during the 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth.
    We support the existence of the State of Israel; we renounce all pseudo “Christian” religions that hate her, and have tried to destroy her; and we lovingly pray for the salvation of the Jewish people, Christ’s brethren according to the flesh. (Genesis 12:1-3; Jeremiah 31:31-37; Zechariah 12:10-14; 14:9-21; Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 10:1-3, 19-21; 11:1-32)
  4. While we certainly would not withhold fellowship with our brethren who disagree on the following point, we do firmly hold, and shall teach, that there is no “invisible, universal Church” in addition to the local church. While there is certainly a universal “family of God” in earth and heaven, and a universal “kingdom of God,” consisting of all born-again persons on earth, we believe that the “body of Christ” refers only to the local, visible church, and not to a “universal Body of Christ.” We further believe that the church began with Christ during His earthly ministry (not at Pentecost), and that the “baptism of the Holy Ghost” on the day of Pentecost was one of but four singular events in the early church, never to be repeated. For this reason, we hold that the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5 is not a “Spirit baptism” by which the new believer is submerged into a universal “body of Christ,” but rather simple water baptism, by which the new believer becomes a member of a local church.       (Matthew 16:18; 18:17; Mark 1:1-4; Luke 3:16 cf. Acts 2:1-6 cf. 8:14-17 cf. 10:34-46 cf. 19:1-7; Acts 2:41,47; 9:31; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 1:2 cf. 1:13 cf. 11:18-22 cf. 12:13 cf. 12:27; Ephesians 3:14-15; 4:5)

L. The Ordinances

We believe that there are two ordinances in the local church: that of Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (The biblical ordinances are not “means” or “channels of grace,” and thus are not called “sacraments.”)

  1. Baptism is by full immersion under water once, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It is performed under the authority of the local church; and it is the entrance into the membership of the local church. (It is not the “seal” of any kind of “covenant,” nor is it the New Testament answer to circumcision.) One may be baptised and accepted into the membership of the church only after he has given credible testimony of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Baptism has no redeeming quality for salvation in any way; nor does one receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of baptism. The Holy Spirit enters a person’s life the moment he believes on the Lord Jesus Christ; and baptism follows as the first step of obedience for the new Christian. Baptism is a picture of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; of the believer’s death to sin, and resurrection into a new life in Christ; and also of the believer’s future bodily resurrection from the dead. By receiving baptism, the new believer proclaims these truths, and publicly identifies himself with Christ. Any “baptism” that is unscriptural either in mode or in meaning, or that gives entrance into a church that teaches heresies, is unacceptable. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41,47; 8:36-38; 10:47,48; 16:30-33; Romans 6:1-10; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 1:13-14)
  2. The Lord’s Supper is to be performed only after one has been saved and biblically baptised into the membership of the local church. It is a simple picture of the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (commemorated by unleavened bread and unfermented grape juice), and has no “mystical” or saving power. It is for the purpose of remembering Christ’s loving sacrifice of Himself on the cross. It also is for the purpose of maintaining unity in the body of Christ through the corporate remembrance of Christ’s love for His church. The Lord’s Supper shall be open only to members of this assembly. The observance of the Lord’s Supper should always be preceded by a time of solemn self-examination and confession of sin. (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:2, 17-34; 12:13-14)

M. Personal and Ecclesiastical Separation

Christians, having been called out of the world, are to be a holy and separated people.

  1. This applies, first of all, ecclesiastically (separation from all forms of religious apostasy). This includes separation from all false religions, whether they call themselves by the name “Christian” or not. This also includes separation from secret societies, such as the Freemasons. Our Lord forbids any secrecy in our daily walk, as well as the taking of oaths. Furthermore, secret societies—especially the Freemasons, and like organizations—are invariably occultic and Satanic in their origin, teachings, and practices. No believer shall be permitted to be a member of this assembly if he belong to a secret society. (Matthew 5:33-37; John 18:20, 21; 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14,15; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:18,19; 2 John 9-11; Revelation 18:1-4)
  2. This also applies personally (personal separation from the sins, pleasures, and amusements of this world). While believers are to love the lost, and endeavour to win them to Christ, they should not take part in their sins, or go to places where evil is practiced or celebrated. Christians should avoid even the “appearance of evil,” and should desire to bring no reproach to the name of Christ. This applies in every area of living—in music, speech, dress, entertainment (books, movies, television shows), social affairs, etc.
    In this assembly, there shall be absolutely no “Christian rock” music, “Contemporary Christian Music,” Southern Gospel or Country-Western style Christian music, or any other music with an accentuated, worldly beat, in our worship. We believe that dress should be modest and non-revealing, and that both dress and hairstyle should reflect the difference between men and women. We believe that alcohol in any form is strictly forbidden in Scripture, as well as smoking, non-prescription drugs, or anything that seizes control of the mind and body.
    We believe that in every matter of conduct, the believer should search for biblical principles, and ask himself, “Is this thing pleasing to God?” Biblical separation is not a legalistic list of “do’s and don’ts”: it is a heart desire not to do or say anything that might reek of the world, and grieve the Lord. (Deuteronomy 22:5; Psalm 139:23; Proverbs 23:29-35; Lamentations 3:40; Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 11:14,15; 2 Corinthians 6:14—7:1; Ephesians 5:1-12,18; 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22; 1 Peter 2:9-15; 4:1-7; 1 John 2:15-17)

O. The Eternal State

  1. We believe that at death, the souls of the redeemed are “absent from the body,” and “present with the Lord.” They go to heaven—a real place of conscious, unspeakable bliss—to be with their Lord. There they await the Blessed Hope—the Resurrection Day—when their spirit, soul, and body will be reunited. On that day, when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, their bodies shall arise from the grave, and will be glorified, immortal, incorruptible, and without trace of sin. They shall then dwell with the Lord forever. (John 14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; 12:1-4; Philippians 1:21-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 12:22-24; Revelation 7:13-17; 21:22-27)
  2. We believe that at death, the souls of unbelievers go to a real place of literal fire, flame, darkness, and conscious torment called hell. We do not believe that there is any intermediary place of punishment (“purgatory”) where sins may be atoned for. Christ did all the atoning work for our sins; and those who reject His salvation must pay eternally for their own sins. In hell they shall remain until the resurrection of the unsaved dead, at the end of the world. At that time, their souls shall be reunited with their resurrected bodies, which shall be fitted for destruction. They shall appear before the Lord at the Great White Throne judgment, where, their names not being found in the Book of Life, they shall be pronounced “guilty,” and shall be judged according to their works. They shall then be cast into a real Lake of Fire—not to be “annihilated,” but rather to suffer consciously in literal fire and brimstone, and to be separated from God forever. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Hebrews 9:27; Jude 6-7; Revelation 14:10,11; 20: 6,11-15)

P. The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in the imminent, literal, bodily, personal, pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ.

  1. We believe in the “Blessed Hope”—Christ’s promise that He will come again to receive His own unto Himself. At the end of this New Testament age, Christ will appear in the clouds (literally, bodily, personally); the trumpet of God shall sound; and all who are in Christ shall be resurrected with glorified, immortal, incorruptible bodies. Those who have already died in the Lord shall appear with Him in the clouds; and their spirit, soul, and body shall be reunited. Immediately after the dead in Christ are raised, those believers who are still living shall be changed in an instant, instantaneously possessed of sinless, glorified bodies; and they shall be caught up together with the Lord in the air, from whence they shall go to be with Him in heaven. We believe that Christ’s return in the clouds is imminent (no signs are to precede it: it could happen at any time). (Matthew 24:36-42; John 14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
  2. We believe that immediately after the Blessed Hope (the Rapture), the world shall go through a horrific seven years of Tribulation, during which time the Antichrist will rule the world, and Israel shall be prepared, through the purging of divine judgment, to accept her Messiah. (During this time, believers in heaven shall stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where they shall be judged and rewarded according to their service to God.) At the end of these seven years, Christ will return literally, personally, and visibly to the earth, along with all His saints, and will destroy the armies of the Antichrist. At this time, the believing remnant of Israel will receive their Messiah. The Antichrist and the false prophet shall then be cast into the Lake of Fire, and Satan shall be bound in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years. All those survivors of the Tribulation who rejected Jesus Christ and received the mark of the Beast will be separated from the righteous, judged by Jesus Christ, and cast into hell. (Daniel 9:27; Zechariah 12:9—14:7; Matthew 24:4-31; Matthew 25:31-46; Romans 11:25-28; 1 Corinthians 3:12-15; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 6—20:3)
  3. We believe that after the seven-year Tribulation, Christ will rule literally and visibly on the throne of David in Jerusalem for 1,000 years, during which time Israel shall be exalted among the nations; His redeemed, glorified saints shall rule with Him; and the curse of sin on nature shall be lifted. At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan shall be loosed for a short time, and will raise up an army against God; but God will destroy him once and for all. Then shall come the resurrection of the unsaved dead, and the Great White Throne judgment. At that time, every knee shall finally bow to God and call Him “Lord”; and Satan, his demons, and the unsaved of all ages shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, to suffer conscious torment for eternity. There shall be a New Heaven and a New Earth; and all the saved of all ages shall live forever with God in this blessed state. (Isaiah 11:6-9; 45:22,23; Ezekiel 40-48; Daniel 12:2; Zechariah 14:8-21; John 5:28,29; Philippians 2:9-11; Revelation 20:4—22:8)

Q. The Family

  1. We believe that God has ordained the family, and has given distinct roles for men and women within the family unit. Men are to be the leaders in their homes. They are to provide for their families, and to guide their wives and children with love. Women are to subject themselves lovingly to their husbands, just as the church is subject to Christ. Children are to love, respect, and obey their parents; and parents are to love their children, and to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 5:21—6:4; Colossians 3:18)
  2. We believe that God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman for life, and that divorce is not acceptable to God.       In cases of physical abuse or violence, separation may be necessary for a season; but divorce is not an option. If, against one’s will, one’s spouse pursues divorce, that person is, nonetheless, not free to remarry unless the divorced spouse should pass away.       [We believe that our Lord’s “exception clause” for fornication in Matthew 5:32 applies only to the unique period in Jewish marriage (betrothal) when couples were legally married, but were not yet living together in physical union.] We believe that an already divorced and remarried person may certainly be used of God if he will acknowledge his past sin, ask forgiveness from God, and will remain faithful to his new spouse for the rest of his life.       While divorced and remarried believers may hold positions of service in the church, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Genesis 2:18-25; Deuteronomy 24:1-4; Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 7:2; Ephesians 5:22-32).
  3. We believe that life begins at the moment of conception, and that it is sacred in the eyes of God. Abortion at any stage of pregnancy is murder. Abortion is not acceptable in any case—regardless if rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, state-mandated population control, or even the life or mental well-being of the mother should be involved. Infanticide, euthanasia, suicide, and assisted suicide are also acts of murder, and are abominable to God. (Genesis 1:27; Exodus 20:13; Leviticus 19:32; Job 12:12; Psalm 139:13-14; Isaiah 44:2,24; Jeremiah 1:5; Romans 9:20-22; 1 Timothy 5:1-2)
  4. We believe that the only intimate sexual union that is ordained of God is that of one man and one woman for life, within the bond of marriage. Homosexuality, lesbianism, sodomy in any form, bisexuality, incest, adultery, fornication, bestiality, pedophilia, and pornography are perversions of God’s gift of sex. We also believe that the defiling of God’s creation through gender modification, whether through medical procedures or modification of appearance, is abominable to God. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5,13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Deuteronomy 22:5; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-18; 7:3-5; Ephesians 5:3-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8; Hebrews 13:4)

R. Giving

We believe that every Christian is a steward of the wealth that God has given to him—that our wealth is not truly ours, but God’s. We believe that the cheerful, grateful giving of one’s “tithe” (10% of one’s income) back to the Lord is a biblical principle that God established with Israel in the Old Testament; and we believe that it still applies in the local church today. (Whereas the Jewish people brought their tithes to the “storehouses” of the Temple, Christians today are to bring their tithes and offerings “upon the first day of the week” to the common treasury of their local church.)

Contributions to individuals or religious organisations outside one’s local church should be given only after the believer has first given his tithe to God in his local church. Christians are not to give to the Lord grudgingly, or of necessity, but cheerfully, and thus acknowledge that it is God’s. It is not a “payment” to the church, but a grateful giving of one’s substance to God, of his own free will. (Genesis 14:18-20; Deuteronomy 14:28; Proverbs 3:9-10; Malachi 3:8-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-10; Galatians 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:17,18; Hebrews 7:1-10)

S. Evangelism and Missions

We believe that it is the duty of every Christian, as well as of every New Testament church, to carry out the Great Commission of our Lord—to spread the Gospel to every corner of the earth. This assembly shall be actively and vigourously involved not only in the spread of the Gospel in our own vicinity, but also in the support of missions and missionaries in foreign nations. This church shall vote to support individual missionary families as the Lord leads, and as He provides through the gracious giving of His people. Furthermore, the people of this assembly shall have the needs of their missionaries always before them, so that they may personally intercede for them in prayer. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 13:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 6:18,19)