Statement of Faith and Doctrine
The Bible. The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are the inspired Word of God. They are without error in the original writings. God has preserved His Word through the ages so that today we have access to accurately translated and trustworthy Bibles. The Bible is truly God’s revelation to man and is therefore the final authority for all matters of Christian faith and living.
The Interpretation of Scripture (Hermeneutics). We adhere to the literal (literal, grammatical, historical) method of interpreting the Scriptures. God has an intended meaning to communicate to human beings in the passages of the Bible. Man’s responsibility is to diligently and carefully study the Bible to discover and properly understand what God is saying to us. This approach supports this goal. We take issue with the allegorical and post-modern methods of interpreting the Scriptures. With these subjective interpretation methods, the interpreter imposes onto the Scriptures meanings that he or she believes: (1) better satisfy personal felt needs, (2) are more supportive of culturally prevalent values and morals, or (3) are more relevant to the world today given man’s latest discoveries, current knowledge, and preferred philosophies. The use of an allegorical or post-modern interpretation approach on certain Bible passages results in God’s objective meaning being replaced by subjective, man-centered ideas and worldly values. However, God’s eternal truths, perfect wisdom, holy righteousness, and His Word do not change. Because we want to know what God has said, we adhere to the literal method of interpreting the Bible.
God and the Trinity. There is one, and only one, living and true God who is the creator and sustainer of all things. This is the God of the Bible. He is infinite, eternal, all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfect in all His ways. God is fully holy, loving, gracious, merciful, trustworthy, faithful, righteous, and just. He will not compromise on any of His attributes. He is unchanging, and His character traits are consistently reflected in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God has a triune—three in one—nature. He is one in essence yet exists in three distinct, but equal, persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. He became man, without ceasing to be God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God to the world and redeem sinful men. The Lord Jesus Christ lived a sinless and perfect life that fully pleased God the Father. He died for our sins on the cross thereby paying the just penalty demanded by God’s Holy Justice against sin. This made it possible for God to remain just and at the same time to justify those who believe in His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior. Jesus was then buried in a tomb, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended to the right hand of the Father. He now intercedes on behalf of those who truly believe in Him.
The Return of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ will first come at the rapture for His Saints. He will later bodily return to earth in power and glory to rescue Israel at Armageddon and establish His millennial kingdom over all the earth.
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit’s ministry includes convicting individuals of their sin and calling them to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. For those who place their faith in the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit regenerates, seals, indwells, and baptizes them into the body of Christ—the Church.
Humanity and Sin. Adam and Eve were the first humans and were created in the image of God for His glory. As such, humans are unique among all of God’s creation. However, Adam and Eve abused their God-given free will, disobeyed God, and introduced sin into the human race. Sin is the breaking of God’s laws. All of Adam’s descendants have inherited his sinful nature. Therefore, we have all been born with a propensity to be selfish, prideful, covetous, and disobedient to God. We have all abused our God-given free will and have sinned against God. This has plunged mankind into sin and spiritual darkness causing all of humanity to be separated from Him. Apart from salvation and spiritual rebirth through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, human beings will ultimately face God’s righteous judgment for their sins.
Salvation. God desires a personal relationship with each one of us for eternity. However, God is too holy and righteous to enter into an eternal relationship with selfish, prideful human beings who sin against Him. This includes each one of us. God’s perfect justice demands that the penalty for sinning against Him must be paid in full. Out of love, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to pay the just and deserved penalty for our sins for us. Behold God’s amazing grace which we do not deserve! When Jesus Christ—the sinless Lamb of God—went to the cross for us, He received the punishment that we deserve—the wrath of God against sin. On the cross, Jesus paid the full penalty for all of our past, present, and future sins. Therefore, only Jesus Christ is qualified to offer sinful man total forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life in heaven with God. To accept this offer and receive this gift of salvation means: (1) acknowledging that you have sinned against God, (2) repenting of your sins, (3) believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died on the cross to pay the full penalty for your sins, (4) believing in your heart that God raised Him bodily from the dead, and (5) receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
The Church. The Church is the whole spiritual body of Christ. It is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated and baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of this church. A local church is a localized group of professing, baptized believers who are organized according to biblical principles for the purpose of equipping, edifying, and protecting its members. This includes the activities of preaching, teaching, fellowship, giving, and church discipline. It also includes corporate worship involving prayer, praise, and the celebration of the ordinances given by Christ. The resulting spiritually mature Christians are to be faithful and obedient ambassadors to the world for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church Ordinances of Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We recognize two church ordinances given by Christ: The Lord’s Supper and water baptism. They are not to be regarded as a means of salvation or earning special favor with God. Water baptism identifies a believer with Christ and the Church when the person is immersed in water. The immersion pictures our death, burial and resurrection with Christ. It consists of an outward expression of an inward change which has taken place in the new believer. Jesus commanded us to remember Him and His sacrifice on the cross for us by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. The bread represents His body which was given for us, and the cup represents His blood which was shed for us. All who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior and who are walking in fellowship with the Lord (meaning that one is not harboring unrepentant sin in one’s life) are welcome to join in the Lord’s Supper.
The Christian’s Mission. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to be His ambassadors while still on earth. Our lives should reflect, and our words should proclaim: (1) that Jesus Christ is Lord, (2) the trustworthiness of the Bible’s teachings, (3) God’s holy character and perfect love, (4) God’s amazing grace demonstrated through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and (5) God’s power to transform lives for eternity. This should be evident in every area of our lives. We are commanded to proclaim the Gospel to the unsaved. In addition, we are called to teach those who become disciples of Jesus Christ to obey everything He has commanded us. As believers in Jesus Christ, it is God’s command that we love—with His kind of love—Him, one another, and those who are not believers.
The Individual’s Eternal Destiny. God, in His own time and way, will bring an end to this fallen world. 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 and everlasting punishment. The righteous, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Marriage and Family. God’s Word establishes marriage as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for life. It is designed to illustrate the relationship between Christ and His Bride, the Church. The marriage relationship provides the God-honoring framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God’s image. While man and woman are equal in standing before Him, His design is for each to function according to different divinely ordained roles and responsibilities in a marriage relationship. These roles and relationships are defined, described, and illustrated in Scripture. The family is a divine institution ordained by God. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values. Parents are also to lead their children to make choices based on biblical truth through role-modeling a biblical lifestyle and consistently applying loving discipline. Children are to honor and obey their parents. God’s perfect plan for marriage and for family living is found solely in the Bible.
Satan and Spiritual Warfare. Satan is a created angel who rebelled against God and leads a multitude of fallen angels (demons) who followed him. He is the author of sin, master of deception, and declared enemy of God and man. Satan strives to keep unbelievers from salvation and believers from faithfully following Christ. Satan and his demons are able to deceive, tempt, and attack human beings in a wide variety of subtle ways. This is only because God, as part of His eternal plan, is allowing Satan to operate on this earth for a specific purpose and for a predetermined window of time. Ultimately, when God’s purpose has been fulfilled, Satan and his demons will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. Human beings who are not spiritually reborn followers of Jesus Christ are defenseless against the insidious spiritual attacks of Satan’s forces. Christians are also vulnerable. However, God makes available to Christians everything they need for protection from spiritual attacks—the full armor of God. To the extent that Christians properly put on and utilize the full armor of God, they will be able to stand firm against Satan’s Spiritual attacks. To help Christians with this, God provides the Holy Spirit, the Bible, prayer, and spiritually mature Christians.
The Creation. God spoke the universe into existence and made man from the dust of the earth. We believe in the literal, historical record of the creation account as recorded in the book of Genesis. God completed His creative work at the close of the sixth day and saw that everything He had made was very good. As stated in Genesis Chapter One, these creation days were six literal, consecutive days with no gaps of time before, between, or after. God’s creative work was entirely free from any form of spontaneous generation (life arising from non-life) or macroevolution (living things changing into other kinds of living things). The various hypotheses regarding spontaneous generation and macroevolution that are being taught and promoted as facts across our culture reflect false and corrupted science. They are not facts according to true science. Rather, they are faith-based opinions that deny clear evidence of intelligent design and represent attacks on the Bible and on the glory of the Creator God.
A Biblical Worldview. Having a biblical worldview means that we view God, ourselves, others, the circumstances of life, and this world through the lens of what the Bible teaches. Scripture calls us to do this. Having a biblical worldview requires that we view our Bibles as fully trustworthy and true. This means that we trust the Bible above our own ideas, preferences, the opinions of others, the philosophies of man, and the ways of this world. It means that we will be continually asking and accurately answering the following kinds of questions:
“What does the Bible say about this?”
“Is this consistent with what the Bible says?”
“According to the Bible, will this be glorifying to God?”
“Is my understanding of what the Bible says about this based on a careful, accurate interpretation of the Bible?” (This requires diligently adhering to the literal, grammatical, historical method of interpreting the Bible.)
The Lord Jesus had a biblical worldview that was perfect. He knew the Scriptures and what they taught. Jesus treated the Scriptures literally and believed them to be true. He calls Christians to do the same. God desires us to be growing in spiritual maturity—Christlikeness. This requires us to be growing in a biblical worldview.
Bible References
The Bible. Exodus 24:4, 2 Samuel 22:31, Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 119:9-11, Psalm 119:89, Psalm 119:105, Proverbs 30:5, Isaiah 40:8, Jeremiah 15:16, Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 21:33, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:44-46, John 17:1, 17, Acts 17:11, Romans 15:4, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 1 Peter 1:24-25, 2 Peter 1:20-21.
The Interpretation of Scripture (Hermeneutics). Psalm 118:8-9, Psalm 119:89, Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 40:8, Jeremiah 17:5, Matthew 22:29, Acts 2:42, Acts 17:11, Romans 15:4, Colossians 2:8, 1 Timothy 4:16, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:14-15, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Titus 2:1, Titus 2:7, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 2:1-3, Revelation 22:18-21
God and the Trinity. Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, Nehemiah 9:31, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 96:4-5, Psalm 100:3, Psalm 139:1-4, Psalm 147:4-5, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 42:8-9, Isaiah 44:6, Isaiah 44:24-26, Jeremiah 33:2-3, Malachi 3:6, Matthew 3:16-17, John 6:63-65, John 10:30, John 14:15-17, John 14:26, John 15:26, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 2:8, Ephesians 3:14-19, Colossians 1:15-16, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 John 1:5
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:18-23, Matthew 3:16-17, Matthew 16:15-16, Matthew 17:4-5, Matthew 28:1-6, Matthew 28:18-20, Luke 1:30-35, John 1:1-2, 14, Acts 1:9-11, Romans 3:22-24, Romans 3:25-26, Romans 8:33-34, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:15-20, Hebrews 7:25-27, Hebrews 9:24-25, 1 Peter 1:3-5, 1 Peter 2:24-25, 1 John 2:1-2
The Return of Jesus Christ. Zechariah 14:4-9, John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 1:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Titus 2:11-13, Revelation 3:10-11, Revelation 19:11-16
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit. Ezekiel 36:26-27, John 14:26-27, John 16:7-15, 1 Corinthians 6:17-19, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, Romans 5:1-5, Romans 8:6-11, Romans 15:13, Galatians 4:4-7, Ephesians 1:13-14, Ephesians 3:14-19, Ephesians 4:30, Titus 3:4-6, 2 Timothy 1:13-14
Humanity and Sin. Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 3:1-7, Romans 3:10-18, Romans 3:22-23, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:5-8, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:12-13
Salvation. Mark 1:14-15, Luke 13:2-5, John 3:14-18, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:44-47, John 11:25-26, John 14:6, Romans 5:8-10, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19, Acts 17:30-31, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 Timothy 1:15-16
The Church. Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, Acts 20:26-28, Romans 12:4-5, Ephesians 1:22-23, Ephesians 4:11-16, Ephesians 5:25-27
The Church Ordinances of Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:17-20, Acts 2:36-42, Acts 8:36-39, Acts 10:47-48, Acts 19:1-5, Romans 6:1-12, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
The Christian’s Mission. Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Matthew 16:24, Matthew 22:36-39, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 12:29-31, Mark 16:15, John 10:27, John 12:26, John 13:34-35, John 14:15, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 4:1-5, Ephesians 6:18-20, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Timothy 2:1-2, 2 Timothy 4:1-5, James 1:22
The Individual’s Eternal Destiny. Matthew 25:31-34, Luke 23:42-43, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 5:26-29, John 11:25-26, John 14:1-3, John 14:6, Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, Philippians 3:17-21, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Peter 1:3-4, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 20:11-15
Marriage and Family. Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 13:24, Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 18:12, Proverbs 22:6, Proverbs 29:15, Proverbs 29:17, Mark 10:6-9, John 13:34-35, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 14:19, 1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, Galatians 5:13-16, Ephesians 6:1-4, Colossians 3:12-17, Colossians 3:18-21, Ephesians 4:29-32, Ephesians 5:15-21, Ephesians 5:22-33, 1 Peter 3:7-8, 1 Peter 4:8-10
Satan and Spiritual Warfare. Job 1:6-7, Psalm 18:1b-2, Isaiah 8:19-20, Isaiah 14:12-14, Matthew 4:1-4, Matthew 4:5-7, Matthew 4:8-11, Matthew 25:41, Acts 26:15-18, 2 Corinthians 4:4, 2 Corinthians 11:13-15, Ephesians 4:26-27, Ephesians 6:10-1, Ephesians 6:14-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, James 4:7-8, 1 Peter 5:8-9, 1 John 3:7-10, 1 John 5:19-20, Revelation 12:7-10, Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 20:10
The Creation. Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:11, Genesis 1:20-21, Genesis 1:24-2, Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:7, Exodus 20:11, Job 9:8-9, Job 12:7-10, Psalm 19:1-3, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 139:13-17, Proverbs 20:12, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 44:24, Isaiah 66:2, Jeremiah 10:10-12, Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah 33:2-3, Nehemiah 9:6, John 1:1-4, 10, 14, Acts 17:24-28, Romans 1:18-20, Colossians 1:15-17, Hebrews 1:1-3, Hebrews 11:3, 2 Peter 3:3-7, Revelation 4:9-11, Revelation 14:6-7
A Biblical Worldview. Deuteronomy 6:4-7, Psalm 1:1-3, Psalm 19:7-11, Psalm 25:1-2, 4-5, Psalm 62:5-8, Psalm 118:8-9, Psalm 119:9-11, Psalm 119:12-16, Psalm 119:24, Psalm 119:33-37, Psalm 119:105, Psalm 119:130, Proverbs 3:5-6, Proverbs 4:23, Isaiah 55:8-9, Matthew 22:29, Matthew 22:37-40, John 5:46-47, John 8:12, Acts 17:11, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 3:18-19, 1 Corinthians 10:31,2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Ephesians 4:11-15, Philippians 4:8-9, Colossians 2:8, Colossians 3:1-2, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, 1 Timothy 6:20-21, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, James 1:22, 2 Peter 3:17-18, 1 John 2:15
This statement of faith and doctrine is what our Home Fellowship is guided by. I thank God for the brothers and sisters in Christ He has placed alongside my family for worship and fellowship over the years. We love you all.