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The gospel means the "Good News" that Christ came to save sinners from their sin, and the consequences of their sin which entail eternal damnation. God came to earth in the flesh in the person if Jesus Christ, He suffered died and was buried and on the third day arose from the dead. Mankind can now restore its relationship as adopted children of God by placing saving faith in Christ, and obeying His will.
We believe in one God, eternally existent in three distinct persons - the orthodox view of the Trinity. The essence of God’s ontology is beyond the domain of human understanding; yet His partial revelation gives us enough understanding to know that He is one, yet - the Father is God, Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. What appears to be a logical bind or violation of the laws of reason is really our limited understanding and thus a mystery. The "Church Fathers" of the first three centuries attempted to reconcile this truth that lies beyond the domain of human understanding by describing God's ontological make up as a "triunity". The Early Fathers were using the terms "God the Son" and the "Trinity in Unity" long before Constantine and the Council of Nicea in 325 AD. These limits to our ability to understand concepts that lie outside of the domain of human understanding should come as no surprise to those who are intellectually honest with themselves. For we know that of all the truth in the universe; man hasn’t discovered enough to fill a thimble and is still limited to understanding reality through his senses and humanity. Consider the mystery of light: sometimes it behaves as a wave and other times as a particle. To the physicist: how can two points collide and yet there be an infinite number of points between any two points? How about Black Holes… As Kant believed, so do I, we cannot know reality in an intrinsic sense but only to the extent that God has allowed. Ante-Nicene teaching on the Trinity
We believe in the virgin birth of Christ and His incarnation as described in John 1:1 “in the beginning was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God and the Word was God. Christ is God Almighty as proved in John 1:1 and John 1:18 where He is said to share the same essence with God (only begotten – Greek monogenese), John 5:18 where He was said to be equal with God, John 10:30-33 where He was calling Himself God, Revelation 1:7, 1:17, 22:13 where Christ is called God Almighty and the Alpha and Omega, a term reserved for God alone.
We believe that salvation is grounded in the death of Christ through a substitution in sufferings whereby God forgives the sinner and accepts the sufferings of Christ in place of the punishment of eternal damnation for the repentant sinner.
We believe that salvation is through repentance and faith in Christ. When one is truly converted they receive the new birth and are Born Again as in John 3:3. They are translated from the dominion of Satan to the kingdom of God. We observe the biblical accounts of conversion; the converts were baptized immediately. We believe that once someone is saved they should be baptized immediately, the mode of immersion or sprinkling is of no consequence. We have no view on its efficacy only that this sacrament should not be postponed because Jesus commanded it and the apostles baptized their converts immediately or soon after conversion.
We believe that Christ is the only way of salvation. John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but through Me.” And in Acts 4:12 “…For there is no other name under heaven given unto man by which he must be saved”.
We believe that Jesus and the Apostles taught repentance from sins and faith in God. Jesus’ first sermon in Matthew 4:17 was a call to repentance, the Great Commission in Luke 24:47 commands us to “Preach repentance for the remission of sins”. Peter preached for men to repent and save themselves from a perverse generation in Acts 2:38, 3:19, 3:26. Paul said that his ministry was to command all men to repent as demonstrated in Acts 17:30, 20:21, 26:20; and Jesus’ last words to the church in Revelation were to repent - Revelation 3:19.
We believe in the fall of Adam and its impact on the world, animal kingdom, and man’s relationship with God; but we deny the ostensible “sin nature” as taught in the Augustinian view of Original Sin. We believe that man is ontologically a free moral agent and this status has not changed since his creation and the fall. Men are born innocent and remain innocent until an age of accountability. We believe that a sin nature precludes free will and God's ability to fairly apply the principles of justice in dealing with man at the Final Judgement. We acknowledge that all men are sinners; but they are sinners of their own free will by giving into the selfish pleasures of the flesh and many temptations of the world, Satan, and his minions - so in one sense original sin is a moot issue.
We believe that salvation is provisional and that man is given a portion of the Holy Spirit as an earnest deposit from God. However there are too many places in the bible that teach that a Christian can fall from grace and forfeit their eternal reward; those who endure to the end shall be saved. God can demand His earnest deposit back if the backslider never repents. There are several articles on this site and links addressing this issue. Again moot to the extent that if a Christian loves God she will cease from a sinful life, walk in the Spirit and love God with all her heart - regardless of her views of the security of the believer.
We believe that God desires all men to be saved but most will never come to a saving knowledge because they love the darkness instead of the light. Jesus said many are called but few are chosen. And to enter by the narrow gate for the path that leads to destruction is broad; but the gate that leads to eternal life is narrow and few shall find it.
We believe that the grace of God is given so men can live without sin and live in holiness as God commands: Romans 6:14 “for sin shall not have dominion over you for you are no longer under law but grace. Titus 2:11 "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age." If one has the mind-set that they can never stop sinning until they die; they are not standing in the grace of God nor, will God give them grace while they are intentionally planning on serving His arch enemy the devil through their sinful deeds. God said “Be ye holy for I am holy” and “without this holiness, no man will see God”.
We believe that divorce and remarriage is a sin. Jesus said that anyone who divorces and remarries except for the cause of fornication is living in adultery. When Jesus discussed the issue of divorce and remarriage His words "...commits..." were in the Greek present tense and implied that the second marriage is a continuous adulterous union and not merely the one time sinful act. Matthew 5:31, 19:9, Mark 10:11, Luke 16:18. This teaching is patently evident, the modern church's abrogation of this command through desertion by a spouse or spousal abuse is tenuous. We believe those living in these second marriages have fallen from grace. We also believe that if anyone is in sinful remarriage and they come to acknowledge the truth of the sinfulness of this union, and present themselves before the Lord; the Lord will forgive them. Keep in mind that when the Jews took heathen wives and God judged Israel, the remedy for the judgement was for the men to leave their wives and children. I believe that God was hard on these Israelites because they were told many times not to take wives from among the heathen. We would hope that the Lord would tell the couple that is coming before Him to repent of this sinful marriage - to remain married; however, He may also tell them to abandon the second marriage if that is His will.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Final Judgment of all men; whereby unbelievers will be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity and those who have endured till the end shall spend eternity with God in His heavenly kingdom and ultimately the restored kingdom here on earth.
We believe that the bible is God's word and final authority on issues of salvation and faith.
This truth is both empirical and rational and justified as any other truth. Read the proofs of the truthfulness of the bible
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