t Michiana we hold up the Bible as our only and final authority for all matters of faith and practice. Everything we do has Bible reason.
We do not acquiesce to confessions, creeds, traditions or any other man made source. Our only desire is to be a biblical Church in every sense of the word.
The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God's preservation of His pure words to every generation The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languages we accept and use; the King James Version of the Bible is the only English version we accept and use. The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice. (I Thessalonians 2:13, II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8)
(B) Dispensationalism. We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations—the law, the church, and the kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)
(C) The Godhead. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10, 26)
(D) The Person and Work of Christ.
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative,
vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure
by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our
High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb.
(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher
who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it
is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph.
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the
bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer.
God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers
in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the
Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were
temporary. Speaking in tongues was never
the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit, and
that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the
consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently
chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22;
13:8;
(F) The Total Depravity of
(G) Salvation. We
believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received
by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on
(H) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
2. We believe that it is the privilege of
believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony
of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as
an occasion to the flesh. (Rom.
(I) The Church
1. We believe that the local church, which
is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again
persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2;
Eph.
2. We believe that the establishment and
continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New
Testament Scriptures. (Acts
3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)
4. We recognize water baptism and the
Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this
age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts
(J) Separation. We believe that all the saved should
live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God
commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and
sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest
and immoderate appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. (
(K) The Second Advent of
Christ. We believe in
that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will
rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will
personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly
Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of
(L)
The
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of
all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting
punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29;
2. We believe that the souls of the
redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where
in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and
body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor.
5:8; Phil.
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
(M) The Personality
of Satan. We believe that Satan is a person, the
author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and
declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the
(N) Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
(O) Civil
Government. We believe that God has ordained and
created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the
state. Every person is subject to these
authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to
God and governed by His Word. God has
given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those
responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to
infringe upon the other. The home, the
church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically
assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
(
(P) Human Sexuality.
1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
(Q) Family Relationships
1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; I Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; I Pet. 3:1-7)
(R) Divorce and Remarriage. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
(S) Abortion. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
(T) Love. We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers and those who oppose us. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
(U) Lawsuits Between Believers. We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians within the church or against the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
(V) Missions. We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
(W) Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)