The Bible is the historical record of God's activity written by men but inspired by God's Spirit and contains no error. It is truth provided for the believer as a tool to know the heart of God. It reveals the plan, purposes and will of God for all time.
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent spiritual and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence or being.
God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of life, the seen and unseen. He is all-loving, all-just, all-wise and all-powerful. He is the true God and the One who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ; however, He is fatherly toward all men.
God as Son is the perfect representation for the Father in human form. He is equal with God the Father but humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant and became obedient to death on a cross. He knew that only through the shedding of His blood would the sinless Lamb of God be able to secure forgiveness and remission of sins. He arose on the third day following his death as He declared, securing new life for believers, and now lives and reigns with the Father in glory awaiting His final triumphant return. He lives in all believers as the living, ever-present Lord. Jesus, the Son of God, is the one and only way for mankind to reach The Father. "There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them." -Acts 4:12.
God as Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, works in the life of each believer to produce godly character qualities and demonstrates Himself, in the life of the church, through special abilities given to each believer to carry out the work of the Church. He is Comforter, Teacher, Wisdom and Counselor.
Man was created by a special work of God, in His image and is the finest of the creation - God said, "It is very good!" Man was created innocent but with a free choice whereby he sinned against God and died spiritually. Because Christ died for all, every person is worthy of respect and love.
Salvation is the gift of God for all humanity and is offered freely to all who, by faith, accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. It was obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and subsequent resurrection. He shed His own blood for our sin that we might be rightly related to God. The scope of Salvation is two-fold: forgiveness of sin and the receiving of new life.
Grace is the unmerited favor of God and shows us His goodness. All who have accepted Christ and are set apart will never fall from grace but will endure to the end. Believers may sin and grieve the Holy Spirit, but they will be kept by the power of God.
When one becomes a believer, he is totally forgiven of all sin past, present, and future. Colossians 2:13 says, "He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. " When the believer sins, he grieves the Holy Spirit, brings shame on the cause of Christ, hinders his relationship with God and others and causes himself to endure the natural consequences of sin. When we as believers confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with Him that we have sinned, according to His Word and thanking Him for our "ongoing" forgiveness.
The local church is a group of believers brought together by the Spirit of God to carry out the Great Commandment, practice the Great Commission and observe the two ordinances of the church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Each local church is an autonomous body operating under the leadership of Christ as the Head of the Church.
Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change that has occurred in the life of the believer. It is an identification with Christ by picturing his death, burial and resurrection. It is the first commandment a new Christian is given from the Lord Jesus.
The Lord's Supper is an opportunity for personal examination and reflection as we observe the "Lord's death until He comes." The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood which were broken and spilled out for our salvation and is done in "remembrance" of Him until He comes again.
We must view worship from two sides: adoration and service. Worship could be defined as pure adoration, the redeemed person contemplating and praising God in His holy perfection. Reverential adoration and committed service are both prominent expressions of the biblical concept of worship. True worship involves a balance of both expressions.
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