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4.0 The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible is the only and infallible written Word of God. Its authors were uniquely inspired in history to write, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, the complete revelation of God’s will for man. God’s Word is the fundamental agent in the conversion of sinners, and the primary sacrament God has provided for the maturation and sanctification of the body of Christ (2 Peter 1:21, 1 Peter 1:23-2:2, John 17:17).
5.0 The Nature and Fall of Man
We believe that man is made in the image of God and was created for fellowship with the Father and to carry out His Regency upon the earth. God bestowed him with a spirit, soul and physical body. Man’s primary essence is spirit, with which he contacts God, and he possesses a soul comprised of the intellect and emotions. The body of man is his material home, but remains distinct from his spirit and soul and is necessary for conscious existence on the earthly plane. Upon death, man’s body returns to the earth from which it came but his spirit and soul return to God. The saved are comforted in Heaven and the lost are kept in Hades awaiting judgment. At the resurrection, the spirit, soul and body will be reunited for eternal punishment or reward (Gen. 1:26, Gen. 3:19, 1 Thess. 5:23, Eccl. 12:7).
We believe that man has fallen totally and perfectly from his once glorious state and is incapable of restoring himself to favor with his Creator. His inability to please God is thorough and has rendered mankind a race of spiritual rebels deserving nothing but God’s everlasting wrath. The sin nature is present in all men at birth and renders them spiritually dead and separated from God, spirit, soul and body. Fallen man would, left to himself and without God’s gracious intervention, neither seek nor find God on his own, die in his sins and perish eternally (Rom. 3:9-12, Eph. 2:1-3).
6.0 The Election and Redemption of Man
We believe that God, who is rich in mercy, has chosen from eternity to restore fallen man to Himself by electing to save from His eternal wrath all those who would believe upon His Son. This offer of salvation is made to all. Even so, because man’s fallen condition renders him unable to respond on his own, God helps him to do so by His own grace. Therefore, no man can take credit in any way for his own salvation. It is truly, from first to last, the gift of God (Eph. 2:4-10, 1 Tim. 4:10, Rom. 1:12, John 6:37-40).
We believe that Jesus Christ is the only source of salvation for man and that faith in His finished work is the sole means for obtaining God’s free gift of eternal life. Christ’s redemptive work comprehends His glorious incarnation, sinless life, death upon the cross, descent into Hades, physical resurrection, and triumphant ascensions. Faith in these events alone, apart from all personal efforts of merit is the only hope for man’s salvation from God’s wrath against him.
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