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Statement of Faith
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13)
THE GODHEAD
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST
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. (John 1:1-2,14; Luke 1:35)
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. (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-50)
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; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
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 them, and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30)
We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and, that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Ephesians 5:18)
THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3,12; Ephesians 4:18)
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 Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19)
THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS
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; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Work; which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13; Romans 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:222-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9)
SEPARATION
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all sinful, worldly pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. (II Timothy 2:1-5; Romans 12:1-2; Romans 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 7-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Amos 3:3; Jude 3-4) We stand opposed to the National Council of Churches of Christ in America and the World Council of Churches as movements contrary to the faith once delivered to the saints. We are opposed to the ecumenical movement and its aims for one world church. Further, while not criticizing the orthodoxy of any Christian brethren and while recognizing the liberty of the individual members of this congregation of believers strongly disagree with any lack of separation which results in bringing fundamentalists into an unequal yoke with theological liberals and/or Roman Catholics and other divergent groups. We are in sympathy with, and will fellowship with only those Christian movements and organizations whose leaders and sponsors are not connected with apostasy.
EVANGELISM
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:19-20)
THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Corinthians 12:4-11; I Corinthians 13:8-13; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:3-4)
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; I John 5:14-15)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age, which age began at Pentecost and will end at the Translation of the church at the sound of the last trumpet. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, (Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17,28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the absolute autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:l-4; Acts 15:19-31; Romans 16:1,4; I Corinthians 3:9,16; I Corinthians 5:4-7,13; I Peter 5:1-4)
We recognize the ordinances of water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age and as binding on believers as commanded by Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 18:8; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
DISPENSATIONALISM
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their most natural and literal sense reveals divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these - the age of law, the age of the church, and the age of the millennial kingdom - are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (John 1:17; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians3: 13-25; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6)
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; that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (John 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Matthew 4:2-11; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST
We believe in that "Blessed Hope", the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6; I Thessalonians 1:10; I Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10)
THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
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 resurrected, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; Philippians 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery 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. (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15)
In subscribing to these articles of faith, we by no means set aside, or undervalue, any of the Scriptures of the Old or New Testament; but we deem the knowledge, belief and acceptance of the Truth as set forth in our Doctrinal Statement, to be essential to sound Faith and fruitful practice, and therefore requisite for membership in the Northwoods Bible Church.