Doctrinal Statement

If I was going to start a church, this would be my Church's Statement of Faith

Bibliology: (The Doctrine of the Bible)
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and inerrant in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and given to us as a manuscript for life. Inspiration was that work whereby God by His Spirit, through human writers, utilizing their distinct personalities and literary styles gave us His Word. (Hebrews 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Jeremiah 1:9; Matthew 4:4; Matt. 5:17-18; Romans 3: 1-2; Isaiah 40:8; 42: 8-9; Hebrews 4:12; John 6:63; 1 Peter 1:23).

Theology Proper: (The Study of God)
We believe God the Father, is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself in the affairs of men, He hears, and answers prayers, and He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. God is immutable meaning He does not change and is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. God is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, and eternal; meaning He has no beginning and no end. God is full of mercy, love, and grace-and at the same time righteous, holy, and just. God grants mercy and sends judgment. God punishes and forgives sin. God will grant believers into Heaven and send unbelievers into Hell.(Romans 11:33; Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16, 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6).

Christology: (The Study of Jesus Christ)
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life, performing miracles, and teaching the multitudes. We believe in Christ’s substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, and His intercession on behalf of all believers. Jesus Christ is our Good Shepherd; leading, protecting, and caring for us as His own; Christ is the light of the World; illuminating our pathway, He is the prince of peace and our rock.(John 10:11,14, 8:12, 1:1, 20:28, 20:30-31; Isaiah 9:6; 1 Cor. 10:4; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; Romans 5:6-8, 6:9-10, 8:26, 9:5; 2 Cor. 15, 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; Eph. 1:4; Acts 1:11; Heb. 7:25, 9:28, 1 Timothy 3:16).

Pneumatology: (The Study of the Holy Spirit)
We believe in the Holy Spirit who comes from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers all who believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and He is a helper, teacher, and guide.(John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26-27, 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26).

Harmartiology: (The Study of Sin)We believe that to sin means to “miss the mark.” Individuals sin by inheritance, imputation, and by our own personal choice. Man was created in the image of God; the first man Adam sinned; incurring not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God; the sin nature then is imputed to all of humanity. Man is totally depraved and on his own utterly unable to save himself.(Genesis 1:26, 2:16-17; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)

Soteriology: (The Study of Salvation)
We believe in the Biblical Doctrine of TULIP. (List is in the way the events occur)
T: Man is totally depraved. Everything man does including the seemingly good-acts is sin. Man is unable to submit to God or reform himself and is therefore worthy of eternal punishment. (Ephesians 2:1; Ezekiel 36:26; 2 Cor. 4:4-6; Romans 8:7-8, 15:18, 3:9-10, 3:18; 1 Cor. 10:31).
I: Irrestible grace is the sovereign work of God to overcome the rebellion of our heart and bring us to faith in Christ so that we can be saved. When God undertakes to fulfill His sovereign purpose, no one can successfully resist Him. (Daniel 4:35; Psalm 115:5; John 6:44; 64-65; 2 Timothy 2:24-25; 2 Cor. 4:4-6).
L: In the cross God had in view the actual redemption of His children. Christ died for the elect; Christ did not just make the way possible for salvation, but actually saved the elect. Christ did not die for all men in the same sense; the death of Christ actually saves from ALL evil those for whom Christ died. Once again, Christ died for all the sins of some men, making it possible for the irrestible grace of God to flow to the elect, thereby saving them from the wrath of God. (John 10:15, 17:6, 9, 19; 11: 51-52).
U: Election refers to God’s choosing whom to save. God’s choice is unconditional because there is no condition man must meet before God chooses to save him. (Acts 13:48; John 10:29; Romans 9; Ephesians 1:3-6).
P: The people of God WILL persevere to the end and will not be lost. God will so work that those whom He has chosen for eternal salvation will be enabled by Him, to persevere in faith to the end and fulfill, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the requirements for obedience. (John 10:26-30; 1 John 2:19; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 1 Cor. 1:8-9).

Ecclesiology: (The Study of the Church)
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all believers are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of believers, baptized after a profession of faith in Christ. God has entrusted the task of evangelism to the local church, and it is the primary responsibility of the church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. (Ephesians 2:19-22; 5:19-21; Acts 1:8; 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25).

Church Ordinances:We believe in the two ordinances of the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water, in order to identify with Christ. We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for remembrance of His death. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Eschatology: (The Study of End Times)We believe in the return of Christ for all believers. The return of Christ will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, then Christ will return to establish His earthly kingdom for a 1,000 years. The unsaved will be condemned to eternal, conscience torment while the saved will live forever in fellowship with God.(1 Thess. 5:1-3; 8-11; Revelation 20:4-6; 11-15).