The Holy Bible, consisting of 66 books, is our all-sufficient role for faith and practice. This church accepts the sacred words of the 66 book of the Holy Bible as the inspired and infallible word of God, the complete revelation of his will for the salvation of man and the divine and the final authority for Christian faith and life.

SECTION 1. The Scriptures Inspired

All scriptures used in this By-Laws are from the King James Version. The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man, the infallible, authoritative rule of faith and conduct (2 Timothy 3:15-17; I Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21).

SECTION 2. The One True God

The one true God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent “I AM”, the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:10, 11; Mathew 28:19; Luke 3:22).

SECTION 3. The Adorable Godhead

  1. Terms Defined. The terms trinity and persons, as related to the Godhead, while not found in the Scriptures, are words in harmony with Scripture, whereby we may convey to others our immediate understanding of the doctrine of Christ respecting the Being of God, as distinguished from “gods many and lords many”. We therefore may speak with propriety of the Lord our God, who is One Lord, as absolutely scriptural (examples, Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14: 16, 17).
  2. Distinction and Relationship in the God head.\r\nChrist taught a distinction of persons in the Godhead which He expressed in specific terms of relationship, as Father, Son and Holy Ghost, but that this distinction and relationship, as to its mode is inscrutable and incomprehensible, because unexplained (Luke 1:35, I Corinthians 1:24; Matthew 11:25-27; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 1:3,4).
  3. Unity of the One Being of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.\r\nAccordingly, therefore, there is that in the Son which constitutes Him the Son and not the Father; and there is that in the Holy Ghost which constitutes Him the Holy Ghost and not either the Father or the Son. The Father is the Begetter; the Son is the Begotten; and the Holy Ghost is the One proceeding from the Father and the Son. Therefore, because these three persons in the Godhead are in a state of unity, there is but one Lord God Almighty and His name one (John 1:18; 15:26; 17:11, 21: Zechariah 14:9).
  4. Identity and Cooperation in the Godhead.\r\nThe Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are never identical as to person, nor confused as to relation; nor divided in respect to the Godhead; nor opposed as the cooperation. The Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son as to relationship. The Son is with the Father and the Father is with the Son, as to fellowship. The Father is not from the Son, but the Son is from the Father, as to authority. The Holy Ghost is from the Father and the Son proceeding, as to nature, relationship, cooperation and authority. Hence no person in the Godhead either exists or works separately or independently of the others (John 5:17-30, 32, 37; 8:17, 18).
  5. The Title. Lord Jesus Christ.\r\nThe appellation Lord Jesus Christ is a proper name. It is never applied in the New Testament either to the Father or to the Holy Ghost. It, therefore, belongs exclusively to the Son of God (Romans 1:1-3, 7; 2 John 3).
  6. The Lord Jesus Christ, God with us.
  7. The Lord Jesus Christ as to His divine and eternal nature is the proper and only Begotten of the Father, but as to His human nature, He is the proper Son of Man. He is, therefore, acknowledged to be both God and man; who because He is God and man, is “Immanuel,” God with us. (Matthew 1:23; 1 John 4:2, 10, 14; Revelation 1:13, 17).
  8. The Title. Son of God. Since the name Immanuel embraces both God and man, in the one Person, our Lord Jesus Christ, it follows that the title Son of God describes His proper deity, and the title Son of Man, His proper humanity. Therefore, the title Son of God belongs to the order of eternity, and the title Son of Man to the order of time (Matthew 1:21-23; 2 John 3; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 7:3; 1:1-13).
  9. Exaltation of Jesus Christ as Lord. The Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, having by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high, angels and principalities and powers having been made subject unto Him. And having been made both Lord and Christ, He sent the Holy Ghost that we, in the name of Jesus, might bow our knees and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father until the end, when the Son shall become subject to the Father that God may be all in all (Hebrews 1:3; 1Peter 3:22; Acts 2:32-36; Romans 14:11; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).
  10. Equal Honor to the Father and to the Son.\r\nWherefore, since the Father has delivered all judgment unto the Son, it is not only the express duty of all in heaven and on earth to bow the knee, but it is an unspeakable joy in the Holy Ghost to ascribe unto the Son all the attributes of deity, and to give Him all the honor and the glory contained in all the names and titles of the Godhead (except those which express relationship – see paragraphs b, c, and d), and thus honor the Son even as we honor the Father (John 5:22, 23; 1 Peter 1:8; Revelation 5:6-14; Philippians 2:8,9; Revelation 7:9,10; 4:8-11).

SECTION 4. The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. The Scriptures declare:

  • His virgin birth (Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31, 35).
  • His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26; 1 Peter 2:22).
  • His miracles (Acts 2:22; 10:38).
  • His substitutionary work on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
  • His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:39; 1 Corinthians 15:4).
  • His exaltation to the right hand of God Acts 1:9, 11; 2:33; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:3).

SECTION 5. The Fall of Man

Man was created good and upright; for God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” However, man by voluntary transgression fell and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6; Romans 5:12-19).

SECTION 6. The Salvation of Man

Man”s only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

  1. Conditions to Salvation – Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life (Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15, Ephesians 2:8; Titus 2:11; 3:5-7).
  2. The Evidence of Salvation – The inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The outward initial evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Titus 2:12).

SECTION 7. The Ordinances of the Church

  1. Baptism in Water. The ordinance of baptism by immersion is commanded in the Scriptures. All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Christ, buried with Him and that they also have been raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4).
  2. Holy Communion. The Lord”s Supper, consisting of the elements – bread and the fruit of the vine – is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:4); a memorial of His suffering and death (1 Corinthians 11:26); and a prophecy of His second coming (1 Corinthians 11:26); and is enjoined on all believers “till He come!”

SECTION 8. Baptism in the Holy Ghost

All believers are entitled to and should ardently expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism in the Holy Ghost and fire, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes the inducement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4, 8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31). This experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17; 10:44-46; 11:14-16; 15:7-9). With the baptism in the Holy Ghost come such experiences as an overflowing fullness of the Spirit (John 7:37-39; Acts 4:89), a deepened reverence for God (Acts 2:43; Hebrews 12:28), an intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work (Acts 2:42), and a more active love for Christ, for His Word, and for the lost (Mark 16:20).

SECTION 9. The Initial Physical Evidence of the Baptism in the Holy Ghost

The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is witnessed by the physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance (Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues (1 Corinthians 12:4-10, 28), but different in purpose and use.

SECTION 10. Sanctification

Sanctification is an act of separation from that which is evil, and of dedication unto God (Romans 12:1, 2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:12). Scriptures teach a life of “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able to obey the command: “Be ye holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15, 16). Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union, and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion of the Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-11; 13; 8:1,2,13; Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:12, 13; 1 Peter 1:5).

SECTION 11. The Ministry

A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the threefold purpose of leading the Church in: (a) evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20), (b) worship of God (John 4:23,24, and (c) building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11,16).

SECTION 12. Divine Healing

Divine healing is an integral part of the gospel. Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the Atonement and is the privilege of all believers (Isaiah 53:4, 5; Mathew 8:16, 17; James 5:14-16).

SECTION 13. The Blessed Hope

The resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ and their translation together with those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent and blessed hope of the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17; Romans 8:23; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:51,52).

SECTION 14. The Millennial Reign of Christ

The second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the saints, which is our blessed hope followed by the visible return of Christ with His saints to reign on the earth for one thousand years (Zechariah 14:5; Matthew 24:27,30; Revelation 1:7, 19:11-14, 20:1-6). This millennial reign will bring the salvation of national Israel (Ezekiel 37:21, 22; Zephaniah 3:19, 20; Romans 11:26, 27) and the establishment of universal peace (Isaiah 11:6-9; Psalm 72:3-8; Micah 4:3, 4).

SECTION 15. The Final Judgment

There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with the fire and brimstone, which is the second death (Matthew 25:46; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8).

SECTION 16. The New Heavens and the New Earth

“We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21, 22).