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In
essential beliefs – We have unity.
In
non-essential beliefs – We have liberty.
In
all our beliefs – We show charity (love).
The
Essentials We Believe:
that
the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired
of God, are without error in the original writings, and are the
supreme and final authority for faith and life. (Jeremiah 30:2, II
Timothy 3:16)
in
one God, Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who is eternally
existent in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(Genesis 1:1,26, John 14:16, Colossians 1:16-17)
in
the deity of Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His
death and shed blood to pay the penalty for our sins, His bodily
resurrection, His exaltation at God's right hand, and His bodily and
imminent return. (Colossians 1:15-20, Acts 1:11)
that
all mankind are sinners by nature and by choice, and therefore are
guilty before God and under His condemnation. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)
that
all who, by faith, trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are born
again of the Holy Spirit; and therefore children of God and
eternally saved, and that the Holy Spirit dwells within every
believer to enlighten, guide, and enable him in life, testimony and
service. (John 1:12, 3:3, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 14:16-17,26)
that
the baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at conversion and is a
universal experience of all believers; and that God gives spiritual
gifts to all believers for the building up of the body of Christ.
(Romans 12:3-8, I Corinthians 12:4-11, 13:27-31, 14:1-40,
Ephesians 4:8-13, I Timothy 4:14, II Timothy 1:6, I Peter
4:10-11)
that
baptism by immersion and the Lord's supper are ordinances to be
observed by the church during the present age. They are, however,
not to be regarded as means of salvation. (I Corinthians 11:23-29,
Acts 2:41, 8:36-39, 10:47-48)
in
the physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bodily
resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness
of the saved in glory, and the everlasting conscious punishment of
the lost in hell. (I Corinthians 15:1-58, Luke 16:19-31)
that
all believers are called to be Christ-like in their daily living.
(Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 3:17). All who truly have been born
again through saving faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ are
members of the universal church and the Body of Christ. (I
Corinthians 12:12-13)
Good
News Bible Church – Distinctives
We
believe that this church is a local assembly of people who, by the
illuminating of God the Father, confess that Jesus Christ is “The
Christ, The Son of the Living God.” Through the person of the
Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Himself is personally and actively
involved in building up this local body. The people, property, and
programs of our church all belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the head
of His church. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-24)
We
believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ over the total ministry of
the church, over leadership of the church and over every believer in
every area of life. (Ephesians 4:4-6)
We
believe in individual and corporate response to God's Word, the
Bible, as the guide for our lives and the teaching of God's Word for
the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building
up of the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12)
We
believe in individual and corporate prayer as the source of power
for the ministries of the church. (Matthew 6:5-13, Acts 2:42,
James 5:16)
We
believe in the priority of local evangelism and worldwide missions
that encourage the involvement of every believer. (Acts 1:8)
We
believe that God has chosen local churches to accomplish His
purposes in the world, and that God has equipped every believer with
spiritual gifts so that all have the ability and potential for
ministry. (Ephesians 4:11-16)
We
believe in the exercise of willing stewardship by every believer of
his or her time, spiritual gifts, finances, and other material
sources. (I Corinthians 16:1-2, Luke 6:38, Acts 4:32-35, Romans
12:6, I Peter 4:10)
We
believe in the continued and consistent growth of every believer
toward spiritual maturity, “until we all attain to the unity
of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature
man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of
Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13)
We
believe in the Love of Christ created by the Holy Spirit in the
hearts of believers as the basis for fellowship. (Philippians
2:1-4)
We
believe in the practice of believer's baptism by immersion as a
visible testimony of a new relationship with Jesus Christ. (Acts
10:47-48)
We
believe in the regular observance of the Lord's Supper with all who
know and love Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives. (I
Corinthians 11:23-29)
We
believe in family relationships as stated in Ephesians 5:22-6:4,
with the husband taking his role as leader and loving his wife as
Christ loved the church; and the wife likewise loving her husband.
(Titus 2:4-5)
We
believe in encouragement of biblically qualified men in the body to
take leadership roles in the church. (I Timothy 3:1)
We
think of ourselves in earnest conflict with Satan and his hosts, but
are confident that under the Lordship of Christ and the leadership
of the Spirit, the gates of Hell cannot prevail against us.
(Matthew 16:18, Ephesians 6:10-17)
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