What We Believe (continued)

V.  SATAN

      We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, the open and declared enemy of God and man, and the author of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of eternal justice in the lake of fire.   

Matthew 4:1-11,  2 Corinthians 4:4,  Revelation 20:10

VI.  CREATION

      We accept the Genesis account of Creation in six consecutive, literal, twenty-four hour days, and believe that man came by direct creation of God and not by evolution.

Genesis chapters 1 & 2,  Colossians 1:16-17,  John 1:3

VII.  FALL OF MAN

      We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell into sin thus plunging the whole human race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind is born in sin and shapen in iniquity and become willful sinners with first expression of personal choice not by constraint; but by choice and are so without excuse before God.

Genesis 3,  Romans 5:10-19,  Romans 1:18, 32,  and Psalm 51:5

VIII.  ATONEMENT FOR SIN

      We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatory offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the Divine Law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the Just dying for the unjust; Christ, the Lord, bearing our sin in His own body on the tree; that having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the most tender sympathies with the divine perfection, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an all-sufficient Saviour.

Ephesians 2:8,  Acts 15:11,  Romans 3:24-25,  John 3:16,  Matthew 18:11,
Philippians 2:7,  Hebrews 2:14,  Isaiah 53:4-7,  1 John 4:10, 
 1 Corinthians 15:3,  2 Corinthians 5:21,  1 Peter 3:18

IX.  THE NEW BIRTH

      We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again, that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus, that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and received eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with Scripture so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel;  that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.

John 3:3,  John 3:6-8,  2 Corinthians 5:17-19,  1 John 5:1,  Acts 16:30-33, 
2 Peter 1:4,  Romans 6:23,  Ephesians 2:1,  Colossians 2:13

X.  JUSTIFICATION

     We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification.
     A.  That justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life, on principles of righteousness. The end result being, "Just as if I'd never sinned."
     B.  That it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood, His righteousness is imputed to us.

Romans 4:24-25,  Isaiah 53:11,  Zechariah 13:1

XI.  FAITH AND SALVATION

      We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation.

Acts 16:31,  John 3:16, 36;  John 5:24,  Ephesians 2:8-9

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