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Our Doctrine SCRIPTURES
GOD - THE FATHER We believe there is only one true and living God (Dt 6:4; I Cor 8:4-6; James 2:19). However, within the unity of the Godhead, there are three co-equal and co-eternal persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons are the same in substance, but distinct in existence. The Scriptures refer to each as God - the Father as God (Jn 6:27; I Pet 1:2), the Son as God (Mk 15:39; Jn 1:1; Jn 20:28), the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3, 4). We believe God's work is solely based upon His decree and His personality. God's decree is to be understood as the eternal plan of God whereby, according to the counsel of His will and for His own glory, He has rendered certain all things that come to pass. God's decree is one, eternal and immutable, and efficacious (Eph 1:11; 3:11; Acts 15:18; Isa 46:9, 10). JESUS CHRIST The Person of Christ - We believe Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Godhead. He is God the Son. Therefore, all that God is; so, Christ is. We believe Jesus Christ is Deity(Jn 10:30; Mt 16:16, 17; Jn 20:28; Mt 22:43-45; Rev 19:16). We believe Jesus Christ existed eternally before He became flesh(Mic 5:2; Jn 8:58; Jn 1:3; Col 1:16). We believe Jesus Christ took upon Himself flesh through the virgin conception (Isa 7:14; Mt 1:18-25). Scripture teaches that in Christ was united Infinite Deity and complete humanity, resulting not in God and man, but the God-man (Jn 1:14). The Provision of Christ - It is through the incarnation of Christ that God revealed Himself to men (Jn 1:18), provided an example for living (I Pet 2:21), provided a sacrifice for sin (Heb 10:1-10), destroyed the works of the devil (I Jn 3:8), provided a merciful and faithful High Priest (Heb 5:1, 2), and fulfilled the Davidic covenant (Lk 1:31-33). The Purpose of Christ - We believe Christ's main work was to do the will of the Father. He, though not less than God, placed Himself in subordination to the desires of the Father. We believe Christ's death was both voluntary and substitutionary. Christ voluntarily laid down His life. No man took it from Him. It was done by the commandment of God (Jn 10:17, 18). Christ's death was done on our behalf - the Just for the unjust (I Pet 3:18). We believe Christ was bodily raised from the dead. The resurrection was foretold by Christ (Jn 2:18-21), witnessed by many of His followers (I Cor 15:4- 8), and became the pillar of the Christian faith (Acts 2:30, 31; 4:2, 10;10:40). Without the resurrection of Christ, there is no salvation (I Cor 15:12-19). The Present Ministry of Christ - We believe Christ is presently ministering before the Father. He is interceding on behalf of the saints (I Jn 2:1), preparing an eternal dwelling place for the righteous (Jn 14:3), and building His church (Mt 16:18). HOLY SPIRIT We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead. He is co-equal with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, God the Son. We believe the Holy Spirit is a Person not a thing. He demonstrates the qualities of personality - intelligence (Rom 8:27; I Cor 2:10, 110, emotion (Eph 4:30), and will (I Cor 12:11). We believe the Holy Spirit is Deity. The writers of Scripture attribute names that are indicative of Deity - Holy Spirit (Lk 11:13; Eph 1:3), Spirit of God (Gen 1:2; I Jn 4:2), Spirit of the Lord (Jud 15:14; II Kgs 2:16), and Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9; Phil 1:19). His Ministry before Pentecost - We believe the Holy Spirit was active is creation (Gen 1:2). He is said to have given life to creation (Psa 33:4; 104:30). Throughout the Old Testament, the Spirit of God is said to have indwelt certain men for a specific ministry (Gen 41:38; Dan 4:8). He is given the responsibility of restraining sin (Gen 6:3). In the New Testament, prior to Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is actively involved in the life of Christ - the birth (Lk 1:35), the ministry (Lk 4:18), the death (Heb 9:14), and the resurrection (Rom 1:4). He is also involved in regeneration (Jn 3:3-6). His Ministry after Pentecost - We believe the Holy Spirit has been actively performing His ministry since Pentecost. He is responsible to convict the world of sin (Jn 16:8, 11). The Spirit of God is involved in the regeneration of the believer (Titus 3:5). At the moment of regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (ICor 12:13), takes up permanent residence within the believer (Rom 8:9; I Cor 6:19), and seals the believer eternally (II Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13). Other ministries of the Holy Spirit include the filling of the believer (Eph 5:18), the distribution of spiritual gifts to the believer (Rom 12:4-8; I Cor 12:4-11), the teaching of truth to the believer (I Jn 2:27), the guiding of the believer (Rom 8:14), the provision of assurance to the believer (Rom 8:16), and the intercession on behalf of the believer (Rom 8:26). MAN We believe man is the product of direct creation by the Almighty God. Man did not evolve from some kind of eternal matter, but was created out of the dust of the ground. God created man in the image and likeness of Himself (Gen 1:26). Man was formed out of the dust of the ground (Gen 2:27). He was created on the sixth day of creation (Gen 1:26-31). We believe at creation, man was upright (Gen 1:31; Ecc 7:29). However, following the fall of man recorded in Gen 3, man is considered spiritually dead (Gen 2:17; Eph 2:1). SIN We believe sin is any thought, word, or action that is contrary to the total character of God. We believe sin originated with Satan (Ezek 28:11-19). It was Satan that introduced sin to the human race by deceiving Eve, to which Adam purposely fell (Gen 3:1-6). It is through Adam that sin and the effects of sin have entered into the world (Rom 5:12). Results of Sin - We believe that death is the result of sin (Rom 6:23). God commanded such a penalty for sin (Gen 2:15-17). Death is understood as two-fold. Physical death, which is the separation of the material from the immaterial part of man, although not immediately experienced by Adam, has been experienced by man since Adam's sin (Gen 5; Rom 5:12-14). Spiritual death, separation between God and man, was immediately experienced by Adam and Eve (Gen 3:8). Spiritual death is also a part of all men (Eph 2:1-3). Man, by attitude and action, demonstrates this state of being separated from God which is known as total depravity (Rom 3:9-23). The length of judgment upon spiritual death is eternity, should a man physically die in this condition (Mk 3:29; Jude 7). SALVATION We believe salvation is a work that is completely initiated, provided, and consummated by God. Man, because of his sin nature, is totally unable and unwilling to merit salvation by any means of himself. Initiation of Salvation - We believe at the time of Adam's sin God began to work His plan of salvation, which was a part of His eternal decree (Gen 3:15). Adam's sin placed Adam and all mankind in a position of condemnation before the Holy God (Jn 3:16-18; Rom 5:16, 18). This condemnation has its ultimate end in an eternal separation from God lived in the lake of fire, rightly deserved by the sinner (Rev 20:11-19). God, however, before the foundation of the world chose certain individuals to be participants in His salvation. This choosing is solely based upon God's sovereignty, and not on any merit of man (Eph 1:4, 5; II Tim 1:9). No one is able to participate in the salvation of God unless first drawn to Christ by the Father (Jn 6:44). Provision of Salvation - We believe God provided salvation through the finished work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. Christ's death on the cross satisfied the need of physical death (Lk 23:46; Jn 19:33, 34). Christ also experienced spiritual death (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34). Christ's death was the propitiation for the sins of mankind (Rom 3:25; I Jn 2:1,2). It is through the shedding of the blood of Christ that God can forgive sin (Heb 9:22). Conditions for Salvation - We believe the only condition for salvation is faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ (Acts 16:31; Eph 2:8, 9). No work of man can merit salvation (Jn 1:12, 13). We believe that repentance is an intregal and inseparable part of faith. One cannot exercise faith without also expressing repentance (Mk 1:15; Lk 13:3, 5; Acts 20:21). Faith is not only the only condition for salvation, but is the necessary condition for salvation (Heb 11:6) CHURCH We believe Scripture teaches concerning two distinct churches - theuniversal church and the local church. The church began with Pentecost and will end at the Rapture. The Universal Church - We believe the universal church is comprised of all believers in Christ from Pentecost until the Rapture (Acts 2:41-47). It is something not taught in the Old Testament (Eph 3:4). It was established by Christ (Mt 16:18). The universal church is not to be confused with the nation of Israel. The Local Church - We believe the local church can be defined as a local, organized, autonomous, body of believers, having two offices, and meeting for the purpose of observing the ordinances, evangelism of the lost, edification of the saint, fellowship of the believer, praise toward God, and when necessary discipline of the disobedient. Membership - We believe membership into a local church must be prefaced by regeneration on the part of the individual (Rom 1:6, 7; Eph 1:1). Following regeneration, a person may be received into membership when baptized by immersion (Acts 8:36-39; 10:44-48; 18:8). Organization - We believe the local church is sovereign is polity and answerable only to the Head of the church, Jesus Christ (Acts 15:1-15; I Cor 1:10; Col 1:18). The government of the church should be congregational and led by the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3; 13:2). We believe the church has two offices -pastor and deacon (Phil 1:1). Ordinances - We believe the two ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord's table. We believe baptism is to be by immersion (Acts 8:36-39), participated in by believers only (Acts 2:41; 10:44-48), and serve as a memorial to the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ (Rom 6:1-4). The Lord's table is to be participated in by the believer following baptism (Acts 2:41, 42). It serves as a memorial service of Christ and Calvary (I Cor 11:23-26). LAST THINGS We believe the order of future events must be based upon a literalinterpretation of Scripture, the unconditional covenant given to Israel, and a definite distinction between Israel and the Church. Therefore, we believe in a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church, a literal seven-year tribulation on earth, and a literal 1000-year earthly reign of Christ, known as the Millennium. Rapture - We believe the next great event in God's decree is the rapture of the Church. All believers in Christ, both deceased and living, will be involved (I Thess 4:16, 17). The timing of this event is before the tribulation (I Thess 4:10; 5:9). Tribulation - We believe the tribulation is introduced at the time that the "falling away" occurs and the restrainer is "taken out of the way" (II Thess 2:3-7). The tribulation will last for seven years (Dan 9:24-27). The description of this time period is found in Rev 4-19. The tribulation will end with the Battle of Armageddon and the second advent of Christ. The wicked are destroyed and the righteous are ushered into the kingdom (Mt 25:31-46; Rev 19:11-21). Millennuim - We believe the millennial kingdom is the literal 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ from the throne of David (II Sam 7:4-17; Rev 20). Christ's rule will be over the entire world and with absolute power and authority. His rule will be carried out in righteousness (Psa 2:6-12). During the kingdom, Satan will be bound, but the kingdom will end when Satan is loosed, gathering the nations together against the beloved city, and finally destroyed (Rev 20). The final judgment known as the Great White Throne Judgment ushers in the Eternal State (Rev 20:11-15). |
Massapequa Bible Ministries • P.O. BOX 1843 • N. Massapequa, New York 11758 • |