| Wednesday, August 20, 2008 |
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Bethel Free Will Baptist Church
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WE BELIEVE all the Scripture of both the Old and the New Testaments to be verbally inspired by God, infallible and inerrant in the original writings, and to be the supreme and final authority in faith and practice. II Peter 1:20,21; II Timothy 3:16,17
WE BELIEVE in one true and living God revealed in the Scriptures as eternally existent three Persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Deut. 6:4; I Tim. 2:5; Isa. 48:16; Matt. 28:19, 20 John 14:26; II Cor. 13:14; Gen. 1:1; John 3:16 WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary; that He was true God and true man; that he lived a sinless life upon this earth; that He died on the Cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all mankind; that He rose bodily from the grave on the third day; that He ascended bodily into heaven where He continues His ministry at the right hand of God as our Advocate and High Priest; and that He is personally, visibly and imminently returning to this earth to set up His Kingdom. Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:1, 14; I John 5:20; Heb. 4:15; I Cor. 15:3, 4; II Cor. 5:21; I Peter 2:24; Luke 24:36-48; Acts 1:9-11: I john 2:1, 2; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 4:14-16; Matt. 25:31, 32; Rev. 20:6 WE BELIEVE that the Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit all the attributes of God; that this present era of the Church is, in a special way, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit; and that His ministry in the world includes reproving, regenerating, indwelling, guiding, and empowering men. Acts 5:3, 4; John 16:7-11; John 3:3-5; I Cor. 6:19; Rom. 8:14; Acts 1:8 WE BELIEVE that man in the person of the first Adam was created by the direct act of God; that he was made in the image of God; that in his original state he was innocent; that by exercise of his own free will he disobeyed God and, thereby, fell into a state of sin and condemnation; and that his descendants, inheriting a fallen, sinful nature, are under the condemnation of God and are in need of the new birth. Gen. 1:26, 27; Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3; Rom. 5:12-13; Eph. 2:1-3; John 3:3 WE BELIEVE that Salvation is a gift of God's grace; that it is received by: 1) repentance, its proper evidence appearing in the hearty renunciation and forsaking of one's sins, and 2) faith, the personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, trusting in His atoning sacrifice at the Cross; and that there is no other means of being saved. Luke 13:3; Isa. 55:7; Eph. 2:8, 9; John 3:16; John 1:12, 13; John 14:6; Acts 4:12 WE BELIEVE that God has given to the believer strong Scriptural grounds for knowing positively that he is saved; that God has promised and provided, through the power of divine grace, to keep His children even in times of failure, when they fall out of fellowship with Him, that God as assured His followers that as believers they are eternally secure in Christ and shall never perish; but God has, also, clearly warned the Christian against the possibility of shipwreck of his personal faith in Christ and, thereby, becoming an apostate, and that, if such should happen, there is no way he could be restored to salvation—his doom would be sealed. I John; John 10:28, 29; Rom. 8:35-39; Phil. 1:6; I Tim. 1:18, 19; John 15:1-7; Col. 1:21-23; Heb. 3:14; Heb. 6:1-6; II Peter 2:20, 21 WE BELIEVE that God has given His Church the ordinances of Baptism, which is to be administered only to believers, by immersion and in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; and the Lord’s Supper, which is to be open to all born-again believers present; and the practice of the washing of the saint’s feet is an option. Matt. 28:19, 20; Rom. 6:3, 4; I Cor. 11:23-26; John 13:1-17 WE BELIEVE that the Christian is to live a righteous, pure and holy life; that he is called to be a witness for Christ; that he is to be faithful in attending his church; and that he is to support his church by his tithes and offerings. Rom. 12:1, 2; II Cor. 6:14-18; II Cor. 5:17-20; Acts 1:8; Heb. 10:25; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; I Cor. 16:1, 2 |