Our Beliefs

Introduction

Old Paths Baptist Church – our church gets its name from Jeremiah 6:16.

Jeremiah 6:16 – “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

Old Paths is a fitting name for our church because of the doctrine we believe and the stance on Bible truth that we take. We believe in staying with the old paths. The old paths refers to the beliefs that the true line of Bible Christianity has held true and faithful to for the last 2000 years and the heritage that we have can be traced all the way back to the first Biblical New Testament local church at Antioch in Acts 11 and 13. It’s a simple fact of history that our beliefs are the same beliefs that can be found back in 1900. In 1500 AD. In 1000 AD. In 500 AD. Going all the way back to 90 AD with the conclusion of the New Testament writings and beginning of Church Age. What we believe can be found in the records of history – in the “old paths” of Christianity. Can yours?

While many churches are taking “Baptist” off their name, we never will because it represents the heritage of our beliefs and the Bible that we love and stand for. We realize many Baptist churches have gone into apostasy, but that does not take away from the heritage of the name. The Baptist name can be traced through the old paths all the way back to our landmark that we as Christians look back at – the church at Antioch in Acts 11 and 13. Before people were called “Baptists,” they were called “ana-pedo-baptists,” meaning “against infant baptism.” This was a name given to Bible-believers by the Roman Catholic Church because of a doctrine they believed in. They were against the false teaching of infant baptism for salvation, so their enemies called them accordingly. This is just as in Acts 11:26; the first people called “Christians” (who are in Antioch) were given their names by their enemies, the pagan Romans, because of something they believed. They taught that their God – Jesus Christ now lived inside of them. So the Romans started calling them “little Christs,” or “Christians.”

Before the ana-pedo-baptists, you had groups like the Monatists, the Novatians, the Donatists, the Nestorians, the Pauliceans, the Hussites, the Lollards, the Waldensians, the Hugenots, the Albagensians, the Arians, the Puritans, the Menicheans, the Chiliasts, etc. It forms an unbroken line of people going all the way back to Paul and the start of the Church Age. Many of these groups are considered to be “heretical” by most recordings of church history. But these were the people who held the line of true Bible-believing Christianity. They were the men and women oppressed because of what they believed. They paid the price with their own blood for not denouncing Jesus Christ nor the Bible that they believed. These are the people that make up our Baptist heritage, and the reason why we will never take Baptist off our name.

We understand that what we believe is rejected by the majority of American Christianity and especially in the circles of higher education. Christianity has left the Word of God, replacing and mixing it in with man’s own devices, ideologies, and philosophies. But we as a church have chosen to stay with the established truthful teachings from the Bible that has been taught and believed for centuries. There are many verses in the Bible that parallel the apostasy of Israel at the end of the Old Testament with the apostasy of Christianity towards the end of the New Testament Church Age before the Lord comes back. This is the end result of Christianity dumping the Bible as the Final Authority. Here are just a few you can look up and read:

Isaiah 5:20, Isaiah 59:14, Jeremiah 23:25, Jeremiah 48:10, Hosea 4:1, Hosea 8:12, Amos 8:11, Micah 2:11, Haggai 2:3, Malachi 1:7-8.

Because of this, our beliefs are not going to be widely accepted. Being accepted by Christian Education, having a large building or crowd, and having our pocketbooks filled up is of no concern to us. We are concerned in the truth of the Word of God and taking our stand when no one else will (Ezekiel 22:30). We are concerned with holding true to the correct teachings; the doctrine of the Bible, which is achieved by “rightly dividing the word of truth” because “no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation” (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20, 2 Timothy 2:15). This is what God has called us to do as a New Testament local church, based on the model church of Antioch. Our goal is to be a Philadelphian Church (Revelation 3:7 – the church that “hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.”) in the midst of the Laodicean Church Age (Revelation 3:14 – the church that is “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” It’s the church that makes God sick!).

The following doctrinal teachings represent a few of our core beliefs as a church. They are beliefs that are common to every Bible-believing group of the “true line” of the church. The testimony of the truth of these doctrines is from the Bible, as well as the people who stood for them throughout history.

1. Salvation alone through the blood of Jesus Christ

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe, that salvation is received by nothing other than the shed blood of Jesus Christ applied to man’s personal sin debt against God.

The Bible teaches that man is in a fallen state. God put the first man and woman, Adam and Eve sinless and innocent in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1-2. He gave them a free will choice to either obey the commandments that he gave to them or not. They made the choice to disobey God which allowed sin to enter into the world. This is the cause for both physical and spiritual death (Romans 5:12). God’s original purpose to populate the universe with sinless beings was put on hold because sin entered the world. God had to deal with the “sin problem” that the Devil and man had introduced before fulfilling his eternal plan. Adam and Eve’s choice to sin allowed death to reign over and curse mankind. Now, the human race is in a fallen state. Every one of us who have ever lived come short of the righteousness of the just and Holy God (Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23). There is no way that any person can get to God on their own. Any “works” or “righteousness” in man is simply vanity to God (Psalms 39:5, Isaiah 64:6). It’s worthless.

The wages; the punishment of this sin is death (Romans 6:23). Not only does man die physically, but also spiritually. Man’s soul; his spiritual body is eternal. And the sin that every person has committed gets imputed to his soul, resulting in death (Ezekiel 18:20). Death to the soul does not mean that it “ceases to exist.” Spiritual death to the eternal soul simply means it is separated from God for eternity. The sin that is imputed to man separates him from God, putting enmity between, or making himself enemies with God Almighty (Romans 8:7). In fact, the Bible teaches that we are naturally born into the Devil’s family because of our sin (John 8:44). The way God deals with the sin imputed onto man’s soul is to quarantine it; to purge those sins eternally with fire which most people know as Hell or The Lake of Fire. It’s a literal place of torment that man in his soul will feel (Luke 16:23-24). God never intended for any man to go to hell, as it was purposed to be only for the Devil and his angels that revolted against God (Matthew 25:41). But it is by man’s choice to sin that will send him there as well.

Thankfully, God graciously provided mankind a way to escape the eternal damnation of everlasting fire. In the Old Testament with the Nation of Israel, God implemented a system of literal sacrifices of animals that would “cover” a person’s sin to appease God’s wrath temporarily. But the sin was still imputed to their soul, as those sacrifices did not take their sin away (Hebrews 10:4). It wasn’t until God took on the form of a man and paid off the sin debt for all of mankind. This happened when The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross. The sacrifice that Jesus Christ made not only forgave/covered man’s sins, but it redeemed them from those sins once and for all (Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 10:10-12). This forever washed away the sin that was imputed to the soul. The sin is no longer imputed to them. The shed blood of Jesus Christ is the only way man can receive the righteousness of God, making him clean and sinless in the sight of God.

Jesus Christ, being God himself as part of the Godhead (see section 4: The deity of Jesus Christ) came to earth and redeemed mankind. Christ took on the form of a man, experiencing and relating to the human race by becoming one of us. Jesus was not a weak, spineless, wimpy sort of guy that he is often portrayed as. He is described as “ruddy” in Song of Solomon 5:10; he was a man’s man, who worked hard, sweated, and got tired as he went through the daily grind of life. He willingly submitted himself to man’s level while having a Godly nature at the same time. Jesus came preaching righteousness and his Kingdoms to his people, the Nation of Israel. He stirred up the self-righteous religious people for their heresy, causing them to hate him. But to people that were helpless and poor, Christ showed a gentle, kind spirit. He demonstrated powerful miracles of healing, while also fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies about himself as Israel’s Messiah and King. Jesus Christ lived a perfect, sinless life for 33½ years on earth. Hebrews 4:15 says “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus lived a life relating to mankind, being tempted by sin just as we are every day, but never committed sin. He is the only man to live a sinless life. Because of his sinless perfection and deity, men hated him. Eventually, the leaders of Israel chose to crucify Jesus on a cross to get rid of him.

Jesus Christ being crucified on the cross is one of the most incredible events to ever happen. It was the day that the creation killed the creator. It was the day that God the Father turns his back on his Son, pouring his wrath upon him and leaving him helpless to the Devil and his torment. But Christ chooses to humble himself to the cross so that he could save mankind.

Philippians 2:8 says “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Isaiah 53:7 says “he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth he not his mouth.

It was because of Christ’s submission and obedience as a sinless man, and the anointed of God, that God accepts his sacrifice to pay for the sins for all of mankind. It’s on the cross that Christ literally takes upon himself every sin for every man that has ever lived. He became sin for you and for me (2 Corinthians 5:21, Isaiah 53:4-5), being judged and receiving our punishments as a guilty sinner. As it says in the hymn How Deep The Father’s Love, “It was MY SIN that held him there. Until it was accomplished.” It is only through the death of Christ on the cross that God can look at us and not send us straight to hell.

The most important thing that happened when Christ came at his First Coming was him dying on the cross, being buried, and resurrecting the third day. This is what is called “The Gospel” in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. The Gospel is the fact that “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”. Three days after Christ is crucified, he overcomes the power of death, coming back to life and appearing unto his apostles on earth. His resurrection is significant, as it allows us through Christ’s power over death to have the same power. While our fleshly bodies will still die, believing and personally applying the death of Jesus Christ gives us the power to avoid the death that ultimately matters – the spiritual death.

This is plainly and clearly the Bible’s teaching on salvation. Every man and woman has a personal sin debt against God, with the consequence being spiritual death – an eternal purging of fire upon the sin that’s imputed to the soul. The death of Jesus Christ has paid for every sin for every person. But, Christ’s death is not applied to a person’s sin until they ask for it. Salvation is a gift (Ephesians 2:8) that must be received. If a person is offered a gift and chooses not to take it, then the gift is not theirs. Salvation is available to everyone, but it’s only by acting upon the “measure of faith” God has given every person (Romans 12:3) for them to be saved. Salvation is a personal choice, as every person must ask God personally to apply the death and blood of Jesus Christ to their own personal sin debt. This process is explained in Romans 10:9-10.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

There are two aspects to getting saved – a person must first believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, and the Gospel story of what he did. “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:” from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. Anyone can believe that historically; believe that he is the Son of God and that he died on the cross and rose again. But until a person personally asks God to save them from their own sin debt is not truly saved. “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Once a person believes this in their heart, then they can cry out to God, confessing that they are a sinner. Confessing that they have a personal sin debt against God. They must see that not only do they sin, but they ARE a sinner. They must see their own sin for what it really is. That their sin is what separates them from God. Then simply crying out to God to take the death and blood of Jesus Christ and applying it to their own personal sin debt, asking for forgiveness is when that person becomes saved. At that moment, the finished work of Jesus Christ is applied, washing away all sin that was imputed onto the soul. God no longer looks at them for who they really are – a sinner. But he instead looks at them through the blood of Christ. God looking down at a saved person only sees His Son and his sacrifice on the cross. There is no longer enmity between the man and God. A saved man leaves the Devil’s family and is adopted into God’s family as a “Son of God” (Romans 8:14-17). This is the Bible’s teaching on salvation for the New Testament as Christ ended the faith and works system for salvation in the Old Testament.

Something that is often misunderstood today regarding salvation is the teaching of repentance. In the Bible, to repent simply means to turn from one direction and begin going another way. When you get saved, you should repent of your sins. A person asking God to save them must have an understanding that the sin in their life is contrary to God, and there must be a desire to change that in their life. Someone who simply asks God for his salvation, but in their heart but does not inwardly want to change their sinful ways will not actually be saved. The reason for this is because if they are wanting to continue to sin and continue in the same direction of living the sin-filled life that they are, then they do not truly see their sin as a personal offense against God. God always looks at the heart, and when someone is asking to receive salvation, he can tell based on their heart attitude if they truly are wanting to turn from their sins or not. He knows if a person is sorry for those sins or not. If they truly are, then they will also have it within their heart to change and turn from their sinful ways.

People often associate the concept of repentance with being “works-based salvation.” This is simply not true. Repentance, or a changing of direction in life, is not HOW you get saved. We are saved by grace through faith plus nothing. But, repentance is a natural by-product OF getting saved. The Bible clearly teaches that some things change when a person is truly born-again (2 Corinthians 5:7, 1 Corinthians 8:3). It doesn’t mean that people don’t still struggle with the same things after they get saved, but it’s the attitude behind it. A clear change of direction in life is simply the evidence of God’s life-changing salvation. Again, it all comes down to the heart attitude of a person asking God to save them from their sins.

If you’re reading this right now and you don’t have the assurance of salvation, or you don’t know where you would go when you die, we simply encourage you to think these things over and consider what has been laid out from the Bible. It’s our hope that you would make the right decision of trusting the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal savior. The Bible says in 1 John 5:13 that you may KNOW that ye have eternal life. Don’t be like Felix in Acts 24:25 and push salvation off until it is more “convenient.” 2 Corinthians 6:2 says “Behold, NOW is the day of salvation.” If you have questions about salvation or would like to know for sure how to be saved, you can call Pastor Bob Alexander at 816-590-6315.

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

2. The absolute infallibility of scripture

We believe in the absolute infallibility of the scripture as our Final Authority for everything that we believe and practice, only found in a King James 1611 Authorized Version. We believe that the scriptures were given to us by God himself, in the form of 66 Books that make up the Holy Bible. This Book is our handbook on life and has principles that we can apply to any situation. We use and believe it literally as the mind of God that is for us to search out with diligence.

We believe that the Holy Bible was given by God through the process of inspiration for the purpose of revealing himself to mankind. Not only was it originally given by inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16), but the Bible teaches that it has been preserved by the hand of God. Psalms 12:6-7 says “The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever.” This is a promise to us that the very WORDS of God are going to be preserved by God himself for ever. Matthew 5:18 says “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The Bible teaches that God is going to preserve every word in that Bible, exactly as he wants us to have it today. It doesn’t say that the “thoughts,” or the “ideas,” will be preserved, but the WORDS. It’s the individual words that make up the Bible, and what makes it so special. Based on this, we believe that we have a perfect, infallible Bible that are the exact words of God that he wants us to have.

The question you must ask yourself is “do I have the exact, infallible, perfect words of God today exactly as he wants me to have them?” Many people believe that they have the “Word of God” today based on the fact that there are 100’s of different Bible versions out there. But most people do not believe that right now, we have the complete, infallible, exact words of God. They believe that the only “perfect Bible” that has existed in history could be found in the original writings of the Old Testament in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. The problem with this thinking is that nobody has had the original manuscripts for the New Testament for almost two thousand years, and the Old Testament for even longer. What good is a “perfect Bible” that God gave to us if it does not exist anymore? What good is a perfect Bible that only lasted as long as the material that it was written on? God said and promised that HE would be the one to preserve his words in Psalms 12:6-7. Not man. We believe that God gave us the Bible through the process of inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16), but didn’t just stop there. God had his hand on preserving the Bible based on his promise that he would preserve his words (Psalms 12:6-7). If this is true, which we believe it is, then where can we find this “perfectly preserved Bible?”

Our church takes a firm stance that the Word of God in the English language that God has preserved for Christians to believe in is only found in a King James Bible. We believe the King James 1611 Authorized Version of the Bible is the absolute, infallible, perfect and preserved Word of God, exactly as he intends for us to have it in the English language. We take it as the Final Authority for all matters of faith and practice and make no apology for it. This is based on God using the King James Bible for over 400 years to take Bible Christianity around the world. For over 200 years the King James Bible stood alone as the only Bible that was used by New Testament, Bible-believing churches. More souls have been won to Christ through this version of the Bible than any other book in history. Matthew 7:17-20 talks about trees bringing forth their fruits. In verse 20 it says “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” The King James Bible has certainly borne fruit. We know it is God’s Word based on the fruit it has produced.

We believe that similarly, the Word of God can be found in other languages, but we take the stance that the King James Bible simply is the Word of God in the English language. Because of this, we deem any attempt to learn other languages to have a “deeper understanding” of the Bible simply unnecessary. God has given his perfect Word to us in our own language, so there is no reason to learn Greek and Hebrew to learn the Bible.

Along with trusting that we have the very Word of God today, we believe that every other version of the Bible is a counterfeit to the true Word of God. Ever since the Devil first showed up in Genesis 3, he has tried to get man to doubt God’s words. With the other versions of the Bible, the Devil has changed and subtracted from God’s words. With so many versions available, it makes man doubt whether we have God’s words today or not. It causes man to ask himself, “is this really what God said?” Most people today are concerned with their version being the “best translation,” or the “most accurate translation.” The issue is not about which version has the “best translation,” it is simply about do we have the Word of God today? If so, where is it?

In fact, every English translation of the Bible has one fundamental difference with the KJV. The difference is that each translation came from a different set of manuscripts than the manuscripts that were used to translate the KJV. In the early years of church history, the Devil used a man by the name of Origen. He was a pagan philosopher in Alexandria, Egypt who got his hands on a copy of the New Testament. Based on his pagan beliefs (most notably, his belief that Jesus Christ was not God), he changed the New Testament in over 60,000 places where he did not agree. And from that point on, there are 2 “lines” or “families” of manuscripts. One is the true line of manuscripts, used by and passed down by Bible believers. The other line is the manuscripts corrupted by Origen which were used in the starting of the Roman Catholic Church by Constantine in 325 AD. In summary, the uncorrupted manuscripts (called the Textus Receptus, meaning “Received Text”) were used to translate the Bible into the English language, resulting in the KJV in 1611. On the other hand, every modern version that has come out since 1881 was translated using the corrupted family of manuscripts. It can look confusing when there are 100’s of versions to choose from. But when it comes down to it, there are truly only 2 Bibles – God’s Bible, and the Devil’s Bible. It’s either God’s Word, or it’s not. If you have 99.99% of God’s words, then you don’t have the exact, infallible Word of God. And this is exactly how the Devil works, because the more truth wrapped around a lie, the more subtle and deceitful that lie is!

Despite God’s 3 warnings to not subtract, change, or add to his words (Deuteronomy 4:2, Proverbs 30:6, and Revelation 22:18), this is exactly what all the new versions do. They take out words or entire verses, change important words that can be used for cross-referencing, and add things that were never there. Most notably in the New Testament, these changes to the words have the motive of taking cheap shots at the deity of Jesus Christ. There’s a spirit behind these Bibles, and it’s certainly not God’s! Additionally, these 3 things are the exact 3 things that Eve did in Genesis 3:2-3 (compare with Genesis 2:16-17) that caused the fall of mankind. Eve subtracted from what God said (subtracts “freelyverse 2), adds to what God said (adds “neither shall ye touch itverse 3), and changes what God said (changes “thou shalt surely die” to “lest ye dieverse 3). Imagine that! The first sin in the Bible started with the Devil causing man to doubt God’s words, followed by man subtracting, changing, and adding to God’s words.

God promised to preserve every word; every jot; every tittle so his people would have no excuse for not knowing what God wanted them to do. God kept his promise so that his Church would have a final authority to lead and to guide them. This idea of a final authority is why people refuse to believe that we have a perfect Bible today. Having a final authority would require them to submit to it; to be held accountable to it. Instead, by saying that there are things in the Bible that we can’t be sure about, it leaves it up to “interpretation.” You basically can believe whatever you would like to believe, and then defend it by saying things like “well, we don’t have the exact revelation from God; we don’t have the original manuscripts, so how can you prove what I believe is wrong?” When someone gets to that point in their own mind, THEY become the final authority, not God’s Word. This has been the issue for man all throughout history – authority. More specifically, man’s final authority. So naturally many people, especially God’s people, will try to find a way around having the Bible as the final authority over them. Instead, they choose to make themselves the final authority. We believe that our final authority is the King James 1611 Authorized Version as God’s perfect and Holy Word, and therefore hold ourselves accountable to it in everything that we do.

What version you choose to use is up to you. But the question you must ask yourself, is “do I believe that this Bible I use is more sure than the audible voice of God coming from heaven?” Because the Bible says that it is in 2 Peter 1:17-21! All we want is simply to encourage you to understand WHY you use the version that you do. To understand where it came from, and the source as well as the motive behind it.

3. The absolute eternal security of the believer

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe, that once a person is saved and has truly been born again, there is nothing that can cause them to later in life lose their salvation.

Many Christians today struggle with and are concerned about doing something that will cause God to take away their salvation, where they must either gain their salvation back again or potentially die without salvation and go to hell. This is a heretical teaching, an idea that the Devil has used to make Christians uneasy in their walk with God. The result of a Christian that is always struggling with the question of “am I truly saved?” is that they will never do anything meaningful for God. Having doubt in the mind about their own salvation will cause them to only be concerned with their own standing with God and not the souls of other people.

First of all, the idea that someone can lose their salvation in the New Testament is ridiculous because we did nothing to earn our salvation in the first place. Salvation is a free gift (Ephesians 2:8). How could we possibly do anything to lose our salvation if we did nothing to earn it? It is not ours to lose. The “work” of our salvation was done by Jesus Christ alone, by his death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, HE is the keeper of our salvation. It’s not mine to keep, nor lose.

Many people will use John 10:28-29 to prove that a Christian cannot lose their salvation, as they cannot be “plucked” out of the Father’s hand. And while it is a great promise on eternal security, it can even be taken a step further when looking at Paul’s teachings in Ephesians. When a person gets saved, they automatically enter into a group we simply call “The Church” that consists of every born-again Christian throughout all of history. This is referenced in the Bible as the “Body of Christ” (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:16). Ephesians 5:22-31 compares it to a husband and wife’s relationship. How that after they are married, they are joined together as “one flesh” (verse 31). Then verse 32 says “This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The Church and Christ become as one. Someone who is in The Church is also spiritually in Christ’s body. So when someone gets saved, they aren’t just IN God’s hand… They ARE his hand! They are literally part of his body! And it’s safe to say that God will not cut off his hand so someone loses their salvation. Why? Because God already did cut off his hand when Christ, the “right hand of God” was crucified!

Another great passage is 2 Timothy 2:12-13 – “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” People often like to use verse 12 to say “see – if you deny God after becoming a Christian, then he will deny you!” and use it to show that salvation can be lost if you deny him. The problem is, these kinds of people don’t bother to read what is before, or after. Instead they just rip the verse out of context or “wrest the scriptures” as it says in 2 Peter 3:16.

First of all in 2 Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy, personally teaching him about the ministry. This book is written for Christians, and about Christians. It’s about what we are to do after we get saved. The first part in verse 12 talks about reigning with Christ. Our reign with Christ is different than our salvation. It’s talking about our inheritance, based on what we did for God after we got saved. Many Christians will deny God their life after they get saved, so God will, therefore, deny them of their inheritance at the Judgment Seat of Christ. That is what the verse is talking about.

Then it’s verse 13 that talks about a Christian who actually denies or renounces their faith; they “believe not.” But God says that “he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.” It goes against the very nature of God to deny his Son, Jesus Christ. When God looks at us after we’re saved, he sees us through a lens; a filter that is the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Christ is inside of us, just as we are in Christ’s body. We are joined to be one flesh (Ephesians 6:32). So God cannot deny us of our salvation because of His Son that is inside of us. There’s a hymn called Arise My Soul Arise where the fourth verse is based on 2 Timothy 2:13, saying:
“The Father hears him pray,
His dear anointed One,
He cannot turn away,
The presence of His Son,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
His Spirit answers to the blood,
And tells me I am born of God.”

The greatest teaching to prove that you cannot lose your salvation is by the doctrine of spiritual circumcision in the Bible, talked about in Colossians 2:11-13. Before salvation, a man’s soul and his flesh are stuck together. The soul is the part of us that is eternal, but our flesh is what causes us to sin. A sin committed by the flesh is imputed to the soul, where it is then unclean and has the need for salvation. God cleans the soul of all sin and ensures that sin is never imputed to it again through a process called spiritual circumcision. It is pictured by the physical circumcision that was commanded to be done in the Old Testament (Genesis 17:10-14, Romans 2:25-29). The very moment; the instantaneous second that someone trusts Christ as their own personal savior, this process takes place. God separates the soul from the flesh; “in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh” in Colossians 2:11. He then washes the soul; our eternal self with the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:5). But then to make sure that sins committed by the flesh are no longer imputed to the soul, God places His Holy Spirit, SEALING the soul from the flesh (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30). Now we have 2 “natures” to us; a Godly nature (Romans 8:9-11), and an old fleshly sin nature (Romans 7:15-21). Now, our flesh will continue to commit sin (1 John 1:9), while our soul attains and keeps sinless perfection (1 John 3:9). This is a one-way operation that fixes it so that no matter what our flesh does, or sinful things we get into, our soul is sinless and sealed. This is one of the greatest teachings in the Bible, yet is foreign to most of God’s people, resulting many of them to doubt their own eternal security.

It’s hard for some people to understand how it’s literally impossible for a Christian to lose their salvation. “What if a Christian goes out and kills somebody? Or what if they renounce everything about God and Christianity?” People that once claimed to be a Christian, but now live nothing like a Christian is confusing to people. But the answer to how this happens is either one of two things. Either that Christian is so far out of fellowship with God, that they’ve become a “vessel of dishonor” (Romans 9:21). God has given them up to the world to the point that they are not associated with Christianity in any way. Or, the other possibility is that person who once claimed to be a Christian never truly got saved, and has never been born again. They “believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:2) and didn’t truly believe in their heart what it requires to be saved.

Finally, it’s absolutely heretical to say that a Christian can lose their salvation because it is then stating that the death of Christ on the cross was not enough. It’s stating that his death is not powerful enough to forgive EVERY sin, as there are some sins that will “undo” what Christ did for us. It’s stating that we must “do” something to keep our salvation. God sending a man or woman to hell who at one point in their life, truly trusted Christ as their own personal Savior means that God would have to violate his own principles, which he never does. The bottom line is if we were the ones responsible for keeping our salvation, and it was possible for us to lose it, then it is a guarantee that you would. God fixed it in such a way that it’s not up to us whether our salvation is kept or not. When someone truly understands HOW they got saved, it is impossible for them to struggle with the idea that they can become “unsaved” once again.

4. The deity of Jesus Christ

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe, that Jesus Christ, being called the “Son of God” is God himself manifest in human flesh to reveal himself and redeem all of mankind.

The Bible teaches that there is One God (Ephesians 4:5-6) of the universe that reigns supreme. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (all-knowing), and omniscient (all-knowing). God himself takes on three different forms, often called the Trinity, or the Godhead. These forms are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity has a distinct function and role in its relationship with one another and with mankind. These make them separate, but they are all equally God. The One True God we believe in refers to all three members of this trinity working in unison as one (1 John 5:7). Because God is a trinity, His creation follows a pattern of threes; the number representing structure and completion. To learn about God, one can simply look at the things that God made to learn about him (Romans 1:20).

The Bible teaches that the man Jesus Christ who was born of a virgin, walked on the earth for 33 ½ years, was crucified on the cross, and resurrected after 3 days is the Son of God, and a member of the Trinity. He is the visible manifestation of an invisible God. He is also called the Word of God (1 John 5:7, John 1:1, John 1:14, Revelation 19:13), which is God’s manifestation to man in the form of writings. Jesus Christ is God’s manifestation to man in the form of a man. They are different in form, but serve the same purpose of revealing the nature and character of God to mankind.

Proverbs 8:22-31 tells us how Christ as the Son of God came to be. Before the creation of the universe in Genesis 1:1, Christ was one with God the Father, and was not as a separate “member” like he is now. But at some point before Genesis 1:1, Christ was “brought forth” (verse 24). He came out of God, forming an entirely separate entity. He is still God, but only in a different form, with a different role and purpose as God approached the moment that he would speak the universe into existence. Christ was not created by God, but was simply brought forth from God. God’s plan for Christ being the Son of God was for him to be his method of revealing and manifesting God to His creation so that they could know about him and know who he was.

In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ often takes on the form of “The Angel of The Lord” as he would reveal things to men in different ways. Then the Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record the First Coming of Christ, where God was manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16 which of course is butchered by all the “newer” versions). He took on the form of a man, having 2 natures; a Godly nature and a human nature. Christ was God himself, but humbled himself to the body of a man. This is the reason that Jesus was born of a virgin, Mary. She represents his earthly nature; the fact that he was a man. But Jesus had no earthly father, as his “Father” was God, showing us his Godly nature. Jesus Christ was God himself taking on the form of a man to bring grace and truth to the world (John 1:14).

Christ comes as the Messiah to the Nation of Israel, preaching the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Heaven. He performs signs and miracles fulfilling his Old Testament “credentials” that he is their Messiah and King. He also comes claiming that he is the Son of God, and God was his Father. Every Jew at that time knew from the Old Testament that anyone who claimed that God was their Father was making themselves equal with God (John 5:18). The leaders of the Jews made the choice to reject Jesus as the Son of God and as their Messiah, so he is then manifest to the rest of the world as he dies on the cross to pay the sin debt of mankind. The only way possible for man to “attain” God’s standards to live eternally with him is to receive HIS righteousness. This is why the perfect, sinless Son of God; who is God himself, had to die. It was so man could accept the payment that God made for him, and therefore become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The First Coming of Christ made a larger impact on the world than anything else in history. The idea of God himself coming to earth and humbling himself by taking on the form of a man is fascinating. In fact, this concept is one of the 7 mysteries in the Bible, called the “mystery of godliness” in 1 Timothy 3:16. “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” Jesus Christ as the Son of God was fully God, and as the Son of Man, he was fully human. It was the balance of these two natures, with him living a perfect, sinless life that allowed him to pay the ultimate price on the cross for the personal sin debt of every person. And thank God for that!

5. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe, that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ was a physical, literal, bodily resurrection necessary to conquer death in the payment for the sin of mankind.

It is mistakenly believed by some people (most notably Jehovah’s Witnesses) that Christ’s resurrection was only “spiritual.” They will claim that Christ appeared only in a spiritual body to his disciples after 3 days in the grave. 1 Peter 3:18 is often quoted where it says Christ was “quickened by the Spirit.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is clearly taught from the New Testament, as it was a necessary thing to take place for Christ to pay for our personal sin debt. Paul specifically addresses a group of people that denied this physical resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. In 1 Corinthians 15:12, some of them were saying “that there is no resurrection of the dead.” Paul explains in verses 13-18 that Christ HAD to resurrect from the dead to pay for our sins. The crucifixion and resurrection were not only to pay for the sins of man, but also to prove his power and glory as being God. Up to that point, the Devil had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14) that no man had overcome (except for a few men who God allowed to avoid death such as Enoch and Elijah). No man had under his own power overcome the power of death, which would change when Jesus Christ, as God taking on the form of a man overcame the physical death. He now has the “keys to death and hell” (Revelation 1:18), and so does anyone else who is in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

Christ’s physical, bodily resurrection is also easily seen in the Gospel Books of the Bible. His post-resurrection body has the same wounds that he physically bore on the cross (John 20:27). The stone was physically rolled away from the tomb, just as Christ’s physical body could not be found in the tomb (John 20:1-8). There is no “spiritualizing” the resurrection of Christ. The only way to get around this fact is to simply choose to not believe the truth and believe your own lie, just as the elders of Israel did in Matthew 28:11-15.

6. The two ordinances of the Church

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe, that there are 2 ordinances that the New Testament Local Church is to follow for the Church Age. These 2 ordinances are the ordinance of Baptism and the ordinance of The Lord’s Supper.

An ordinance, first mentioned in Exodus 12:14 is a commandment from God that is for a memorial and remembrance. The ordinances of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper were put into effect for the New Testament Church to be a memorial and a remembrance of the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The ordinance of Baptism is an act that every Christian should do after they have trusted Jesus Christ as their own personal savior. It is very important to make clear and understand that baptism has absolutely nothing to do with a person’s salvation. It is an act of obedience to God that should only take place after a person gets saved.

John 1:31 is the definitive verse on baptism, telling us that baptism manifests something, or makes something known. In John 1, it was about Jesus Christ being manifest or made known to Israel that He was their Messiah, and that He had come as their King. For a Christian, the thing manifested with their baptism is the profession of their faith that Christ is the Son of God and the belief that his death, burial and resurrection is the only thing that can save them from their sins. It is an act of obedience to openly profess their life-changing decision to accept Christ as their own personal Savior.

In reality, baptism does nothing for a person, other than get them wet. It’s about what the baptism means, or represents. The idea is similar to a wedding ring worn by a husband and his wife. The wedding ring is not what actually makes two people married to each other. It’s only a token; a symbol of their relationship as a husband and wife. Similarly, baptism is a token, or a symbol of our faith in God to receive his gift of salvation. Baptism is especially symbolic because it pictures the gospel message from 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. It is a perfect outward picture of what happened inwardly at the moment of salvation.

In baptism by immersion, the person is dunked underneath the water. This pictures the death and burial of Jesus Christ, and their spiritual death because of their sins. Inwardly, man is “dead in trespasses and sins;” (Ephesians 2:1) so the dunking underneath the water represents that death and burial. Then, they are brought up out of the water, resembling the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the new life and new birth that is found in trusting Christ as their own personal Savior. Because this is what it pictures and represents, we teach that the only Biblical method of baptism is by full immersion. Any other method of getting baptized is unbiblical. This is supported by scripture in Matthew 3:16 and Acts 8:39.

Baptism is something that should only be done by a person who is saved and should only be done under the authority of a Biblical New Testament Local Church.

The other ordinance that God gave to the church for the New Testament is the Lord’s Supper. This is based on the Last Supper that Jesus had with his disciples before he went to the cross (Matthew 26:26-30). They passed around bread and wine (called the “fruit of the vine” in Matthew 26:29, meaning unfermented grape juice) that Christ compares with his body and blood, regarding what he is about to do in going to the cross.

For this ordinance, we as New Testament believers take of the bread and the wine. The bread represents the broken body of Jesus Christ on the cross. The wine represents the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for you and for me. There is an entire study about wine in the Bible. To make it simple, Deuteronomy 32 states that there are two different kinds of wine. There is God’s wine and the Devil’s wine. God’s wine is simply grape juice that is not alcoholic. It is called the “pure blood of the grape” and the “fruit of the vine” in Deuteronomy 32:14 and Matthew 26:29. It’s referred to as “new wine” oftentimes. It is a picture of the heavenly drink that will be served at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (John 2:9 and Matthew 26:29). But it is also a picture of the pure, perfect, and precious blood of Christ that was shed for you and for me on the cross. On the other hand, the Devil’s wine will be fermented wine, called the “poison of dragons, and the cruel venom of asps” in Deuteronomy 32:33. Alcohol is of the Devil, and a Christian should have no part of it (2 Corinthians 6:15-17 and Ephesians 4:27). Especially when it comes to communion and the Lord’s Supper which is one of the holiest, most sacred times for the church in the New Testament. The grape juice is a picture of the pure blood of Jesus Christ that we are putting in remembrance. To take that which is pure; the grape juice, resembling the pure blood of Christ, and to replace it with the corrupted, fermented drink that is of the Devil is nothing short of blasphemous and offensive to the sight of God.

The action of us as believers partaking of the bread and grape juice is significant. We are identifying with Christ and His death on the cross for our sins. It resembles us spiritually accepting his broken body and shed blood to atone for our personal sin debt towards God. It is also done as a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice. In 1 Corinthians 11:26 it says that we “shew the Lord’s death till he come.” It was given that we should never forget how we obtained eternal life; through the shed blood of Jesus Christ the Lamb of God.

This ordinance breaks down into two different aspects to it, what we call The Lord’s Supper and Communion. In most cases, we use them interchangeably, but in the Bible, they are not exactly the same. In the early New Testament Churches, the individual members of the body of Christ would assemble for a meal together. This was a time of fellowship among one another and to represent the oneness that we have as believers in Christ Jesus. The purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to keep the bond and the fellowship strong among God’s people. It was given for our relationship with the other members in the New Testament local church.

The second part, communion is a special time that was ordained by God to keep the individual members of the body of Christ in fellowship and as close to God as they can be. Where the Lord’s Supper is for you and other believers, communion is for you and the Lord. Where the members of the church take the Lord’s Supper together, communion is taken individually. It was given as a special and holy time for individuals to have alone with God and to get close to Him through the remembrance of His death (through taking the bread and the wine). It’s a time for every person to look inside themselves and remember Christ’s sacrifice. Communion is the holiest, most precious time to God, given all that he gave the Church to keep and do. It’s a time to stop and consider and be thankful for what He did for you and me. Communion is about your own personal relationship with Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:28 says specifically that it’s a time for individuals to examine themselves. It’s a time simply to get close to God, so it’s important to be clean of any sin in life before coming to this ordinance.

As far as how often Communion/The Lord’s Supper should be done, there is not a designated period of time given. Paul leaves it up to the individuals of the churches to decide, saying “as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup” in 1 Corinthians 11:26. He doesn’t say it should be once a week, or once a month, or even once a year. He leaves it up for the church to decide when they feel is the appropriate time to take of it. Paul wants to keep it as a special time, a special event that does not lose its meaning to the individuals of the church. A church that does it more often than another church does not make them more “spiritual” in any way. It simply has the purpose of displaying remembrance of the Lord’s death on the cross, which is important for the church to keep holy, sacred, and special. This is the reason that no timetable for it is given.

Baptism and Communion/The Lord’s Supper make up the two ordinances for the New Testament local church to follow that keep us in line with what God is doing by always remembering what He has done for us.

7. Separation of Church and State

The real meaning behind the phrase “separation of Church and State” is completely lost today. Most people associate this phrase with political discussions about how much, if at all should government establishments be associated with religious organizations. Topics of discussion that come up with this are things like prayer in public schools. Or the concept of having the 10 commandments in courthouses. The reason that these things once happened was because America had once been a country founded on Biblical principles. But technically, America was never a true “Christian” nation. The reason for that is because of the Church’s belief on the separation of Church and State. The origin of this is in the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, stating “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” This simply means that no laws can be passed that formally establish a religion, nor prohibit anyone from exercising any religion. The means that it is legal to have things like prayer in public schools, or the 10 commandments hung inside of courthouses without breaking the “separation of Church and State.” They are simply Biblical principles that are being practiced, but not “forced” or “established” over anyone. But again, the real meaning behind that phrase is lost today.

The real meaning of “separation of Church and State” is the reason why Christians support it and why America established it as a law within the Constitution. The meaning of the Church and State staying “separate” was about preventing a church-state religion set up that was happening over in Europe before America was founded. Countries like England, Spain, Italy, etc. were under Roman Catholic influences. Over time, those influences reached into the leadership of the countries, giving the Roman Catholic Church power over nations. What the Catholic Church did, was establish church-state religion setups (i.e. Charlemagne; crowned as Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on December 25, 800 AD. The official marriage of Roman Catholicism to the Roman government). What this means, is that when you are born in that country, you automatically join the church that is established by the state. In America, when you are born, you are an American citizen. You’re not a Christian, or a Catholic, or a Jew, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or a Buddhist, etc. You can choose to be any of those, but you are born only as an American. However, someone who is born in Italy, where the Roman Catholic Church has established a church-state religion, is not just born as an Italian citizen, but also born a Catholic. You automatically enter into the religion that has been established alongside the government.

The people who ran the churches were the same people who ran the country. With this setup, they forced their religion on their people and persecuted people who did not join their religion. They could LEGALLY persecute them and kill them because their religious beliefs were directly in line with the government. The Church was the State and the State was the Church. This was the reason why Christianity was so terribly persecuted, and why they made their way over to America. They wanted to freely worship God without being legally persecuted by the government. When they set up the American government, they made sure to never allow this country to have an official church-state setup like Catholicism had done in Europe. This is the origin and meaning behind the phrase “separation of Church and State,” and why Christians are supportive of it.

8. The literal, visible, pre-millennial return of Christ

The Bible teaches, and therefore believe, that the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is the major event of the Bible that everything else in it is built around.

The theme of the Bible is a Kingdom. It’s a story about a King (Jesus Christ) and his Kingdom. There are many other “sub-themes” found throughout the Bible such as the plan of salvation, and principles to live a “good” life. But those can all be encompassed underneath the specific, central theme of the Bible, being God establishing his Kingdom. God’s plan is through 7,000 years of human history to set up a governmental system that will last for all of eternity. The Bible is simply about God establishing that government, or His Kingdom, talked about in Isaiah 9:6-7.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The might God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

The Day where that Kingdom will be established for all of eternity is at The Second Coming of Christ. This is the most important event in the Bible. It’s the Day that we are all looking forward to, and the Day that in eternity, will be looked back at as a day of remembrance. When Christ comes, he will wipe out the antichrist, and everything associated with him, saving the Nation of Israel, and then will set up his Kingdom where he will reign as King in Jerusalem with Israel ruling with him. Initially, this Kingdom runs for 1,000 years (see Revelation 20:1-7) before it goes into eternity. This time is often referred to as the “Millennium” from the Latin words “Mille” (1000) and “Annum” (year). During this time, there is still an issue of sin and death that men must deal with. But it is a time of peace on earth (Isaiah 11:1-11), goodwill towards men that every humanitarian, liberal, religious leader and member of the United Nations has been trying to achieve for 6,000 years of human history. The Bible teaches that this peace on earth everyone so desires ONLY comes with Jesus Christ on the throne in a Jewish reign. This is why men do not like the Bible.

Those who believe in the Second Coming of Christ, but reject him establishing his Kingdom as taught in the Bible have their own teachings to get around the truth. The first false teaching is what we call “post-millennialism,” or the post-millennial return of Christ. What the Bible teaches, and what was just explained is the pre-millennial return of Christ. Pre-, meaning that Christ comes BEFORE the Millennium begins. Christ returns, establishing the Millennial reign once the church gets raptured out (due to happen anytime soon!). The post-millennial teaching is that Christ comes AFTER the Millennium has begun. The idea is that it’s the church’s job to bring in world peace, and only then will Christ come back to reign on earth. This is simply not true. It is not the church’s job to establish world peace, as this is something that only the Lord Jesus Christ can bring when he comes back.

The other main false teaching is what is called “a-millennialism.” This is the belief that Christ is not physically coming back at any point to reign on earth. His return as is prophesied in the Bible is “spiritualized,” saying that he only comes back “in our hearts” or “in spirit.” They don’t believe in the physical, literal return of Christ onto earth. Both of these teachings are followed because people do not understand the theme of the Bible. It’s because of these teachings that people get messed up in passages like Matthew 5-7, the “Sermon on the Mount,” taking statements in those chapters for New Testament salvation. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is laying out the “Constitution” of his Millennial reign to come. It’s for a different period of time than the Church Age. It is vitally important for any student of the Bible to always keep in mind the theme of the Bible and the central event that goes with the theme. A real student of the Bible that will “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) will clearly find that the Bible teaches pre-millennialism, with the Lord Jesus Christ returning to set up his kingdom.

9. There are two 'offices' for the New Testament church - bishops (pastors) and deacons

The Bible teaches, and therefore we believe that there are two designated positions of leadership within a New Testament local church – a pastor and a deacon.

The definitive chapter on this is 1 Timothy 3. Paul is speaking to a young man in the ministry, Timothy who is the model pastor for us in the Bible. Here he lays out the qualifications for someone being a bishop (what we call “pastors” today) and a deacon. The general concept is that men in these leadership positions should be trained leaders who have been established in the ministry. Men who understand the Bible and have gotten the clear calling by God (based on 1 Samuel 3) to join the ministry. The true Biblical method of someone becoming a pastor is not by them going to Bible College. It is for them to be personally trained by their own pastor under the structure of a Biblical New Testament local church. Then by the leadership of the church that they are under, they will get sent out to start their own church when the Spirit of God commands (Acts 13:2). God works through his established structure of a New Testament local church, so that is where young men should be trained for the positions of leadership in the ministry.

These two titles; a pastor and a deacon are the only designated positions of leadership that are defined in the writings of the New Testament. Therefore, we do not have need of, nor recognize any other positional titles for the church. Especially the position of a “priest” – the Bible teaches that every Christian is a priest (Revelation 1:6 and 1 Peter 2:5). I don’t need to confess my sins to a priest. I’m a priest myself, after the order of Melchisedec! I can confess my sins to my High Priest, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 5:10) who is the ONE mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5)!

Additionally, there is no such designated position where someone is called a “saint.” Anytime “saint” shows up in the New Testament, it simply refers to anyone who is saved. God sees every born-again Christian as a saint.

These two offices of a pastor and deacon are designed by God to provide structure and leadership in churches. Following the qualifications for those offices in 1 Timothy 3 will ensure that the church is in the hands of leadership God wants it to be in.

10. The local church is the structure that God does everything through in the New Testament

The Bible teaches that the New Testament local church is the structure that God set up to work through, so therefore we believe that everything a Christian does should be through that structure.

Here’s a simple analogy to establish this point: God has something he has for every Christian to do. He has something he wants us to accomplish, and places he wants to take us. To accomplish this plan, God gave us three things. First, he gave us his Holy Spirit, indwelling inside of us. This will be my guide to lead me along the way. Second, God gave us the Holy Bible. This is my roadmap. This is what the Holy Spirit will use to direct where I should go next in life. Third, God gave us the New Testament local church. This will be my vehicle that will get me exactly where I need to go. It’s the vehicle that every Christian needs to use in order to accomplish God’s plan for them. These three things must work in unison to get us to where God wants us to go. Missing one of these pieces in your life will hinder your potential to grow and be used of God. The New Testament local church, as the vehicle is what we must submit ourselves underneath so that God can fully use the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God in our lives.

Today, there are many different parachurches and other Christian organizations that encourage Christians to get involved in. This would include campus outreaches, welfare and social services, and even companies that associate with and follow Christian teachings. These organizations are certainly not bad, and absolutely can be used of God for the furtherance of the Gospel IF they are done correctly (like partnering with a New Testament local church). But many people think that their involvement in a parachurch organization independent of a Bible-believing church can replace their need to be involved in a real church. The point is, parachurch and Christian organizations that exist today were set up and established by God for the New Testament (Psalms 127:1).

God’s design was for every born-again Christian to get involved in a Bible-believing, Bible teaching New Testament local church to serve him and accomplish God’s plan for their life. Any involvement in any parachurch organization should be based on the leadership of the church choosing to associate with that organization. They have their place in assisting churches in ministry. But as an individual, the structure God set up for us to be apart of is through that church where we can learn and grow spiritually. These organizations should never replace what God is doing with us as individuals through a local church.

Conclusion

Thank you for taking time to read through our statement of beliefs. We hope that it was a blessing for you. If there was just one thing that we hope you can take away and understand about our church in reading through all of this, it would be this: our goal is simply to find the truth of the Word of God and take a stand for it. We use the Bible that God has given us, and apply it to our lives in all matters of faith and practice.

We hope you would consider getting involved in our church or simply just reaching out to us. Feel free to visit our contact page if you have any questions or would like to reach our pastor, Bob Alexander.

We have people who follow us all around the world and no matter where you are, we would love to hear from you and supply you with the material you need to grow in and teach the Word of God. We are thankful for the blessings God has given us, and there is nothing greater for the people within a church than to share those blessings with other like-minded Christians.

Jeremiah 6:16 – “Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.