What We Believe ...

God

ENGLISH: There is only one God who is spirit. He is infinite. God created all things both visible and invisible. God is actively involved (theism). God is independent. God is perfect. God is eternal. He is omnipresent, immutable, omnicient, sovereign and almighty.

SCRIPTURES: Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 6:4, Isaiah 57:15, Psalm 106:48, Revelation 16:5, Psalm 90:2, Genesis 1:1, John 4:24, 14:15

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Holy Bible

ENGLISH: The Holy Spirit worked in holy men who were inspired to write the Bible. The Bible is the true, inerrant, authoritative Word of God. It is our final authority. The Bible consists of the Old Testament (Genesis to Malachi) and the New Testament (Matthew to Revelation). God's revelation of His Word is complete. God forbids anyone to add or remove anything from the Bible. The Bible is adequate for faith, salvation, and living life in a way that honors God.

SCRIPTURES: Psalm 19:7-9, Revelation 22:18-19, Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21

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Trinity

ENGLISH: There is only one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always been God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are the same, past, present and future. God does not change, as if the Father became the Son, or the Son became the Holy Spirit. The three persons are distinct from each other. The Father is not the Son or the Holy Spirit. The Son is not the Father or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son. There are three equal persons in the one Godhead.

SCRIPTURES: Genesis 1:26; 3:22; 11:7, Psalm 90: 1-2; 110, Isaiah 6:8; 48:16, Hosea 1:7, Jeremiah 23:23-24, Zechariah 1:9-13, Matthew 3:11-17; 28:19-20, John 1:1; 14:11; 16-17, 26; 15:26, Romans 8:9-17, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 4:4-6, Hebrews 9:14, Colossians 1:15-17, 1 John 5:7

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Sovereignty of God

ENGLISH: God is supreme and rules over all things. There is no one equal to God. God plans everything that happens according to His will. All events, both good and bad, work together perfectly. Nothing will cause His eternal plan to fail.

SCRIPTURES: Revelation 19:6, Isaiah 46:9-11, Psalm 57:2, Romans 8:28, Ecclesiastes 3:11,14-15

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God's Decree

ENGLISH: All have sinned and deserve to go to hell. This punishment is just because not even one person has done good. Before the foundation of the world, however, God decreed to show both His mercy and justice. He showed His mercy by electing some people to go to heaven. He showed His justice by leaving other people to hell. God said to Moses, "I will show mercy to who I want. Who are you, as a man, to complain and rebel against God?" In love, God decreed to elect some people according to the good pleasure of His will. If you have faith in Jesus, then you can know that God elected you before the foundation of the world.

SCRIPTURES: 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Ephesians 1:4-6, Acts 13:48, Philippians 1:29, John 1:13, Romans 9:11-13, Titus 3:5-7, Ephesians 2:8-9

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Creation

ENGLISH: In the beginning, there was nothing. God created everything in six days, and everything He created was good. Everything that God made still depends on God's sovereign providence. Creation demonstrates His glory. God created for His own good pleasure, not because He needed anything. God created man (Adam) and woman (Eve) with bodies and souls. God created them in His image in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness.

SCRIPTURES: Genesis 1:1, Exodus 20:11, Genesis 1:27, Colossians 1:16-17

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Fall of Man

ENGLISH: When Adam and Eve rebelled against God by eating forbidden fruit they became alienated from God. Sin spread to all their descendents. People could not save themselves because they were slaves to sin. People did not want to follow God because they had lost their free will; they were/are spiritually dead.

SCRIPTURES: Genesis 2:16-17, 3:6-7, 11, Romans 3:9-12, 23, 5:12, 6:20, John 7:34, John 3:19-20, Ephesians 2:1-3, 5

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Jesus Christ

ENGLISH: In eternity past, God the Father and Jesus created the heavens and the earth. People were separated from God. God chose Jesus to be the mediator between Him and the people, to save the people God chose from their sins. Adam and Eve sinned. God made a covenant to send Jesus. Later, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus was fully God and fully man. As Jesus grew, he always obeyed the Father. He never sinned. Jesus suffered, was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. He ascended into Heaven to be with the Father. He lives and reigns forever. The only way to be saved is through Jesus. There is no other name that saves.

SCRIPTURES: John 1:1, Colossians 1:16, Hebrews 5:5-9, 1 Timothy 2:5, Ephesians 2:16, Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:20-25, John 8:58, 10:30, John 10:33, Phil 2:8, Mark 8:31, John 24:51, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, Acts 4:12

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Power of the Gospel

ENGLISH: The Gospel is Jesus Christ crucified on the cross. God commanded us to preach the gospel to all. People are spiritually dead; they resist the Gospel and don't believe. But the Gospel is God's power. The Holy Spirit works mightily in the hearts of people God has chosen, and draws them irresistibly. People are not saved through skillful or persuasive speech. The Word of God is powerful and never fails to save His chosen people. Those who are not saved consider the Gospel foolish, but those who are saved view the Gospel as powerful.

SCRIPTURES: Mark 16:15, Luke 9:60, Hebrews 4:2, Acts 7:51, John 10:26, Acts 2:37, Ezekiel 36:26-27, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 1 Thessalonians. 1:5-6, Hebrews 4:12, Isaiah 55:11

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Regeneration

ENGLISH: All spirits are dead and hearts are hard. God sent his Holy Spirit to His chosen people to make spiritually alive. He does this through the preaching of Godms Word. He changes people who did not want to follow God into people who want to follow God. He replaces their old heart with a new heart. They are born again as new creatures.

SCRIPTURES: Ezekiel 36:26-27; Jeremiah 31:3, John 1:12-13:3:3-7, Titus 3:3-7, Ephesians 1:18; 2:1, 5, 2 Corinthians 4:6; 5:17, 1 John 5:20, Revelation 22:17

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Repentance

ENGLISH: Repentance is a gift from God. When God gives us repentance, we understand that our sin is terrible. We understand that our sin makes us guilty before God. We understand that our sin is wrong and that we are evil. Then we hate our sin. We turn away from our sin and turn to follow God and live holy lives.

SCRIPTURES: Romans 2:4, Acts 5:31-32; 11:18, 2 Timothy 2:25-26, Psalm 51, Jeremiah 31:18-19, John 14:15, Job 1:8, Leviticus 11:44; 19:2, Luke 13:3, 1 Peter 1:16

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Faith

ENGLISH: Faith is a gift from God. We believe only in the finished work of Jesus. We look only to Jesus. While some have a weak faith and others have a strong faith, all who believe only in Jesus have eternal life.

SCRIPTURES: John 19:30, John 6:40, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Philippians 1:29, Isaiah 45:22, Hebrews 12:2, Matthew 24:13, Luke 12:28, Luke 17:5, 1 Peter 1:5-9, John 10:28

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Justification

ENGLISH: Because of our sin, we deserve God's wrath and punishment. But God took the sins of His elect people and imputed them to Jesus on the cross. That alone satisfied God's judgement. The blood of Jesus washes away the sins of God's elect people. The righteousness of Jesus is imputed to God's elect people. God justifies them and accepts them as His people. Justification is the same in both the Old and New Testaments. People have always been justified by faith alone.

SCRIPTURES: Romans 5:8-10, Romans 5:18-19, Romans 6:23, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:16, Romans 3:22-26, Romans 4:2-6, 22-25, 5:1-2, Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11

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Sanctification

ENGLISH: The Holy Spirit lives in God's people. The Holy Spirit changes their lives. He causes them to study the Bible and do what it says. God's people learn to think, speak and act like Jesus, and not act like the world.

SCRIPTURES: Leviticus 20:7-8, John 14:16, 26; 17:17, Romans 5:3-4, 8:29; 12:1-2, Philippians 1:25, 1 Corinthians 1:7-9; 2:16, James 4:4, 1 Timothy 4:7, 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16; 1 John 2:15, 1 Peter 1:15-16

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Perseverance of the Saints

ENGLISH: When God saves His people, it is final. No one can take them out of God's hand. They cannot lose their salvation. They may fall into sin for some time but, because of His eternal love for them, God will convict them of their sin and bring them back to Himself.

SCRIPTURES: John 10:27-30, John 6:47, 1 John 1:8-10, Romans 7:15-25, Hebrews 12:5-7, Jude 24, 1 Peter 1:5, Philippians 1:6

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Church

ENGLISH: God has called Christians out of the world. He has called them to Himself. That is the church. The church must worship Jesus, who is the Head of the Church. Jesus gives authority to the church. There are three things a true church must do: preach and teach correct doctrine, administer baptism and the Lord's supper, and practice church discipline. Churches are not independent. They must watch each other and work together as one body under Christ.

SCRIPTURES: Colossians 1:18, Heb. 10:24-25, Eph. 2:19, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 Tim. 3:16, 2 Tim.4:2-5, Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Cor. 11:23-29, Matthew 18:15-17, John 10:16

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Baptism

ENGLISH: Jesus commanded us to baptize everyone who says they believe in Jesus, including their children. We baptize with water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Baptism is a visual sign of the Holy Spirit coming into us, washing away our sin and giving us new hearts. Water does not save us, and it only gives us a picture and promise for washing of sin by Jesus' blood and cleansing by the Holy Spirit. We baptize children of Christian parent(s), because the promise also belongs to them.

SCRIPTURES: Ezekiel 36:25-28, Joel 2:28, Matt. 3:11, Col. 2:11-12, 1 Pet. 1:2, Titus 3:5,6, 1 Cor. 6:11, Eph. 4:5, 5:26, 1 Cor. 12:13, Matt. 28:19, 1 Cor. 7:14, Acts 2:38-39

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The Lord's Supper

ENGLISH: Jesus established the Lord's Supper and commanded us to eat the bread and drink the cup. The bread is broken to show that Jesus' body was broken for our sins. The wine shows that Jesus shed his blood to wash away our sin. Only baptized Christian who can examine himself may eat the bread and drink the cup. We take the Lord's Supper in fellowship with God and united to other Christians. We do this to remember Jesus.

SCRIPTURES: Matthew 26:26-28, Luke 22:17-20, 1 Peter 4:17, 1 Cor. 7:14; 10:3-4,17; 11:27-29, 31-34, Eph. 2:5, John 6:51, 63,35,50,56, Heb. 8:6, Heidelberg Catechism #75-82

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Resurrection and Judgment

ENGLISH: In the last day, Jesus will return and raise all who have died. He will transform all of their physical bodies into spiritual bodies and will judge them all. Christians will have bodies like Jesus' glorified body. Jesus will save them and they will have eternal life in heaven. Non-Christians will receive eternal punishment in hell.

SCRIPTURES: Luke 20:37, Eccl. 12:13, Phil. 3:21, Acts 23:6; 24:15, 1 Cor. 15, John 6:44, John 5:28, John 24:24-25, John 25:28-29

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