Our Doctrinal Statement

1. The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the complete and final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21, 19). We believe the Scriptures are to be interpreted in their natural, grammatical, cultural, historical, and literal sense, revealing divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These are not ways of salvation, but rather means by which God directs man according to his purpose (John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6).


2. The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, Creator of all things, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—equal in being, nature, power and glory, and having the same infinite attributes and perfections such as eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 46:9, 10; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 13:8).


3. The Person and Work of Christ  

  1. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that he might reveal God and redeem sinful people (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; John 14:9; 1 Peter 1:18, 19).
  2. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mankind as a representative, substitutionary sacrifice. This atoning sacrifice is sufficient to redeem and justify all who trust in him. Christ’s literal, physical resurrection from the dead assures that his sacrifice is sufficient (Romans 3:24-25; Romans 4:25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24 and 2 Peter 2:1).
  3. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our high priest, he fulfills the ministry of intercessor, and advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2).


4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

  1. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; he is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14).
  2. We believe he is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).


5. The Total Depravity of Man

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God, and of himself, is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).


6.  Salvation

We believe salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).


7. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

  1. We believe that once saved, we are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5).
  2. We believe in the assurance of one’s salvation and that this assurance should not encourage the use of Christian liberty to indulge the sinful nature (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).


8. The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. We believe all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord (Romans 6:13; Romans 8:12-13; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).


9. Missions

We believe it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to proclaim the gospel to all mankind (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20).


10. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

  1. We believe God is sovereign in the bestowment of all his gifts; and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. As the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority established, sign gifts ceased to carry scriptural authority and are not normative for today and are subject to all the guidelines established in Scripture (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12).
  2. We believe God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with his own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; James 5:13-14; 1 John 5:14-15).


11. The Church

  1. We believe the church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2). We believe the church is distinct from national Israel, with whom God has made irrevocable covenants (Genesis 15; 17:7, 8; Romans 11; Hebrews 6:13-18).
  2. We believe that the church was established at Pentecost and continues as local churches. This is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 2:1, 40-47; Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).
  3. We believe in the ordinances of believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church age (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).


12. The Nature of Satan

We believe Satan is a created angelic being who rebelled against God and therefore sinned; he is the open and declared enemy of God and mankind; and he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).


13. The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in the "Blessed Hope," the personal and imminent coming of our Lord in the air for his saints, initiating a seven-year period of tribulation, followed by the return of Christ with his saints to the earth to establish his millennial kingdom (Titus 2:11-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; Revelation 3:10; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 19:11-21; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 20:1-6).


14. The Eternal State

  1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people: the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).
  2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6).
  3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment and separation from God (Matthew 25:41-46; Luke 16:19-26; Mark 9:43-48; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Jude 1:6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).

 


If you'd like to know more, please reach out to us: cmbc@calvarymonument.org or 717-442-8161