Statement of Faith

DOCTRINE: We accept the Scriptures as authoritative and adopt the following Confession of Faith as our interpretation of Bible doctrine.

1.    We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God and inerrant; that this divine inspiration and inerrancy extends equally and fully to all parts of the Scripture, and whatever Scripture teaches is to be trusted and relied upon as being true and of supreme and final authority.  (Matthew 5:17-18; Proverbs 30:5-6; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Luke 1:1-3; II Samuel 23:2; John 10:35; Luke 16:17)

2.    We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three in one, co-equal, which is the Trinity.  (Isaiah 45:5; Mark 12:29-32; Genesis 1:1; II Corinthians 13:4; Matthew 28:19; John 6:27; Romans 1:7; John 1:1; Hebrews 1:8; I John 5:20; Acts 5:3-4; Acts 1:4; Acts 2:38)

3.    We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary.  (John 1:1,4; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-28; Isaiah 7:14)

4.    We believe in the Holy Spirit, one of the three persons of the Trinity, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the life of every believer, and He empowers the preaching and teaching of the Gospel.  (John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-11; II Thessalonians 2:7; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13; John 16:13; Romans 8:26-27; Ephesians 5:8; John 15:26-27)

5.    We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but spiritual death, which is separation from God, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and those who reach moral responsibility become sinners in thought, word, and deed.  (Genesis 1:27; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Romans 6:23; Romans 3:10-23; Galatians 3:22)

6.    We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures and as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. (2 Corinthians 5:14-21; 1 Corinthians 15:22; John 3:16; Hebrews 4:15-16; 1 John 3:5; 1 Corinthians 5:3; Romans 5:8; Romans 10:13;  1 John 2:2; Romans 5:1)

7.    We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His ascension into heaven and His present life there as High Priest and Advocate for all believers.  (Luke 24:23-40; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 1:1-11; I Peter 3:22; John 14:18; Hebrews 4:14, 5:1-10, 13:5, 7:25)

8.    We believe in the “blessed hope,” the personal premillennial and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (John 14:1-6; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 20:1-10; John 14:2-3; I Corinthians 15:51-52; II Peter 3:3-4; I Thessalonians 5:6; Revelation 3:3)

9.    We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby, they become children of God, and heirs of eternal life. This is a relationship in which they are eternally secure.  (Ephesians 2:5,8-9; Romans 4:5; John 3:7; Romans 6:6; Romans 8:10-11; I John 3:1-2; Romans 8:15-16; Romans 8:14-17; I Peter 1:5)

10.    We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost in hell, and the everlasting blessedness of the saved in heaven.  (I Thessalonians 4:13-18;  I Corinthians  15:51-58; Revelation 20:11-15; John 14:1-6; Hebrews 11:10-16; Hebrews 12:18-29; Matthew 13:36-43)

11.    We believe in the existence of a personal devil, who is still working in the world to destroy the souls of men and that he and all his angels and all who receive not Christ as their Savior will eternally perish in the lake of fire.  (Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 20:10, 14:11, 19:20)

12.    We believe in the Church, the Body of Christ, whose mission it is to preach the Gospel to all the world, all of its endeavors being supported by the free will offering of God’s People.  (II Corinthians 8:1-15, 32; 9:1-15; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:19-25; Matthew 18:20; Ephesians 1:15-23, 4:11-12; Acts 1:8, 2:42-47; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Philippians 4:15-19; John 20:21; Luke 24:47)

13.    We believe that the ordinances of the Church, given by our Lord, are Baptism and the Lord’s Table (Communion).  (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12-13, 36-38; Romans 6:3-4; Acts 18:8; Matthew 26:26-30; I Corinthians 11:23-30)

14.    We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God.  (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 139:14-16)

15.    We believe that the term marriage is defined scripturally as: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). Marriage between one man and one woman for life uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church. (Ephesians 5:21-33). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4)

16.    We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 5:27-28, 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10).   

17.    We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139; Jeremiah 1:4-5; Luke 1:39-45)

18.    We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31)

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of The Chapel on the Campus’ faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our Board of Elders is the final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.