We are members of the American Baptist Association
| Doctrinal Statements of: |
| Awana |
1. We believe
that love one for another as Jesus loves the believer manifests our
discipleship, proves our love for God and symbolizes our authority
as New Testament churches. Love is therefore the great commandment
of the LORD Jesus Christ upon which all others are dependent (Matt.
22:35-40; John 13:34, 35; John 15:12; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 John 5:1-3;
Rev. 2:4, 5).
2. We believe in the infallible, verbal
inspiration of the whole Bible and that the Bible is the
all-sufficient rule of faith and practice (Psalm 119:160; 2 Tim.
3:16, 17).
3. We believe in the personal triune God: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in divine perfection (Matt.
28:19).
4. We believe in the Genesis account of Creation
(Gen. 1; 2).
5. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the
archenemy of God and man, the unholy god of this world, and that his
destiny is the eternal lake of fire (Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-19;
Matt. 25:41; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 6:10-17; Rev. 20:10).
6. We
believe in the virgin birth and sinless humanity of Jesus Christ
(Matt. 1:18-20;
2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22).
7. We believe
in the deity of Jesus Christ (John 10:30; John 1:1, 14; 2 Cor.
5:19).
8. We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine
Administrator for Jesus Christ in His churches (Luke 24:49; John
14:16, 17; Acts 1:4, 5, 8; Acts 2:1-4).
9. We believe that
miraculous spiritual manifestation gifts were done away when the
Bible was completed. Faith, Hope and Love are the vital abiding
Spiritual Gifts (1 Cor. chapters 12-14).
10. We believe that
Man was created in the image of God and lived in innocency until he
fell by voluntary transgression from his sinless state, the result
being that all mankind are sinners (Gen. 1:26; Gen. 3:6-24; Rom.
5:12, 19).
11. We believe that the suffering and death of
Jesus Christ was substitutionary for all mankind and is efficacious
only to those who believe (Isa. 53:6; Heb. 2:9; 1 Peter 2:24;
1
Peter 3:18; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 2:2).
12. We believe
in the bodily resurrection and ascension of Christ and the bodily
resurrection of His saints (Matt. 28:1-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Cor.
15:42-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
13. We believe in the
premillennial, personal, bodily return of Christ as the crowning
event of the Gentile age. This event will include the resurrection
of the righteous to eternal heaven, and the Millennium will be
followed by the resurrection of the unrighteous unto eternal
punishment in the lake of fire and that the righteous shall enter
into the heaven age (John 14:1-6;
1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess.
2:8; Rev. 19; Rev. 20:4-6; Rev. 20:11-15; Rev. 21:8).
14. We
believe that the depraved sinner is saved wholly by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ, and the requisites to regeneration are
repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke
13:3-5; John 3:16-18; Acts 20:21; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8, 9), and that
the Holy Spirit convicts sinners, regenerates, seals, secures, and
indwells every believer (John 3:6; John 16:8, 9; Rom. 8:9-11; 1 Cor.
6:19, 20; Eph. 4:30; Titus 3:5).
15. We believe that all who
trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure in Him and
shall not perish (John 3:36; John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:35-39;
Heb. 10:39; 1 Peter 1:5).
16. We believe that God deals with
believers as His children, that He chastises the disobedient, and
that He rewards the obedient (Matt. 16:27; Matt. 25:14-23; John
1:12;
Heb. 12:5-11; 2 John 8; Rev. 22:12).
17. We believe
that Jesus Christ established His church during His ministry on
earth and that it is always a local, visible assembly of
scripturally baptized believers in covenant relationship to carry
out the Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, and each church is an
independent, self-governing body, and no other ecclesiastical body
may exercise authority over it. We believe that Jesus Christ gave
the Great Commission to the New Testament churches only, and that He
promised the perpetuity of His churches (Matt. 4:18-22; Matt. 16:18;
Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 1:14-20; John 1:35-51; Eph. 3:21).
18.
We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in the Lord's
churches: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural baptism is the
immersion of penitent believers in water, administered by the
authority of a New Testament church in the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. The Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance,
restricted to the members of the church observing the ordinance
(Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:12, 38; Rom. 6:4; 1 Cor. 5:11-13;
1
Cor. 11:1, 2, 17-20, 26).
19. We believe that there are two
divinely appointed offices in a church, pastors and deacons, to be
filled by men whose qualifications are set forth in Titus and 1
Timothy.
20. We believe that all associations, fellowships,
and committees are, and properly should be, servants of, and under
control of the churches (Matt. 20:25-28).
21. We believe in
freedom of worship without interference from the government and
affirm our belief in civil obedience, unless the laws and
regulations of civil government run contrary to the Holy Scriptures
(Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-15).