Our Beliefs
Doctrine Statements
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenary (full and complete) inspired (God-breathed) Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant in the original writings, and God-breathed. Therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – coeternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
The Person and Work of Christ
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 men. (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious (on our behalf), substitutionary sacrifice; and our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 2:24) 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 Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) We believe He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is duty of all believers to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; 1John 2:20, 27) We believe God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowment of all spiritual gifts for the perfecting of the saints today; that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles were for the purpose of authenticating the Apostles teaching of divine truth when the church began, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4)
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary to pay the penalty for our sins, resulting in forgiveness of our sins. (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that once saved, all are redeemed and are kept by God’s power and thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5)
The Church
We believe the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25- 27) We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Act 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:10-13; Titus 1:5-11; Hebrews 10:23- 25) We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4) We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent, pretribulational, premillennial, coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial Kingdom. (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; Zechariah 14:4-11)
The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life with Christ, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6; 12-13) We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are made incorruptible and reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 1 Corinthians 15:52-53; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6) We believe the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when the 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. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7;Revelation 20:5, 11-15)
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
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Position Statements
Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. Therefore, we view evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution, etc., as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
Dispensationalism
We believe the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal dispensations of grace determined by God which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations – the law, the church, and millennial kingdom – are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:17; Acts 2:41-42; 18:8; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 11:23-26; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6)
Separation
We believe all believers should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to be separate from all religious apostasy, sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. Mature believers should discern by the Holy Spirit whether their practices and associations are approved by God. God’s Word commands us to live in a way that honors Christ and edifies others. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 6:12; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1- 5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
Civil Government
We believe God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: the family, the civil government, and the church. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The family, civil government, and church are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. While we are commanded to obey and pray for all government leaders, we are not to obey the civil government when it demands we act contrary to the Word of God. God requires our first allegiance and obedience (1 Tim. 2:1-2; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Human Sexuality
We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-28; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4) We believe the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman of their natural born gender. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)
Family Relationships
We believe men and women are spiritually equal in position before God and He has ordained distinct functions within the home. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible to serve as a Pastor/Elder. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12) We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to lovingly submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord and parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values, leading them through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:14-15; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
Abortion and Euthanasia
We believe in the sanctity of human life, it is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. (Exodus 20:13, 23:7; Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Matthew 5:21; Luke 1:44; Acts 17:28)
Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers but also towards unbelievers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to treat those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in sinful actions. (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
Have a question? Want to talk?
Not many churches share this extensive amount of "belief statements" now days. But we feel its essential for you to know what a church believes and teaches across many theological and cultural issues. So, if you have a question about our Scripturally inspired Doctrinal and Positional Statements that we hold at Calvary Bible feel free to fill-out the form.