STATEMENT OF FAITH

I. DOCTRINE OF THE SCRIPTURES

    We believe the writings of the Scripture of both the Old and New Testaments, as written in the original languages, are God-breathed both verbally and in every part. The Scriptures are inspired in that God superintended human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error in the words of the original autographs His revelation of man. Being that Scripture is God’s revelation of Himself, they are inspired, inerrant, and infallible.

    In addition to this, Scripture is the only rule for life on earth. The Canon of Holy Scripture is the ONLY and FINAL authority for life, conduct, and godliness. We do not believe that Scripture is only inspired when it is interpreted by the church or any other organization. Inspired Scripture does not include the extra-Biblical books of the Apocrypha, although they are helpful in learning church history. Furthermore, the Bible presents the only possible way for salvation and Christian growth and spiritual maturity.

References: Psalm 119; Matthew 5:17, 22:31-32; John 10:35, 17:3-17; Romans 3:4; Galatians 3:16; I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21

II. DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY

    Calvary Bible Church is committed to the God of the Bible, the only Triune God.
    We believe in one God and that He is the Creator of every part of heaven and the Creator of every part of the earth. There is only one God and in the complete oneness of the Godhead there are three eternal and equivalent Persons, the same in substance but distinct in subsistence. The Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. This doctrine is firmly grounded in the Holy Writings of the Bible upon which this church stands. The Old Testament prepares the way for the revelation of the Trinity in the New Testament. The New Testament confirms the doctrine of the Trinity.

References: Genesis 1 ;1, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 65:8; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1ff, 6:27; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6; Hebrews 1:8; I Peter 1:2

A. GOD THE FATHER

    God the Father is the eternal, sovereign, just, holy, loving, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and true God. God does not have a beginning nor an end, is everywhere and not in everything. God is the supreme ruler, God knows all things, He is Almighty, is moral and shows “no respect of persons”, God is true life, is completely pure and righteous, and is completely independent from His creatures.

B. GOD THE SON

    God the Son came in the flesh of the man Jesus Christ–the God-man. He was born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Before His incarnation He was in glory with His Father as we see in Isaiah 9:6 where Christ is referred to as the “Everlasting Father”.

    Christ was incarnated (made flesh) in order to reveal God unto men, to provide an acceptable sacrifice for sin, to destroy all of the works of Satan, to make Himself a worthy and merciful High Priest, to fulfill the covenant to David, and to be exalted highly above all. He became a man through the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Virgin Mary.

    In no way, shape or form did Jesus Christ give up, lay aside, or diminish in His deity when He became flesh. While being in the form of God, Christ added to Himself the form of a servant and humbled himself to the point of death on the cross. However, He was subject to the limitations of humanity insofar as He was hungry, He was thirsty, He was tired, He cried, and He was tested. Christ had a perfect human body, He had a human name, and He was able to die. In the same manner, we uphold the impeccability of Christ.

    We affirm that while on earth Christ lived a completely pure and sinless life. Christ preached the will of His Father in heaven, and accomplished His Father’s will in His life, death, and resurrection. Jesus lived this life to die for the sins of many. His death was both sacrificial and vicarious. He acted as the substitute for the sins of His church. Christ’s death provided expiation for our sins and propitiation for the wrath of God in our stead.

    We believe that Jesus literally died on the cross, was literally buried in the tomb, and three days later He literally rose again according to the Holy Scriptures. After His resurrection, He appeared to the disciples and others bearing witness to His bodily resurrection. He literally ascended into heaven at the right hand of the Father, and there He waits for His Church to be given to Him at the rapture of the Church.

References: Isaiah 53:1-12; John 4, 19-20; II Corinthians 5:21; Phil 2:5-11

C. GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

    The Holy Spirit is equal to and of the same nature with God the Father and God the Son. We affirm that the Holy Spirit has an actual personality which is seen in the fact that He is intelligent (1 Cor. 2:10-11), has feelings (Eph 4:30), has will (Gen 6:3), can be obeyed (Acts 10:19-21), and can be grieved or resisted (Acts 5:3, Eph 4:30)

    We affirm that the Holy Spirit took part in the work of Creation: Life (Ps 104:30), order (Is 40:12), adornment (Ps 33:6), preservation (Ps 104:30). We believe the Spirit used spoken words (Ex 19:9), dreams (Gen 20:31), visions (Isa 6:1), and written words (Jn 14:26) as a means of revelation. The Spirit was present at the baptism of Christ and His death (Jn 1:32; Heb 9:14).

    We affirm that the Holy Spirit initiates and takes part in God’s work of salvation. He convicts of sin (John 16:8), He draws men to the Father (Jn 6:60-70), He regenerates (Jn 3:1ff; Titus 3:5), and He indwells the believer. The Holy Spirit is the sign and seal of new life in Christ. In His relation to the believer He seals, fills, indwells, directs, illuminates the Word, gives wisdom, and teaches the way to walk in righteousness.

III. DOCTRINE OF ANGELS

    We affirm that God created angels before the creation of the world and that these angels have intellect, emotion, and will. These angels are spirit beings and are unable to reproduce after their kind; they do not die, cannot experience salvation, are distinct from humanity, and have great power given to them by God.

References: Job 38:6-7; Psalm 8:4-5; Mark 12:25; Luke 2:13; I Peter 1:12; II Peter 2:11; Heb. 1:14; Jude 6.

IV. DOCTRINE OF SATAN

    We believe that God created the highest and most beautiful of all angels and gave him the name Lucifer. However, Lucifer desired to be exalted above the Most High God. Therefore, God cast him out of the third heaven to be the ruler and prince and power of the earth. He is a creature of God, is therefore limited, not omniscient or infinite, and can be resisted by the Christian. Satan is active in the world today in demonic and spiritual warfare yet unable to possess any child of God. Satan is known as the Angel of Light. He is deceptive and far from the cartoon-like image of a red-suited, pitchfork-carrying, pointed-tailed demon of the day. He is subtle and crafty, seeking to devour all and is the supreme “anti-Christ”. In the Day of the Lord, Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity.

References: Job 1:6-12; Isa. 14:13-14; Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:31; II Thessalonians 2:5-10; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-11; Revelation 12:13, 20:2, 20:10

V. DOCTRINE OF DEMONS

    We believe that there are spirit beings that attempt to thwart the purpose of God and whose commander is Satan; they are called demons. We believe that these demons are fallen angels, that Satan is an angel and is called the prince of the demons. We also see that demons are angels and not a pre-Adamic race. Furthermore, Satan has well-organized ranks of angels or demons. Some demons are already confined and some are loose to do Satan’s work. These demons as well as Satan himself are under the control of God and as such can only act by permission from God.

    We believe that while demons continue to act, the level and severity of such activity is unique to the New Testament times. The last great defense of this world against God was taking place before the advent of Christ, His perfect life, His sinless death, and His literal resurrection! However, both Paul and John still warn us of the activities of Satan and his angels and that, as the end times approach, they will be on the increase.

References: Matthew 12:24; Mark 1:21-28; Luke 10:17-20; I Corinthians 10:14-24; Ephesians 6:11-12; II Peter 2:4; I John 4:1-6; Jude 6; also see Gen. 6:1-4 for what some believe is the reason that some demons are confined because they participated in this sin.

VI. DOCTRINE OF MAN

    We believe that God alone creates man. All mankind was created in the image of God. All fall short of His glory in disobedience to His Word. We affirm that the Scriptures teach that man was wholly created by the direct act of God only–not from anything or form of life already existing, but directly from God. Man willfully chose to fall from the state of being in a proper relationship with God. The consequence of this disobedience was and is spiritual death. Through the first man, Adam as our representative, a sin nature is passed down to every human ever born. All humanity, however, is under the righteous punishment of God and worthy of suffering eternal condemnation, meaning a literal separation from God in eternal hell.

References: Genesis 1:2, 2:7, 3:19; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23, 5:12-19.

VII. THE DOCTRINE OF SIN

    We believe that “all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) as clearly presented in the Scriptures. This “sin” is referring to the sin nature, or the natural tendency to sin willfully, which is present in every person before salvation. This sin nature is passed on from Adam and Eve, (Adam being our representative), our first parents. Furthermore, we believe that man is not simply somewhat sinful, we believe that man is totally depraved and unable to save himself or avail himself to God. This sinful, total depravity means that every part of life is somehow touched by sin, (not that man is as bad as he could be but that sin has touched every area of his life), therefore rendering any and all attempts at “spiritual goodness” an impossibility apart from the regenerating work of the Spirit of God (cf. John 3:1ff). No man outside of the grace of God has the inherent ability to please God on his own, that is, man is dependent upon God and HIS work in salvation (see The Doctrine of Salvation).

    All attempted righteousness on man’s behalf is nothing more than “filthy rags” in God’s sight. All sin is disobedience to God, whether in our actions or our attitudes. It is not only doing things that are against God but not doing the things He has commanded.

    We affirm that sin separates man from God and that sin is worthy of eternal separation from God in hell, which is the sure destiny of all men apart from the grace of God

References: Genesis 2:16-17, 3:1ff; Isaiah 64:6; Romans 2:1-11, 3:10-26, 5:12-19, 6:23; James 1:12-15; John 1:8-10

VIII. THE DOCTRINE OF SALVATION

(Be sure to read the DOCTRINE OF SIN)

    We believe that Christ’s substitutionary death allowed man to experience salvation from the wrath of God, the consequences of his sins, and reconciliation to God. The only possible way to salvation is through the finished work of Christ that was accomplished on the cross.

    Salvation is by no means a result or fruit of any work or merit of man whatsoever. Any such teaching clearly contradicts the teachings of the Scriptures and is wrong. Salvation is totally initiated and accomplished by the sovereign grace of God. That is, it is only by grace that we are saved. We affirm that every person is totally at the mercy of the Almighty, loving, holy God for salvation and apart from being granted grace would not be and could not be saved. God’s grace is sufficient for all but only efficient for those who believe.

    The Bible clearly teaches also that salvation is “by grace through faith”. Faith is essential to salvation and apart from any work whatsoever. Faith is a gift of God, a result of the grace of God and not a work of man. We could understand faith as being the response to God’s grace (without the grace of God no man is able to believe unto salvation). Faith is more than mere “head belief” but it is a total trust in the work of God through Jesus Christ.

    In summary, salvation is apart from any work or merit of man and it is uncaused. Salvation is the free gift of God received through the avenue of faith resulting in man being justified in God’s sight. That person is then placed in a relationship with God. Eternal life in heaven is a certainty and there is “no condemnation” against such a one who is “in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).

References: Ezek. 36:26-27; John 3:16-17; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 8:1; I Corinthians 1″:26-31; I Thessalonians 1:6-10; Ephesians 2:1-10.

IX. THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY

    We affirm that a truly saved individual, one who has been declared righteous by God by His grace through, faith cannot ever lose salvation or stop being saved. The Bible is very clear concerning the issue that once a person has entered the family of God that it is God holding that person there. The chief reason for any other unbiblical belief takes us back to the Doctrine of Sin and Salvation. Since the Bible teaches that man can do absolutely no spiritual good, and is unable to save himself, he is totally dependent upon God to save him. Yet, there are those who deny such a thing and say that man must do something good or something that would merit salvation. Continuing in the same line of thought then, it is only reasonable and logical that man must also keep himself in a right relationship with God or forfeit salvation.

    We affirm that any such teaching is heretical (contrary to Scripture). In addition, we believe that those who are truly saved will not continue in a lifestyle of habitual sin. True saints of God will persevere in faith because they have been preserved by grace!

References: John 6:35-40, 47, 10:28; Romans 6,7,8:31-39; Philippians 1:6; II Timothy 2:14-19; Hebrews 9:11-15.

X. THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH

    We believe, in accordance with the Scripture, that Christ establishes Church as the “body of Christ”. The Church began on the day of Pentecost and can be seen in two aspects: the local church and the universal church.

    The local church is a group of believers in Christ who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God and are together for the purpose of doing that which God has called them to do. There are offices set up within the church as follows: 1. Elder or deacon which emphasizes the office as a leader within the church. The deacon is not the pastor and is to assist the pastor in organizing and accomplishing the tasks of his job. 2. The bishop emphasizes the function as overseer, referred to today as “pastor”. He is to be the leader of the church called by God and the specific body of believers to lead in the work of the ministry, to shepherd the flock of God, and to teach others. We believe that the Bible clearly teaches that the office of pastor is to be held by men only. In addition, the office of deacon may be hold by men only and as in accordance to the qualifications given in I Timothy A pastor or deacon may not be divorced.

    Under the authority of the local church Christ prescribed two ordinances, they are communion and baptism:

    The Lord’s Supper or communion is a memorial of Christ’s death for us. This in no way suggests that it is anything more than a memorial. Therefore, we deny the doctrines of transubstantiation and consubstantiation. We affirm that the communion table is to be open to all believers but to believers only. This is to be done only after a careful self-examination. Not only do we remember the cross of Christ but we also look forward with eager anticipation of the coming of Christ.

    We believe that believer’s baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. That is, only true believers can be baptized. We believe that baptism is the single immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is a symbol, which identifies the believer with Christ in death and in new life.

    We affirm that it is the responsibility of the church as according to the scriptures to discipline unrepentant believers in exercising church discipline. While this command must never be abused and misused, Jesus clearly prescribed it in certain instances and gave instructions concerning an erring brother or sister. The purpose of church discipline have been clearly enumerated as being with a five-fold purpose:
Firstly, it is to reclaim and restore erring brothers, to deter like offenses from others, for a purging of sin within the church (for vindicating the name and honor of Christ that is damages through outright and unrepentant sin), to uphold the reputation of the gospel and the cause of Christ, and finally to prevent the wrath of God that comes as a result of sin.

References: Matthew 7:1-5, 13:24-43, 18:15-17, 26:26-29, 28: 19-20; Romans 6; I Corinthians 1:10-31, 5, 10:13-17, 11:23-34, 11:27-32, 12:12-14; Ephesians 4:1-6; Galatians 3:26-29.

XI. THE DOCTRINE OF THE THINGS TO COME

    We believe in the rapture of the church and the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. No man is able to predict when this will be or when this will happen.

    We affirm the pretribulational view of the rapture, that the church (God’s chosen ones) will be taken from this world before (prior to) the beginning of the seven (7) year period known as the Great Tribulation. We also affirm the premillennial view of the Second Coming. That is, the Second Coming of Christ will occur before the Millennium. The church age will end at the time of Tribulation, then Christ will return to set up a literal 1,000 year of reign. At this time the resurrection and judgement of the unsaved will occur.

    We believe that the rapture of the church is a literal taking of the saints out of this world by Christ prior to the period of Tribulation. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead, the saved to the resurrection of salvation, and the unsaved to the resurrection of damnation.

A. HEAVEN

    We affirm that heaven is a literal place; it is the dwelling place of God. Heaven is reserved for all those who have entered the family of God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Heaven is for eternal praise and glorification of God by His saints. The following things are absent in heaven: tears, sorrow, death, pain, darkness, sin, wicked people, and temples, sun and moon.

References: I Corinthians 15:50-57; II Corinthians 5:1-8; I Peter 1:3-9; Revelation 21-22

B. HELL

    We affirm that hell is a literal place of eternal burning torments; a place that is reserved for the Devil and his angels and for Christ’s rejecters. We do not believe in the doctrine of annihilation (that hell is literal but that is in not eternal). The language of Scripture clearly presents that hell is a place of weeping and of gnashing of teeth, and place of outer darkness, and yet eternally burning fires.

    This place called hell was not created by Satan but for him; neither is Satan the one who will be the tormentor in hell, but he will be one of the tormented. It is a place of eternal separation from God and a place that God’s wrath is always present. Hell is eternal because the wrath of God against sin is so great that it can never be fully expelled for man. There is absolutely NO escape from hell either by repentance or by annihilation.

References: Matthew 8:11-12; Mark 9:42-48; Luke 16:19-31; Jude 1:3-13; Revelation 20:11-15.

Have you read about our Commitments at Calvary and our Ministry Philosophy?

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Have you read about our Commitments at Calvary and our Ministry Philosophy?