Goodland Bible Church Doctrinal Position Overview:
Inspiration of Scriptures:
We believe that all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God (2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter
1:21). by which we understand the whole Bible; nor do we take the
statement in the sense in which it is sometimes erroneously said that
the works of human genius are inspired, but in the sense that the Holy
Spirit gave the very words of the scared writings to holy men of old (1
Cor. 2:13), and that His divine inspiration is not in different
degrees, but extends equally and fully to all parts of these writings,
historical (1 Cor. 10:11), poetical (Mark 12:36; Psalm 110:1),
doctrinal (2 Tim. 3:16,17), and prophetical (Acts 1:16; 2:16; 17:2,3;
18:28; 26:22,23), and to the smallest word and inflection of a word
(Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17) provided such a word is found in the original
manuscripts.
The Trinity:
We believe in one Triune
God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son and Holy
Spirit--co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power,
glory, and having the same attributes and perfection's (Deut.
6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Genesis 1:26; John 1:1).
The Person and Work of Christ:
We believe that 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; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3,5).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy
Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment; and that 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; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor.
12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Eph. 1:13,14).
The Total Depravity of Man:
We believe that 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, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to
remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26,27; Romans 3:22,23; 5:12; Eph.
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 for the forgiveness of sins (Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:8,19; 2 Cor.
5:21).
Regeneration:
We believe that owing to
this universal depravity and death in sin, no one can enter the Kingdom
of God unless born again (John 3:5-7) and that no degree of
reformation, however great, no attainment in morality, however high, no
culture, however attractive, no humanitarian and philanthropic schemes
and societies, however useful, no baptism or other ordinances, however
administered, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven
Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 3:4-9);
Atonement through the Blood of Christ:
We believe that our
redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood (Lev. 17:11) of
our Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:28; 1 Pet. 1:18,19),
Justification by Faith:
We believe that Christ, in
the fullness of the blessing He has secured by His obedience unto
death, is received by faith alone (Rom. 5:1), and that the moment we
trust in Him as our Savior, we pass out of death into everlasting
life (John 5:24) being justified from all things (Acts 13:39).
Assurance:
We believe that it is the
privilege not only of some, but of all who are born again by the
Spirit, through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, to be
assured of their salvation (Luke 10:20; 12:32; 2 Cor. 5:1,6,8; 2 Tim.
1:12; 1 John 5:13) from the very day they took Him to be their Savior
(John 6:47).
Evangelism and Missions:
We believe that it is the
obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of
Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Mark
16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19,20).
Baptism:
We believe that water
baptism is the believer's testimony to the oneness with Christ in death
and resurrection. We also believe that baptism is the immersion of the
believer's body in water and an emersion from the water (Matt. 3:16;
Mark 1:5-11; Acts 8:12,36-39).
Lord's Supper:
We believe that the Lord's
Supper is the believer's testimony that his soul is living day by day
upon the crucified Christ, and is a communion of the members of the
body of Christ (Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 11:20-24).
Satan and Fallen Angels:
We believe that Satan is
the originator of sin, and that under the permission of God he, through
subtlety, led our first parents into transgression, thereby
accomplishing their moral fall and subjecting them and their posterity
to his own powers (Gen. 3:1-19; Rom. 5:12-14); and that he is the enemy
of God and the people of God, opposing and exalting himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshiped (2 Thess. 2:4)
Victory of Christ and Holy Angels:
We believe that Satan was
judged at the Cross (Jn. 16:11; Col. 2:15), though not then executed,
and that he, an usurper, now rules as the "god of this world" (2 Cor.
4:4) that at the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound and cast
into the abyss for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3), and after the
thousand years, "he must be loosed a little season,; finally to be
"cast into the lake of fire and brimstone" (Rev. 20:10) where he shall
be "tormented day and night for ever, and ever."
The Blessed Hope:
We believe that according
to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy
will be the coming of Christ into the air (Phil. 3:20), to receive to
Himself (Jn. 14:1-3) both His own who are alive and remain unto His
coming and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus (1 Cor. 15: 51-52;
1 Thess. 4:13-18); and that this event is the Blessed Hope (Titus
2:11-14) set before us in the gospel, and for this we should be
constantly looking (Matt. 24:42-46).
Premillennial Coming of Christ:
We believe that the world
will not be converted previous to the second coming of Christ; but is
day by day ripening for judgment (Matt. 24:15-35; 2 Tim. 3:1-5), and
that this dispensation will end with a fearful apostasy in the
professing church (2 Tim. 4:1-3), and that following the period of the
Great Tribulation in the earth the Lord Jesus Christ will return as He
went--in person, on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great
glory--to introduce the millennial age.
Heaven and Hell:
We believe that at death
the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence (Luke 23:43; 2
Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23), and there remain in conscious bliss until the
resurrection of the body, when Christ comes for His own, whereupon soul
and body, reunited, shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but
the spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain, after death, conscious
of condemnation and in misery (Luke 16:19-26) until the final judgment
of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and
body, reunited, shall be cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15),
not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord.
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