1968-1969 Academic Catalog

STATEMENT OF DOCTRINE 113 9. We believe that at any moment the rapture of the saved may occur, when "the Lord shall descend from Heaven" to catch up His people to meet Him in the air, and "so shall we ever be with the Lord." 10. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead-the saved to a life of eternal glory and bliss in Heaven with God; the unsaved to eternal judgment of conscious suffering and woe in the lake of fire. 11. We believe in personal separation from all practices and influences which hinder a spirit-filled life. We believe in ecclesiastical separation from all forms of apostasy. This we believe necessary as the only Scriptural basis for a happy and useful Christian life. 12. We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to be a personal soul-winner and to do his utmost to give the Gospel of Christ to the whole world. 13. We believe that the true, universal Church includes all believers in Christ during this present dispensation and is the body and bride of Christ of which He is the Head. We believe that the local church is a congregation of immersed believers associated by covenant, observing the ordinances of Christ, exercising the gifts, privileges, and responsibilities given in the New Testament, and following a democratic and congregational type of government. 14. We believe that there are two church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and our death to sin and resurrection to a new life, and that it is prerequisite to local church relation. The Lord's Supper is a memorial service commemorating His death until He comes and should be preceded by believer's baptism and solemn self-examination. STANDARD OF CONDUCT We believe that certain types of conduct are unbecoming to a Christian and therefore are positively forbidden. These are: use of tobacco in any form, alcoholic beverages, gambling in any form, possession and the use of playing cards which are employed in gambling, dancing, attendance at movie theaters, membership in secret societies, excessive use of cosmetics, the wearing of ex– treme fashions, the wearing of shorts in public (with the exception of participation in athletic contests), and unnecessary purchasing and loitering in business establishments on the Lord's day.