1984-1985 Academic Catalog

1. We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament as verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writ– ings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life. 2. We believe in one God eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent, manifesting Himself in Three Persons– Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-one in nature, attributes, power, and glory. Gen. 1:1,26; Prov. 30:4; Mark 12:29; Matt. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3,4. 3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and that He is true God and true man. Matt. 1: 18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Philippians 2:6-11. 4. We believe in the literal account of creation and that the Scriptures clearly and distinctly teach that the ~reation of man lies in the special, immediate, and formative acts of God; that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also that spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and, in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, be– come sinners in thought, word, and deed. Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7-9, 2:16,17; 3:1-19; Psa. 51:5; 58:3; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3. 5. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins ac– cording to the Scriptures as a representative and substitu– tionary sacrifice and rose again for our justification; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the basis of His shed blood and are saved by grace through faith wholly apart from human merit and works. Acts 13:38,39; 16:31; Rom. 3:21-28; Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8. 6. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus are born again by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and thereby become the children of God. John 3:3-16; 1:12, 13; 5:24; 10:28,29; I Peter 1:23; II Peter 1:4-11. 7. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person-the ad– ministrator of the Godhead--convicting of sin; revealing Christ; teaching truth; restraining evil; energizing believers in prayer, worship and service, and is ever present in the be– liever as Comforter and Helper. Psa. 139:7-12; John 14: 16, 17; 15:26; 16: 13,24; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 6: 19; II Thess. 2:7. 8. We believe in the resmTection of the crucified body of our Lord His ascension into Heaven, His present life there as our High Priest and Advocate, and His personal, bodily, visible, premillenial return to establish His Kingdom on earth and to reign as the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Luke 24:36-43; John 20:24-29; Acts 1:9- 11; I Cor. 15:25;ITim. 6:14;Rev. 1:5-7; 19:11-16;20:6. 9. We believe that at any moment the rapture of the saved may occur when "the Lord shall descend from Heaven" to catch up Hi~ people to meet Him in the air, and "so shall we ever be with the Lord." John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-58. 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. John 5:28; Rev. 20:6, 11-15; 21:1-8; Matt. 10:28; 18:8,9; 25:41,46; Mark 9:43-49; II Thess. 1:6-9. 11 . We believe in personal separation from all practices and influ– ences which hinder a Spirit-filled life. We believe in ecclesias– tical separation from all forms of apostasy. This we believe necessary as the only Scriptural basis for a happy and useful Christian life. Rom. 12:1; Jas. 4:4; I John 2:15-17; II Cor. 6:14; 7:1; Col. 3:1-17; Rom. 6:1-14; Gal. 5:16-25. 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. Mark 16: 15; Acts 1:8; John 17:18; 20:21; II Cor. 5:20. 13. We believe that the true, universal Church includes all be– lievers in Christ during this present dispensation and is the body and bride of Christ of which He is the Head. Matt. 16: 18; Acts 2:1-13; 14:27; 15:14; I Cor. 12:12-28; Eph. 1:22,23; 2:15,16; 5:24-32. We believe that the local church is a con– gregation of immersed believers associated by covenant,