The Sunshine Coast Gospel Church............
Articles of Faith. Someone new to Christianity or churches will naturally wonder what a “statement of faith” is. It is a way of telling other people what you believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, and so forth. This is important, because there are a lot of cults that pretend to be Christian organizations, which are not Christian at all. A statement of faith can be used as an indicator toward learning whether an organization represents true Christianity. The views of faith and practice held by the Sunshine Coast Gospel Church are as follows:
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired (II Timothy 3:16, 17); That it is truth without any admixture of error for its matter (Psalm 119:160); and therefore is and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to men; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried. (Pslam 119:89)
Explanatory: A) By the Bible, we mean that collection of sixty six books from Genesis to Revelation, which , as originally written does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God. B) By "Inspiration" we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.
2. Of The Trinity
B) We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner (Luke 1:35) born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman (Isaiah 7:14) and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son (Hebrews 1:2-8).
C) The Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with God the Father (John 11:16-17) and God the Son (Matthew 28:19) and of the same nature (Acts 5:34); that He was active in the creation (Genesis 1:1-3); that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the Evil One until God's purpose is fulfilled (Isaiah 59:19); that He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8-11); that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony (Acts 5:32); that He is the Agent in the New Birth (John 3:5,6); that He sanctifies and assures to us all the benefits of salvation (II Corinthians 3:15).
3. Of the Devil, or Satan
We believe that Satan is a person and was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell (Isaiah 14:12, 15) and drew after him a host of angels (Revelation 12:9); that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4). We hold him to be man's great tempter (I Peter 5:8), the enemy of God and His Christ (I John 3:8), the acuser of saints (Zech. 3:1), the author of all false religions; and the inspirer of all Apostasy (II Corinthians 11: 13 -15); the chief of all powers of darkness (Ephesians 6:12), destined however to find defeat at the hands of God's Son (Revelation 19:11-16, 20), and to suffer eternal punishment in a place prepared for him and his angels (Revelation 12:7-9).
4. Of The Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively (Genesis 1:1), that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness (Genesis 1:26, 27); that man's creation was not by evolution or evolutionary change of species or development from interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms (Genesis 2: 21-23); that all animal and vegetable life was effected by special creation, and God's established law was that they should bring forth only after their kind (Genesis 1:11, 24).
5. Of the Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his maker (Genesis 1:6, 24), but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state (Romans 5:12, 19), in consequence of which all mankind are now sinful, and are sinners not by constraint but of choice (Romans 3: 10-190; and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse (Romans 1:20, 28, 32; Galations 3:22); and that man in his natural state is in a condition of total depravity by which we mean his natural utter incapacity to receive the things of the Spirit of God apart from the quickening grace of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 2:14).
6. Of the Atonement For Sin
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly by grace (Ephesians 2:8); through that mediatorial office of the Son of God, who by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and expiatory atonement for ur sins (John 3:16, Romans 3:25); that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by HIs death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinners place, bearing the penalty of God's Holy Law, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree (John 10:18; 1 Peter 2:24); that having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in Heaven and uniting in His Person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection: He is in every way qualified to be a sutiable, a compassionate and an all-sufficient Savior. (1 Corinthians 15:20, Hebrews 4:4-16).
7. Of Grace in The New Creation
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again (John 3:3,5,7): that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus (II Corinthians 5:17); that it is instantaneous and not a process (John 5:24); that in the new birth the dead one in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life as the gift of God (Ephesians 2:1; 2 Peter 1:4); that such are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation and shall never perish (1 Peter 1:5; John 10:28-30); that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character , nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truths, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel (John 3:8, 1:13); that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Timothy 6:11).
8. Of Justification
We believe that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification: that justification includes pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness (Romans 5:1, 3:24-26); that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but in the imputation of the righteousness of Christ on the grounds of His perfect life and expiatrory death (Titus 3:5-7).
9. Of The Church
We
believe that the Church of Christ is a congregation of baptized
belivers associated by a
10. Of Baptism And the Lord's Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer (Mark 1:5,9; Romans 6:4,5); into the Name of the Father, the son and the Holy ghost (Matthew 28:19); to show forth our union with the crucified, buried and risen Christ, our death to sin and resurrection to a new life (Romans 6:3-5, Colossians 2:12); as a fellowship we believe in the sacred use of bread and wine to commemorate together the death of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-explanation (1 corinthians 11:23-28).
Since Scripture requires that baptism shall follow immediately upon faith in Christ (Acts 8:35-38), and that this was the invariable practice of the apostolic church, we conceive it to be an obligation involved in our Lord's Commission to teach men to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded them, to maintain a testimony to the authority of New Testament precept and practice; and we further believe that to take any other that the position stated in this article would be to reverse Scriptural order of the ordinances, and to magnify the importance of the Supper above the Baptism; and would involve the taking of a position at variance with that taken by all other bodies of evangelical believers in respet to the order of ordinances. This statement is intended to insure a clear testimony to the supreme authority of Christ as His will is revealed in Scriptures (1 Corinthians 11:26).
11. Of the Righteous And the Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked (Malachi 3:1,8; Romans 6:6,17, 18; 1 Peter 4:18); that such only as through faith are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truely righteous in His esteem (Acts 10:34, 35; 1 John 2:29); while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse (John 3:36; 1 John 5:19); and this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting penal suffering of the lost (Luke 16:26; John 5:28,29).
12. Of Civil Government
We believe that civil Government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society (Romans 13:1-7); that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed (Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13,14; 1 Timothy 2:1,2); except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 5:29); who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth (Revelation 19:16; Phillippians 2:10, 11).
13. Of the Resurrection, Return of Christ, and Related Events.
We believe in the literal bodily resurrection of Christ, that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (Matthew 28:6,7; John 20:27; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28); that after manifesting Himself for forty days to His disciples, He ascended to His Fathers's right hand (Acts 1:9,11; Mark 16:19) where as our great High Priest, He ever liveth to make intercession for His own (Hebrews 8:6). We believe that according to His promise He will come again without sin unto salvation (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16); and that His coming will be personal, visable and glorious (Titus 2:13, 14; Hebrews 9:28). |
1. Of The Scriptures
covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel
(Acts 2:41, 42); observing the ordinances of Christ (1Corinthians
11:2); governed by His laws (Matthew 28:20); and exercising the gifts,
rights and privileges invested in them by His word (1 Corinthians 12:4,
8-11); that its officers and pastors (or elders or bishops) and
deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in
the Scriptures (Acts 14:23, 1 Timothy 3:1-13); we believe the true
mission of the church is found in our Lord's Commission: first to
teach, or disciple, all nations, i.e. to preach the Gospel in all the
world, to make individual disciples; second, to baptize; third to teach
and instruct as He has commanded, and thus to build up the church (we
do not believe in the reversal of this order) (Matthew 28:19,20); we
hold that the local church has absolute right of self-government free
from the interference of hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and
that the one and only superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Spirit
(Matthew 18:15,17, Acts 15:22); that it is Scriptural for true churches
to co-operate with each other in the furtherance of the Gospel and in
contending for the faith, and that every church is the sole and only
judge of the measure and method of its co-operation (Acts 15:22-31); in
all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of
benevolence, the will of the local church is final (Matthew 18:15-17, 1
Corinthians 5:11-13).