What We Believe Concerning Justification By Faith:
We believe that justification is by grace through faith in our Lord’s sacrifice on Calvary. The soul that sins shall surely die. Men are not sinners because they sin, but they sin because they are sinners, and are born as such. This death is a spiritual death first and a natural death second. Man’s first step toward salvation is godly sorrow that leads to a turning away from sin and a turning towards God. This step is called "repentance." The New Birth is offered to and is necessary for all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, body, soul, and spirit. Salvation is offered freely to all who accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. We believe in the salvation of sinners by grace through repentance and faith in the perfect and sufficient work of Jesus Christ upon the cross by which we obtain the remission of sins through His shed blood. Salvation is God's free gift to everyone who will accept it. Our Lord Jesus Christ made salvation possible by dying on the cross and becoming our atonement for sin. If you confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you are saved.
|
|
Due to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are "born again." No degree of reformation, no attainments in morality, no baptism or other ordinance or other good works can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven, have forgiveness of sin, or attain salvation. Our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin and was made a curse for us by dying in our place.
The new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ and that repentance is a vital part of believing. Repentance is not in itself a separate and independent condition of salvation. Salvation cannot be attained by any other acts, such as confession, baptism, prayer, faithful service, or manifestation of certain spiritual gifts. Nothing can be added to believing in the heart by faith and confessing with the mouth by faith as a condition of salvation. Repentance means a turning from our life and our ways and turning by faith to God through the Lord Jesus Christ and His work on the cross. |
|
Salvation 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 from the very day they take Him to be their Savior. This assurance is not founded upon any discovery of their own worthiness or fitness, but wholly upon the testimony of God in His written Word. Such assurance will motivate in God's children the character of God which includes love, gratitude, and obedience to His commands. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, (the new birth experience), justification, (we are saved from the penalty of sin), sanctification, (we are being saved from the power of sin), and glorification, (we will be saved from the presence of sin). There is no salvation apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior.
|
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby those who believe become new creatures in Christ. It is a change of heart brought on by the work of the Holy Spirit through conviction. Then the person responds by faith in confession and repentance from his life and ways and turns towards God’s life and ways. Faith and repentance are inseparable experiences of grace in the regeneration process. Repentance is a turning from our sin nature and turning towards God and His life and purposes. Faith is the acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as God and as Savior and believing in His work on the cross for mankind.
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who come to Him and confess and repent and place their lives by faith in the life of Christ. In this we place our sins upon Christ and He places His righteousness upon us. Therefore, justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God the Father. |
1. This alienation from God because of our inherited sin nature can only be corrected by grace through faith in what our Lord Jesus Christ did in His death, burial and resurrection.
2. Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His death, satisfied the requirement, or standards, established by God. He becomes our substitution. Jesus did not come to “identify” with mankind but to be a “substitutionary atonement” for mankind.
3. God’s entire wrath against disobedience (sin) was taken out on Jesus on the cross.
Confirming Scriptures: Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 26:28; 27:22-66; 28:1-6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; 10:20; 22:32; John 1:11-14; 1:29; 3:3-21; 3:36; 5:24; 6:29; 10:9; 10:28-29; 14:6; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 13:39; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:21-26; 4:3-5; 5:6-11; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 8:29-39; 10:4; 10:9-10; 10:13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1:30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 5:6-8; 5:17-21; 7:10; Galatians 2:20-21; 3:13; 3:22; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; 3:4-9; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; 3:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:12-14; 9:24-28; 10:22; 11:1-40; 12:1-8; 12:14; James 1:18; 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-10; 2:1-11; 5:12-13; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-27; 22:1-5.
2. Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His death, satisfied the requirement, or standards, established by God. He becomes our substitution. Jesus did not come to “identify” with mankind but to be a “substitutionary atonement” for mankind.
3. God’s entire wrath against disobedience (sin) was taken out on Jesus on the cross.
Confirming Scriptures: Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 26:28; 27:22-66; 28:1-6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; 10:20; 22:32; John 1:11-14; 1:29; 3:3-21; 3:36; 5:24; 6:29; 10:9; 10:28-29; 14:6; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 13:39; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:21-26; 4:3-5; 5:6-11; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 8:29-39; 10:4; 10:9-10; 10:13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1:30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 5:6-8; 5:17-21; 7:10; Galatians 2:20-21; 3:13; 3:22; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; 3:4-9; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; 3:5; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:12-14; 9:24-28; 10:22; 11:1-40; 12:1-8; 12:14; James 1:18; 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-10; 2:1-11; 5:12-13; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-27; 22:1-5.