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Foundational
to Our Father's Library, this statement of faith has been incorporated
into the by-laws of the not-for-profit organization. Because of the
specialized nature of the ministry to which God has called Our Father's
Library, we acknowledge that the sole basis of our beliefs is the
Bible. We accept those large areas of doctrinal teachings upon
which, historically, all true Christians generally agree. We assert
that any doctrinal interpretation not based solely upon the Bible will not
become an issue that might hinder the ministry to which God has called
us.
We affirm the following core
set of beliefs:
The
Bible
We believe that the Bible,
consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is God's
infallible Word, uniquely, verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit
and written without error in the original manuscripts. It is the
supreme and final authority for all Christian faith and conduct. (2 Tim.
2:15-17; 2 Peter 1:21
God
We believe that there is one
true infinitely perfect God, who exists eternally in three distinct
persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--each of whom possesses equally all
the attributes of the Deity and the characteristics of personality.
(Matt. 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26; Gen. 1:1)
Holy
Spirit
We believe that the Holy
Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, has come into the world to reveal
and glorify Christ to men. He convicts men of sins,
regenerates, baptizes, indwells, seals, and sets apart believers unto a
holy life. He keeps and empowers believers day by day. He is
the Teacher of the Word of God and the Guide for our daily life.
(John 16:7-14; 1 Corin. 2:9-12; Acts 1:8)
Jesus
Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ
is God, the living Word, Who became flesh through His miraculous
conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He is perfect
Deity and true humanity united in one person forever. He live a
sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sin of men by dying on the
cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and
accomplishing salvation for all who trust in Him alone. He rose from
the dead in the same body, though glorified, ascended bodily into heaven
and sat down at the right hand of God, the Father, where He, the only
mediator between God and man, continually makes intercession for His
own. he will come again to the earth--personally, visibly and
bodily--to consummate history and God's eternal plan. (John 1:1, 14;
John 3:16; 1 Corin. 15:20; Heb. 4:14-16)
Man
We believe that man was
created by God in His own image, innocent and pure. Through the sin of
disobedience, Adam fell from his original state of moral perfection.
As a consequence, he brought upon himself and the human race the penalty for
sin, which is spiritual and physical death. Since Adam, all men are
corrupted in body, mind, and spirit. All stand under the just
condemnation of God, are unable to save themselves, and are in need of
redemption. Upon physical death there is the resurrection of both the
saved and the lost; those that are saved into the resurrection of life, and
those that are lost unto the resurrection of the damned. (Gen.
1:27; Romans 3:23; 5:19; Rev. 20:11-21:5)
Man's
Salvation
The salvation of man is wholly
a work of God's free grace and is not the work in whole or in part of human
works, goodness or religious ceremony. God imputes His righteousness
to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation and thereby
justifies them in His sight. Salvation requires repentance, turning
from man's way to God's way, and in manifested by a change life. (Eph.
2:8-9; Titus 3:5)
The
Church
We believe that Jesus Christ
is the Head of the Church, which is His Body composed of all men, living and
dead, who have been joined to Him through saving faith. This Body of
Christ is visibly expressed in local assemblies whose purpose it is to glorify
God through worship, fellowship, instruction in God's Word, observing the
ordinances and training in service to the world. Each believer is
called to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit that he will not
fulfill the lust of the flesh but will bear fruit to the glory of God.
(1 Peter 2:9; Eph. 1:22, 23; Heb 10:25)
The
Great Commission
We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world
and to disciple men of every nation. The fulfillment o that Great
Commission requires that all worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated
to a total commitment to "Him who loved and gave Himself for
us." The Church is also to demonstrate the love and compassion of
Christ, through word and deed, in an alienated world. (Matt.
28:19-20)
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