The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 10:36). Inspiration refers to the process whereby God breathed out the words of Holy Scripture by moving holy men of God to speak and or record His words accurately with the final product being an inerrant Bible in the original manuscripts. The Bible is true not only as it speaks of salvation, but also as it speaks of history, science, and philosophy. It is truth without any mixture of error. It is the sole basis of authority for the believer in faith and practice.

God is three Persons, all equal One to the Others, and existing in One Being (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Deuteronomy 6:4). The three Persons of the Godhead are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of the universe and its inhabitants (Genesis 1:1-2:5). He created the universe and its inhabitants by direct action, the word of His mouth, not by the means espoused by the theories of theistic evolution or evolution. He is eternal, sovereign, holy, just, immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, true, merciful, and loving.

He is the Father over all creation (Acts 17:29), of the nation of Israel (Exodus 4:22), of the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:17), and of believers in Christ (Galatians 3:26).

The Son of God is the Word (Logos) who was made flesh (John 1:1-14), born of a virgin and conceived of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:16-25). He is both all God and all man (God — John 1:1, Romans 9:5; Man — Romans 1:3-4; both God and man — John 1:1-14, Romans 9:5). He is the Savior of all those who place their trust in Him to forgive their sins (John 3:16). He is the Head of the Church, which is His body (Ephesians 4:12; 5:23,30).

The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Trinity Who reveals to men their need of Christ as well as reveals Christ Himself to men (John 16:7-15). He is the One Who moved holy men of old to speak the Word of God (2 Peter 1:20-21). He baptizes believers into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:11). He fills (Ephesians 5:18), indwells (1 Corinthians 6:19), leads (Romans 8:14), assures (Romans 8:16), and prays for believers (Romans 8:26).

In his original state in the Garden of Eden, man was sinless (Romans 5:12). Through the sin of Adam, man fell from that original state, thus becoming sinful by nature and choice. Man continues today as totally depraved, without any inherent righteousness or the ability to produce such righteousness of himself which could merit God’s favor. Man became subject to the curse of sin and its consequences which include spiritual death immediately (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1), suffering (Romans 8:22-23) physical death (Hebrews 9:27), and eventually the second death (Revelation 20:11-15). By faith in Christ alone, man is able to be restored to the original creation of man in part now (2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:10), and eventually in the whole at the resurrection (Romans 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54;Philippians 3:21).

Salvation is granted to people by God apart from works and upon the basis of faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9). Biblical faith involves repentance, having a change of mind toward sin (particularly the sin of rejecting Christ) and the Savior (Luke 24:47; Luke 13:3; Acts 26:20). The natural response of the person who has been truly saved is public confession of Christ (John 4:29; cf. Matthew 10:32,33). Christ is recognized as Lord at the point of salvation (Romans 10:9), but with the allowance of gradual growth in Christ (not to the extreme of “Lordship salvation”). Salvation is by faith alone. Salvation results in a life of good works (Ephesians 2:10; 1 John 3:24). God gives assurance of salvation to the believer (John 10:28-29; 2 Timothy 2:13; 1 John 5:12-13). There is no reason for the believing person to fear the loss of his salvation, for he is secure in Christ. To reject Christ’s salvation is to, upon physical death, embrace a literal hell and eventually the lake of fire (Luke 16:19-31;Revelation 20:11-15). Salvation is both initiated by God’s calling and received by man’s choice.

The Bible speaks of both the universal (Ephesians 3:19-22; 4:12,15-16; Colossians 1:18) and local church (1 Corinthians 1:3 and others). The universal church is the body of believers saved during New Testament times and is distinct from the nation of Israel. The local church is a group of believers organized for the purposes of edification through preaching, teaching, and fellowship (Ephesians 4:11-13) and evangelism (2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

The primary leader of the local church is the pastor whose duties are to feed the “sheep of his flock” (1 Peter 5:2), be an example to the “flock” (1 Peter 5:3), and protect his “flock” (people) from false teachers and sinning brethren (Acts 20:28-32; 1 Timothy 4:16). The deacons are to serve with the pastor in leading the church. The ordinances of the church are baptism {performed by the pastor with the new believer by immersion in water for the purpose of obeying the Lord’s commandment (Matthew 28:19) and identification with Christ (Romans 6:3-5) and the Lord’s Supper (in which the bread and cup are distributed and consumed by obedient believers for the purpose of symbolically commemorating the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross and looking forward to the Lord’s return–1 Cor. 11:17-34). Neither of the ordinances is a means of saving grace.

The church faces the particular problems of the growing apostasy and compromise due to the toleration of and cooperation with false teachers by some true Christians. Liberal and Neo-Orthodox leaders are false teachers and are to be withdrawn from by believers (1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 John 10-11).

Not all issues concerning the doctrine of future happenings are crystal clear. What we do know beyond question is that both dead and living believers will be changed into glorified bodies to live in the state of eternal bliss in the presence of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), and that after the world has been thoroughly scourged by a just God (Rev. 4-19), the unbelievers and Satan will be cast into a place called the “lake of fire” to remain eternally (Revelation 20:11-15).

The order of events is most likely as follows: