Fundamental Beliefs

“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  John 8:32

1. There is an intelligent Supreme Being called God, whose activities are visible throughout nature. He created the universe, this earth, and every living organism. He is an eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God the Creator, Ruler, and Preserver of the entire universe. “God is a Spirit”, who revealed Himself as a person. [Acts 17:23-28; Genesis 1: 1; Isaiah 45:18; John 4:24; Colossians 1: 16 – 17]
2. Jesus Christ is Son of God, who existed in heaven before being born on earth. Together with His Father He created everything. “He is before all things, and by him all things consist.” He was born on this earth of the virgin Mary, “conceived in her… of the Holy Ghost.” He is the express image of His Father. Through His incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, Jesus manifested Himself as the Redeemer. He is the only Mediator between God and the fallen mankind. His pure life is a unique example of righteousness for all humanity. Today He is our High Priest in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary and is performing the final work of atonement. [Hebrews 1:1-3, 8; Colossians 1:15; 2:9; John 20:31; 17:5; 1:1-3, 14. John 1:1, 2; Philippians 2:5, 6; Colossians 2:9; Matthew 1:18-23; Colossians 1:16, 17; Acts 4:12; Timothy 2:5, 6; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 8:1, 2]
3. The Holy Spirit is the third person in the divine family. The Holy Spirit has been at work from the beginning and is constantly active in redemption. The Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative on earth. He convinces of sin and leads to repentance and conversion. He renews and transforms man. He also guides into truth and the knowledge of the divine will and gives strength for obedience and victory over sin. [1 John 5: 6 – 8: Mathew 28: 19; Acts 5:3,4; John 16: 7,8, 13; Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 63:10, 11; John 3:5, 6; 14:16, 17; 16:13]
4. God’s will for man was recorded by select men who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. God Himself is the Author. Those writings were gathered into one volume called “The Bible.” The Holy Scriptures, as the true, complete revelation of God, are the only infallible standard for our faith, life and the necessary knowledge for the way to our soul’s salvation. They contain statements that reveal past, present, and future events to us. The prophecies which have already been fulfilled are proof of their divine origin. [2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17.Isaiah 46:9, 10]
5. We believe that on the sixth day of creation God created man in His own image, perfect, and with a free will. God created human beings to be happy, content, and immortal. [Genesis 1:26-28, 2:1-4, 9; Proverbs 8: 31; Job 38:4]
6. There is clear evidence of other invisible beings, called angels, who were created before man. [1 Corinthians 15:39, 40; Job 38:4, 7; Genesis 3: 24]
7. One of the angels, called Lucifer, or Satan, perverted his liberty and began to counterwork and disrupt the existing harmony. For this reason he was cast out of heaven. [Isaiah 14: 12-17: Ezekiel 28: 12-19: Luke 10: 18: Revelation 12:9]
8. He confused and deceived the first human pair into trying a new experience by stepping outside God’s order into forbidden territory. [Genesis 3]
9. Trespassing against God’s law is called “sin.” Man’s nature became sinful and degenerated through continued sinful practices. [1 John 3:4; Ephesians 2:3: Psalm 51:5]
10. God’s character is love, as seen in the beauty of nature. [1 John 4:8, 16; Philippians 4: 7-9]
11. He is the source of all higher intelligence. With His Son He devised a plan to counteract the degeneration of transgression by creating a unique plan for restoration, called “The Plan of Redemption.” [Colossians 2:2, 3; Matthew 20:28]
12. The sure result of transgression and sin is eternal death unless the redemption of Christ is accepted. [Romans 6:23; 5: 12; Colossians 1: 13,14 John 3: 16]
13. So that justice may be carried out, God requires the life of every sinner, which means the shedding of his blood. [Ezekiel 18: 19, 20; Hebrews 9: 22; Exodus 12: 13]
14. The Plan of Redemption provided for Christ to become the sinner’s substitute, paying for our guilt with His own blood. [Hebrews 2:9; Romans 5:6, 8; Hebrews 9: 11, 12]
15. The sinner must accept this substitute ransom payment by faith in order to receive forgiveness. [Romans 3:22-25, 28, 31; Isaiah 1: 18]
16. The sinner must accept Christ as his personal Saviour and Redeemer. [John 20:31; 3: 15, 16, 36]
17. The Holy Spirit convinces the sinner that all things earthly are transitory and not worth living for. His outlook on life will be drawn to eternal subjects, and his affections and longings will completely change. This is the experience of the “new birth,” or “conversion.” [James 4: 14; Ecclesiastes 2: 11; Psalm 144:3, 4; John 3:3-8]
18. This change of heart is attested to publicly by being baptized by immersion, representing the death of the old man and the birth of the new. [Romans 6:3-11; 1 Peter 3: 21]
19. In the Old Testament, animals that were slain for the guilty sinner symbolized Christ, the true Sin Bearer and sacrificial lamb. [Exodus 12:5, 6, 13; Hebrews 8: 5; John 1:29]
20. When Christ died, the symbolic laws connected with the temple service ended. [Matthew 27:51; Colossians 2: 14-17]
21. Salvation cannot be earned by good works, for man is saved by unmerited grace alone. [Romans 3:24; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 9: 16]
22. God’s law consisting of Ten Commandments checks human behaviour shows sins when committed, and therefore must be obeyed. [Matthew 19: 17-19; Romans 7; 7, 8: Matthew 5: 19]
23. Obedience to God’s law, motivated by love, shows that the person’s faith is genuine. [1 John 5:2, 3; James 2: 14, 18, 24, 26]
24. God rested on the seventh day of the creation week and commanded mankind to rest also. This obedience shows that we recognize and worship Him as our Creator. The Lord’s Day is not the pagan day of sun worship, Sunday, but the seventh day of the week, Saturday. [Genesis 2: 1-3: Exodus 20:8-11; Romans 1:25; Mark 2:28]
25. This lifespan is an education for the afterlife. The change in a Christian’s life is effected by the working of the Holy Spirit. A new, divine nature eventually replaces the old, sinful nature. This is called sanctification. At death, all opportunities for perfecting character cease. [Colossians 3: 1-3; 2 Peter 1:4-8; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Hebrews 9:27]
26. Death is an unconscious sleep of body and soul, but it will not last forever. Through a miraculous resurrection, human beings will one day become alive again. [Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6; John 5:25-29]
27. Those who accepted Christ as their Saviour before they died will be raised at His second coming to receive a new body that will never die. [1 Thessalonians 4: 16; 1 Corinthians 15: 53, 54]
28. Christ’s second coming is imminent and will be an actual happening visible to all people on earth. [Matthew 24:42; Acts 1:10-11; Revelation 1:7;  Acts 1; 10, 11]
29. In Noah and Lot’s times all unbelievers were destroyed by physical elements (water and fire). Likewise, in the last days literal fire will destroy the wicked, making this earth a desolate wilderness. [2 Peter 3: 5-7; 2:4-6; Malachi 4: 1; Joel 2:3]
30. The destruction of the unbelievers will bind Satan for a thousand years, because he will have no one to deceive, for all people are then dead. [Revelation 20: 1, 2; 2 Peter 2:4]
31. During the 1,000 years (millennium), judgment is held in heaven to determine the degree of the unbelievers’ guilt. [Revelation 20:4, 12; 1 Corinthians 6:2, 3]
32. At the millennium’s end, the unbelievers will be resurrected to hear their sentence of doom and receive their punishment. [John 5:29; Revelation 20:5, 9, 14, 15]
33. The earth will be renovated and made new like Eden, and God’s kingdom will be established forever.   [Revelation 21:1, 5, 3; Daniel 2:44]
34. A large part of the Bible is prophetic, and the historic fulfillment of these predictions proves that the Bible is inspired. [2 Peter 1: 19; Luke 24:44-46; Acts 8:30-35]
35. The books Daniel and The Revelation of the Bible predict the rise and fall of the empires of antiquity and their characteristics, as well as the religious developments up to our own time. These prophecies help the Christian understand present-day events. [Daniel 7:3-8, 17; Revelation 13; Matthew 24: 15; Revelation 1:3]
36. Since Daniel 7 and 8 use symbols throughout. The 2,300-day period of Daniel 8: 14 is also symbolic and represents 2,300 literal years. Since the period’s beginning is historically set at 457 B.C., it extends to 1844, at which time an investigative judgment of all Christians began in the heavenly sanctuary. [Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6; Ezra 7: 12-26; Daniel 7:9, 10]
37. The gift of the Spirit of prophecy is given to the remnant church of the last days to warn and guide them. [Revelation 12: 17; 19:10; 2 Chronicles 20:20]
38. Earthly governments are ordained by God and should be obeyed within their rightful sphere. [Romans 13: 1-7; Titus 3: 1]
39. All governments are under God and therefore under obligation to obey Him. [Daniel 2:21; 4: 17; Psalm 2:10-11]
40. If governments command the Christian to destroy the life of any fellow human being in peace or war, he is obliged to obey God’s superior law first. The Christian cannot support warfare. [Luke 3: 14; Matthew 26:52; Acts 4: 19; 5:29]
41. Marriage is a lifelong partnership. Divorce and remarriage are contrary to God’s will. [Romans 7:2, 3; Matthew 19:6-9]
42. Since Christ sacrificed everything for us and everything belongs to Him, it is a blessing to return to Him that portion of our income which He claims as His. [Matthew 23:23; Hebrews 7:8: Malachi 3:8-11]
43. The physical body belongs to God, and we must keep it in good health condition with proper food, rest, cleanliness, exercise, etc. [1 Corinthians 3: 16- 17:  6: 19-20]
44. Narcotics, stimulants, drugs, etc. are unnatural and destroy the body and mind. [Proverbs 20: 1: 23:29-32; Luke 1: 15]
45. In His original plan, God never intended the living creatures to be man’s food. [Genesis 1:29; Exodus 16:3, 4; Numbers 11: 18-20, 33; Leviticus 17:3, 4]
46. Extreme fashions, dictated by modern society, are unhealthy, immoral, and contrary to Christian ethics. [1 Timothy 2:9, 10: 1 Peter 3: 1-5]
47. God recognizes only one true church, whether small or large-the one which keeps His commandments, has the Spirit of prophecy, and is separate from the world. It is His agency on earth, and He works through it to accomplish His purpose. [Ephesians 4:5: Solomon’s Song 6:8-10: Matthew 28:19, 20; Revelation 12:17]
48. God’s church carries the responsibility of proclaiming the last warning preparatory to Christ’s second coming. [Revelation 14:6-12; Matthew 24: 14; Revelation 18: 1-4]