WHO WE ARE…

We are a non-profit organization that is committed to Going INTO all the world and making disciples and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ for God’s Glory and the benefit of mankind. We are committed to “Biblical” evangelism, in that we are just God’s workmanship or a human vessel that The Holy Spirit uses as we preach the Law as mirror for mankind to see his or her “true” condition before a Holy and Just Creator. If the person is “enabled” to see there position before our Lord we then reveal the “Good News” of Jesus Christ. Jonah 2:9 Salvation is of the Lord. We are thankful for the men and women who contribute and are faithful to this ministry. We are also committed to helping you grow in your personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. While we are not a Church fellowship, we provide many links to assist you in “growing in the GRACE and KNOWLEDGE of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18

WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT….

THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
1.The Holy Scripture is the ALL-SUFFICIENT, certain and INFALLIBLE rule or standard of the knowledge, faith and obedience that constitute salvation. Although the light of nature, and God’s works of creation and providence, give such CLEAR testimony to His goodness, wisdom and power that men who spurn them are left inexcusable, yet they are NOT SUFFICIENT OF THEMSELVES to give that knowledge of God and His will which is necessary for salvation. In consequence the merciful Lord from time to time and in a variety of ways has revealed Himself, and made known His will TO HIS CHURCH. And furthermore, in order to ensure the preservation and propagation of the truth, and the establishment and comfort of the church against the corrupt nature of man and the malice of Satan and the world, He caused this revelation of Himself and His will to be written down in all its fullness. And as the manner in which God formerly revealed His will has long ceased, the Holy Scripture becomes absolutely essential to men.
Pss 19:1-3; Prov 22:19-21; Isa 8:20; Luke 16:29,31; Rom 1:19-21, 2:14-15, 15:4; Eph 2:20; 2Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1; 2Pet 1:19-20; 1Cor. 2:7 14.

2. Under the name of Holy Scripture, or the Word of God written, are now contained all the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, which are these:
OF THE OLD TESTAMENT: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomen, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations,Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
OF THE NEW TESTAMENT: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, The Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II Timothy, To Titus, To Philemon, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Epistle of James, The first and second Epistles of Peter, The first, second, and third Epistles of John, The Epistle of Jude, The Revelation
All of which are given by the inspiration of God, to be the rule of faith and life.
( 2 Timothy 3:16)

3. The Scripture is self-authenticating. Its authority does not depend upon the testimony of any man or church, but entirely upon God, its Author, Who is Truth Himself. It is to be received because it is the Word of God.
1Thess 2:13; 2Tim 3:16; 2Pet 1:19-21; 1John 5:9.

4. The Scripture is the sum total of God’s revelation concerning all things essential to His own glory, and to the salvation and faith and life of men, is either explicitly set down or implicitly contained in the Holy Scripture. Nothing, whether a supposed revelation of the Spirit or man’s traditions, is ever to be added to Scripture. At the same time, however, we acknowledge that inward enlightenment from the Spirit of God is necessary for the right understanding of what Scripture reveals. We also accept that certain aspects of the worship of God and of church government, which are matters of common usage, are to be determined by the light of nature and Christian common sense, in line with the general rules of God’s Word from which there must be no departure.
John 6:45; 1Cor 2:9-12, 11:13-14, 14:26,40; Gal 1:8-9; 2Tim 3:15-17.

5. All religious controversies are to be settled by Scripture, and by Scripture alone. All decrees of Councils, opinions of ancient writers, and doctrines of men collectively or individually, are similarly to be accepted or rejected according to the verdict of the Scripture given to us by the Holy Spirit. In that verdict faith finds its final rest.
Mat 22:29,31-32; Acts 28:23; Eph 2:20.

God and the Holy Trinity

1. THERE is but ONE, and ONLY ONE, living and true God.  He is self-existent and infinite in His being and His perfections.  None but He can comprehend or understand His essence.  He is Pure Spirit, Invisible, and without body, parts, or the changeable feelings of men.  He alone possesses immortality, and dwells amid the light insufferably bright to mortal men.  He NEVER changes.  He is Great beyond all our conceptions, Eternal, Incomprehensible, Almighty and Infinite.  He is Most Holy, Wise, Free and Absolute.  All that He does is the out-working of His changeless, righteous will, and for His Own Glory.  He is Most Loving, Gracious, Merciful and Compassionate.  He abounds in Goodness and Truth.  He forgives iniquity, transgression and sin. He rewards those who seek Him diligently.  But He HATES sin. He will NOT overlook guilt or spare the guilty, and He is perfectly JUST in executing judgment.
Gen. 17:1; Exod. 3:14; 34:6,7; Deut. 4:15,16; 6:4; 1 Kings 8:27; Neh.9:32,33; Ps. 5:5,6; 90:2; 115:3; Prov. 16:4; Isa. 6:3; 46:10; 48:12; Jer. 10:10; 23:23,24; Nah. 1:2,3; Mal. 3:6; John 4:24; Rom.11:36; 1 Cor. 8:4,6; 1 Tim.1:17; Heb. 11:6.
2. God is All-Sufficient, and all Life, Glory, Goodness and blessedness are found in Him and in HIM ALONE.  He does not stand in need of any of the creatures that He has made, nor does He derive any part of His Glory from them.  On the contrary, He manifests His Own Glory in and by them.  He is the Fountain-Head of all being, and the Origin, Channel and End of all things.  Over all His creatures He is Sovereign.  He uses them as He pleases, and does for them or to them all that He wills.  His sight penetrates to the heart of all things.  His knowledge is infinite and infallible. No single thing is to Him at risk or uncertain, for He is not dependent upon created things.  In all His decisions, doings and demands He is Most Holy.  Angels and men owe to Him as their Creator all worship, service and obedience, and whatever else He may require at their hands.
Job 22:2,3; Ps. 119:68; 145:17; 148:13; Ezek.11:5; Dan. 4:25,34,35; John 5:26; Acts 15:18; Rom. 11:34-36; Heb. 4:13; Rev. 5:12-14.
3. Three Divine Persons constitute the Godhead-the Father, the Son (or the Word), and the Holy Spirit.  They are ONE in Substance, in Power, and in Eternity.  Each is FULLY God, and yet the Godhead is ONE and Indivisible.  The Father owes His being to none.  He is Father to the Son who is Eternally begotten of Him.  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. These Persons, One Infinite and Eternal God not to be divided in being, are distinguished in Scripture by Their personal nature or in relations within the Godhead, and by the variety of works which they undertake.  Their TRI-UNITY (that is, the doctrine of the Trinity) is the essential basis of all our fellowship with God, and of the comfort we derive from our dependence upon Him.
Exod. 3:14; Matt. 28:19; John 1:14,18; 14:11; 15:26; 1 Cor. 8:6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Gal. 4:6; 1 John 5:7.

GOD’S DECREE

FROM all eternity God decreed all that should happen in time, and this He did freely and unalterably, consulting only His Own Wise and Holy Will.  Yet in so doing He DOES NOT become in any sense the author of sin, NOR does He share responsibility for sin with sinners.  Neither, by reason of His decree, is the will of any creature whom He has made violated; nor is the free working of second causes put aside; rather is it established.  In all these matters the divine wisdom appears, as also does God’s power and faithfulness in effecting that which He has purposed.
Num. 23:19; Isa. 46:10; John 19:11; Acts 4:27,28; Rom. 9:15,18; Eph. 1:3-5,11; Heb. 6:17; Jas. 1:13; 1 John 1:5.
God’s decree is not based upon His foreknowledge that, under certain conditions, certain happenings will take place, but is independent of all such foreknowledge.
Acts 15:18; Rom. 9:11,13,16,18.
By His decree, and for the manifestation of His glory, God has predestinated (or foreordained) certain men and angels to eternal life through Jesus Christ, thus revealing His Grace. Others, whom He has left to perish in their sins, show the terrors of His justice.
Mat.25:34; Rom.9:22,23; Eph.1:5,6; 1Tim.5:21; Jude4.
The angels and men who are the subjects of God’s predestination are clearly and irreversibly designated, and their number is unalterably fixed.
John 13:18; 2 Tim. 2:19.
BEFORE the world was made, God’s eternal, immutable purpose, which originated in the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, moved Him to choose (or to elect), in Christ, certain of mankind to everlasting glory.  Out of His mere free grace and love He predestinated these chosen ones to life, although there was nothing in them to cause Him to choose them.
Rom. 8:30; 9:13,16; Eph. 1:4,9,11; 2:5,12; 1 Thess. 5:9; 2 Tim. 1:9.
Not only has God appointed the elect to glory in accordance with the eternal and free purpose of His will, but He has also foreordained the means by which His purpose will be effected. Since His elect are children of Adam and therefore among those ruined by Adam’s fall into sin, He willed that they should be redeemed by Christ, and effectually called to faith in Christ. Furthermore, by the working of His Spirit in due season they are justified, adopted, sanctified, and ‘kept by His power through faith unto salvation’.  None but the elect partake of any of these great benefits.
John 6:64; 10:26; 17:9; Rom. 8:30; 1 Thess. 5:9,10; 2 Thess. 2:13; 1Pet. 1:2,5.
The high mystery of predestination needs to be handled with special prudence and caution, so that men, being directed to the will of God revealed in His Word and obeying the same, may become assured of their eternal election through the certainty of their effectual calling.  By this means predestination will promote the praise of God, and reverential awe and wonder.  It will encourage humility and diligence, and bring much comfort to all who sincerely obey the gospel.
Luke 10:20; Rom.11:5,6,20,33; Eph. 1:6; 1 Thess.1:4,5; 2 Pet. 1:10.

CREATION

IN the beginning it pleased the Triune God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-to create the world and all things in it in six LITERAL days. All was very good. In this way God Glorified His Eternal Power, Wisdom and Goodness.
Gen. 1:31; Job 26:13; John 1:2,3; Rom. 1:20; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2.
All creatures were made by God, the last to be fashioned being man and woman who received dominion over all other creatures on the earth. God gave man and woman rational and immortal souls, and in all respects fitted them for a life in harmony with Himself. They were created in His image, possessing knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. The divine law was written in their hearts and they had power to obey it fully. Yet, being left to the liberty of their own mutable wills, transgression of the law was a possibility.
Gen. 1:26,27; 2:7; 3:6; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 2:14,15.
The law of God in general was written in the hearts of the first human pair, but at the same time they were placed under a special prohibition not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their happiness and fellowship with God depended upon their yielding obedience to His will, as also did the continuance of their dominion over the creatures.
Gen. 1:26,28; Gen. 2:17.

THE FALL OF MAN: SIN AND ITS PUNISHMENT

MAN, as he came from the hand of God, his Creator, was upright and perfect. The righteous law which God gave him spoke of life as conditional upon his obedience, and threatened death upon his disobedience. Adam’s obedience was short-lived. Satan used the subtle serpent to draw Eve into sin. Thereupon she seduced Adam who, without any compulsion from without, willfully broke the law under which they had been created, and also God’s command not to eat of the forbidden fruit. To fulfill His Own Wise and Holy purposes God permitted this to happen, for He was directing all to His Own Glory.
Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3:12,13; 2 Cor.11:3.
By this sin our first parents LOST their former righteousness, and their happy communion with God was severed. Their sin involved us all, and by it death appertained to all. All men became DEAD in sin, and totally polluted in all parts and faculties of both soul and body.
Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10-19,23; 5:12-21; Titus 1:15.
The family of man is rooted in the first human pair. As Adam and Eve stood in the room and stead of all mankind, the guilt of their sin was reckoned by God’s appointment to the account of all their posterity, who also from birth derived from them a polluted nature. Conceived in sin and by nature children subject to God’s anger, the servants of sin and the subjects of death, all men are now given up to unspeakable miseries, spiritual, temporal and eternal, UNLESS the Lord Jesus Christ sets them free.
Job 14:4; Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12-19; Rom. 6:20; 1Cor. 15:21-22, 15:45, 15:49; Eph. 2:3; 1Thess. 1:10; Heb. 2:14-15.
The actual sins that men commit are the fruit of the corrupt nature transmitted to them by our first parents. By reason of this corruption, all men become wholly inclined to all evil; sin disables them. They are utterly indisposed to, and, indeed, rendered opposite to, all that is good.
Matt. 15:19; Rom. 8:7; Col. 1:21; Jas. 1:14.
During this earthly life corrupt nature remains in those who are born of God, that is to say, regenerated. Through Christ it is pardoned and mortified, yet both the corruption itself, and all that issues from it, are truly and properly sin.
Eccles. 7:20; Rom. 7:18,23-25; Gal. 5:17; 1 John 1:8.

GOD’S COVENANT

THE distance between God and His creature man is so great that, although men, endowed as they are with reason, owe obedience to Him as their Creator, yet they could never have attained to life as their reward had not God, in an act of voluntary condescension, made this possible by the making of a covenant.
Job 35:7,8; Luke 17:10.
Furthermore, since man, by reason of his fall into sin, had brought himself under the curse of God’s law, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace, in which He freely offers life and salvation by Jesus Christ to sinners. On their part He requires faith in Him that they may be saved, and promises to give His Holy Spirit to all those who are elected unto eternal life, in order that they may be made willing and able to believe.
Gen. 2:17; Ps. 110:3; Ezek. 36:26,27; Mark 16:15,16; John 3:16; 6:44,45; Rom. 3:20,21; 8:3; Gal. 3:10.
God’s covenant is revealed in the gospel; in the first place to Adam in the promise of salvation by ‘the seed of the woman’, and afterwards, step by step, until the full revelation of salvation was completed in the New Testament. The salvation of the elect is based upon a covenant of redemption that was transacted in eternity between the Father and the Son; and it is solely through the grace conveyed by this covenant that all the descendants of fallen Adam who have been saved have obtained life and a blessed immortality; for the terms of blessing which applied to Adam in his state of innocency have no application to his posterity to render them acceptable to God.
Gen. 3:15; John 8:56; Acts 4:12; Rom. 4:1-5; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; Heb.1:1,2; 11:6,13.

FREE WILL

IN the natural order God has endued man’s will with liberty and the power to act upon choice, so that it is neither forced from without, nor by any necessity arising from within itself, compelled to do good or evil.
Deut. 30:19; Mat. 17:12; Jas. 1:14.
In his state of innocency man had freedom and power to will and to do what was good and acceptable to God. Yet, being unstable, it was possible for him to fall from his uprightness.
Gen. 3:6; Eccles. 7:29.
As the consequence of his fall into a state of sin, man has LOST ALL ABILITY TO WILL the performance of any of those works, spiritually good, that accompany salvation. As a natural (unspiritual) man he is DEAD in sin and altogether opposed to that which is good. Hence he is NOT able, by any strength OF HIS OWN, to turn himself to God, or even to prepare himself to turn to God.
John 6:44; Rom. 5:6; 8:7; Eph. 2:1,5; Titus 3:3-5.
When God converts a sinner, and brings him out of sin into the state of grace, He frees him from his natural bondage to sin and, BY HIS GRACE ALONE, He enables him freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good. Nevertheless certain corruptions remain in the sinner, so that his will is never completely and perfectly held in captivity to that which is good, but it also entertains evil.
John 8:36; Rom. 7:15,18,19,21,23; Phil. 2:13; Col.1:13.
It is not until man enters the state of glory that he is made perfectly and immutably free to will that which is good, and that alone.
Eph. 4:13.

EFFECTUAL CALLING

AT “a time appointed” by and acceptable to God, those whom God has predestinated to life are effectually called by His Word and Spirit out of the state of death in which they are by nature, to grace and salvation by Jesus Christ. Their minds are given spiritual enlightenment and, as those who are being saved, they begin to understand the things of God. God takes away their heart of stone and gives them a heart of flesh. He renews their will, and by His Almighty Power He sets them to seek and follow that which is good, at the same time effectually drawing them to Jesus Christ. And to all these changes they come most freely, for they are made willing by Divine Grace.

Deut. 30:6; Ps. 110:3; Song 1:4; Ezek. 36:26,27; Acts 26:18; Rom. 8:30; 11:7; Eph. 1:10,11,17,19; 2:1-6; 2 Thess. 2:13,14.
God’s effectual call is the outcome of His free and special grace alone. Until a man is GIVEN LIFE, and renewed by the Holy Spirit, he is DEAD in sins and trespasses, so is entirely passive in this work of salvation, a work that does not proceed from anything good foreseen in him, nor from any power or agency resident in him. The power that enables him to answer God’s call and to embrace the grace offered and conveyed in it, is NO LESS THAN that which effected the resurrection of Christ from the dead.
John 5:25; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 1:19-20; 2:5,8; 2 Tim. 1:9.
Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit, who works when and where and how He pleases. The same is true of all elect persons who are incapable of being outwardly called through the preaching of the gospel.
John 3:3,5,6,8.
Men who are NOT elected, even though they may be called upon to embrace salvation by the preachers of the gospel, and may be the subjects of some common operations of the Spirit, CANNOT be saved, because they are NOT effectually drawn to Christ by the Father, for which reason they neither can, nor will, truly come to Him. Much less can men who do not “receive” the Christian religion be saved, no matter how diligent they are to frame their lives according to the light of nature and the teachings of the religion which they follow.
Matt. 13:20,21; 22:14; John 4:22; 6:44,45,65; 17:3; Acts 4:12; Heb. 6:4-6; 1 John 2:24,25.

JUSTIFICATION

GOD freely justifies the persons whom He effectually calls. He does this, NOT by infusing righteousness into them, but by pardoning their sins and by accounting them, and “accepting” them, as righteous. This He does FOR CHRIST‘S SAKE ALONE, and not for anything wrought in them or done by them. The righteousness which is “IMPUTED” to them, that is, reckoned to their account, is neither their faith nor the act of believing nor any other obedience to the gospel which they have rendered, but Christ’s obedience alone. Christ’s one obedience is twofold-His active obedience rendered to the entire divine law, and His passive obedience rendered in His death. Those thus justified receive and rest by faith upon Christ’s righteousness; and this faith they have, NOT OF THEMSELVES, but as the gift of God.
John 1:12; Rom. 3:24; 4:5-8; 5:17-19; 8:30; 1Cor. 1:30-31; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; Phil. 3:8,9.
The faith which receives and rests ON Christ and His righteousness is the sole means of justification. Yet it is never alone in the person justified, but is invariably accompanied by all other saving graces. Nor is it a dead faith, for it WORKS by love.
Rom. 3:28; Gal. 5:6; Jas. 2:17,22,26.
By His obedience and death Christ “PAID IN FULL” the debt of all those who are justified. By the sacrifice of Himself in His blood-shedding on Calvary, and His suffering on their behalf of the penalty they had incurred, He fully and absolutely satisfied all the claims which God’s justice had upon them. Yet their justification is altogether of free grace, firstly because Christ was the free gift of the Father to act on their behalf; secondly because Christ’s obedience and His satisfying the demands of the law was freely accepted on their behalf; and thirdly because nothing in them merited these mercies. Hence God’s exact justice and His rich grace are alike rendered glorious in the justification of sinners.
Isa. 53:5,6; Rom. 3:26; 8:32; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:6,7; 2:7; Heb. 10:14; 1 Pet.1:18,19.
From all eternity God decreed to justify all the elect, and in the fullness of time Christ died for “their” sins and rose again for “their” justification. Nevertheless they are not justified personally UNTIL, in due time, the Holy Spirit actually applies to “them” the benefits of Christ’s Person and work.
Rom. 4:25; Gal. 3:8; Col. 1:21,22; 1 Tim. 2:6; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Pet. 1:2.
God continues to forgive the sins of all the justified. They can NEVER lose their justification; but they may, by reason of sin, fall under God’s fatherly displeasure; in which case, UNTIL they humble themselves, confess their sins, beg God’s pardon, and renew their faith and repentance, God will not usually restore to them ‘the light of His countenance’.
Ps. 32:5; Ps. 51; Ps. 89:31-33; Matt. 6:12; 26:75; John 10:28; 1 John 1:7,9.
Believers in Old Testament times were justified in precisely the same way as New Testament believers.
Rom. 4:22-24; Gal. 3:9.

ADOPTION

FOR the sake of His Only Son, Jesus Christ, God has been pleased to make ALL justified persons sharers in the grace of adoption, by means of which they are numbered with, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of children of God. Furthermore, God’s name is put upon them, “they” receive the spirit of adoption, and they are enabled to come boldly to the throne of grace and to cry ‘Abba, Father’. They are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by God as by a Father. He never casts them off, but, as they remain sealed to the day of redemption, they inherit the promises as heirs of everlasting salvation.
Ps. 103:13; Prov. 14:26; Isa. 54:8,9; Lam. 3:31; John 1:12; Rom. 8:15,17; 2 Cor. 6:18; Gal. 4:4-6; Eph. 1:5; 2:18; 4:30; Heb. 1:14; 6:12; 12:6; 1 Pet. 5:7; Rev. 3:12.

SANCTIFICATION

THOSE who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, have a new heart and a new spirit created in them; and by His Word and Spirit dwelling within them, this personal work of sanctification is indeed carried further. All these blessings accrue to them by reason of the merits of Christ’s death and resurrection. Sin’s mastery over them is completely broken; the evil desires to which it gives birth are increasingly weakened and dealt their death-blow; and saving graces in them are increasingly enlivened and strengthened. The practice of all true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord, is thus promoted.
John 17:17; Acts 20:32; Rom. 6:5,6,14; 2 Cor. 7:1; Gal. 5:24; Eph. 3:16-19; Col. 1:11; 1 Thess. 5:21-23; Heb. 12:14.
Sanctification, as defined in this way, extends to every part of man, yet remains incomplete in this life. Sin’s corrupt remnants continue to defile all parts of man, causing within him a continual warfare that does not admit of reconciliation; the flesh rises up against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh.
Rom. 7:18,23; Gal. 5:17; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Pet. 2:11.
In the war of flesh versus Spirit, sin’s corrupt remnants may for a time gain the upper hand, yet the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ enables man as a new creature to gain the victory. And so the saints grow in grace, moving on towards a fullness of holiness in the fear of God. They earnestly endeavor to live according to heaven’s laws, and to render gospel obedience to all the commands which Christ, as their Head and King, has laid down for them in His Word.
Rom. 6:14; 7:23; 2 Cor. 3:18; 7:1; Eph. 4:15,16.

SAVING FAITH

THE grace of faith by which the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls is the work of the Spirit in their hearts. Normally it is brought into being through the preaching of the Word. By the Word and its ministry, by the administration of baptism and the Lord’s supper, by prayer, and also by other means appointed by God, faith is increased and strengthened.
Luke 17:5; Acts 20:32; Rom. 10:14,17; 2 Cor. 4:13; Eph. 2:8; 1 Pet. 2:2.
By faith a Christian believes everything to be true that is made known in the Word, in which God speaks authoritatively. He also perceives in the Word a degree of excellence superior to all other writings, indeed to all things that the world contains. The Word shows the glory of God as seen in His various attributes, the excellence of Christ in His nature and in the offices He bears, and the power and perfection of the Holy Spirit in all the works in which He is engaged. In this way the Christian is enabled to trust himself implicitly to the truth thus believed, and to render service according to the different requirements of the various parts of Scripture. To the commands he yields obedience; when he hears threatenings he trembles; as for the divine promises concerning this life and that which is to come, he embraces them. But the principal acts of saving faith relate in the first instance to Christ as the believer accepts, receives and rests upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life; and all by virtue of the covenant of grace.
Ps. 19:7-10; 119:72; Isa. 66:2; John 1:12; 15:14; Acts 15:11; 16:31; 24:14; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 11:13.
Saving faith has its gradations. It may be weak or strong. Yet, like all other kinds of saving grace, even at its lowest ebb it is quite different in its nature from the faith and common grace of “temporary” believers. In consequence, though it may be frequently attacked and weakened, it wins through to victory, developing in many Christians until they attain to full assurance through Christ, who is both the ‘Author and Finisher of our faith’.
Matt. 6:30; Rom. 4:19,20; Eph. 6:16; Col. 2:2; Heb. 5:13,14; 6:11,12; 12:2; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 John 5:4,5.

REPENTANCE UNTO LIFE AND SALVATION

SOME of the elect are not converted until well on in life, having continued in the state in which they were born, and having followed after all kinds of evil cravings and pleasures. Then God’s effectual call reaches them and HE GIVES them repentance leading on to life eternal.
Titus 3:2-5.
There is NOT a man on earth who does good and is without sin; and the best of men, through the power and deceitfulness of their indwelling corruptions and the strength of temptation, may commit great sins hateful to God. Because of this, in the covenant of grace God has mercifully made provision that “believers” who so sin and fall shall be restored, through repentance, to salvation.
Eccles. 7:20; Luke 22:31,32.
The repentance that leads on to salvation is a gospel grace by means of which a person who is caused by the Holy Spirit TO FEEL the manifold evils of sin is also caused by faith in Christ TO HUMBLE himself on account of sin. This humiliation is characterized by GODLY SORROW, a detestation of the sin, and self-loathing. It is accompanied by prayer for pardon and strength of grace, and also by a purpose and endeavor, in the power supplied by the Spirit, to conduct himself in the sight of God with the consistency of life that pleases Him.
Ps. 119:6,128; Ezek. 36:31; Zech. 12:10; Acts 11:18; 2 Cor. 7:11.
Because we carry about with us (as Scripture tells us) a ‘body of death’ biased towards evil, repentance IS TO CONTINUE through the whole course of our lives. Hence it is every man’s duty to repent of each particular sin of which he is conscious, and to do so with particular care.
Luke 19:8; 1 Tim 1:13,15.
In the covenant of grace God has made full provision for the preservation of believers in a state of salvation, so that, although even the smallest of sins deserves damnation, there is no sin so great that it will bring damnation to them that repent. This renders the “constant” preaching of repentance essential!
Isa. 1:16-18; Rom. 6:23.

THE PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

THE saints are those whom God has accepted in Christ the Beloved, and effectually called and sanctified by His Spirit.  To them He has given the precious faith that pertains to all His elect. The persons to whom such blessings have been imparted can neither totally nor finally fall from the state of grace, but they shall certainly persevere in grace to the end and be eternally saved, for God will never repent of having called them and made gifts to them.  Consequently He continues to beget and to nourish in them faith, repentance, love, joy, hope, and all the graces of the Spirit that issue in immortality. Many storms and floods may arise and beat upon them, yet they can NEVER be moved from the Foundation and Rock on which by faith they are firmly established.  Even if unbelief and Satan’s temptations cause them “for a time” to lose the sight and comfort of the Light and Love of God, yet the Unchanging God remains their God, and He will certainly keep and save them by His Power until they come to the enjoyment of their purchased possession; for they are engraven on the palms of His hands, and their names have been written in the book of life from all eternity.
Ps. 89:31,32; Mal. 3:6; John 10:28,29; 1 Cor. 11:32; Phil. 1:6; 2 Tim. 2:19; 1 John 2:19.
It is on NO free will of their own that the saints’ perseverance depends, but on the immutability of the decree of election, which in its turn depends upon the Free and Unchangeable Love of God the Father, the efficacious merit and intercession of Jesus Christ and the saints’ union with Him, the oath of God, the abiding character of the Spirit’s indwelling of the saints, the divine nature of which they are partakers and, lastly, the terms of the covenant of grace.  All these factors guarantee the certainty and infallibility of the saints’ perseverance.
Jer. 32:40; John 14:19; Rom. 5:9,10; 8:30; 9:11,16; Heb. 6:17,18; 1 John 3:9.
In various ways-the temptations of Satan and of the world, the striving of indwelling sin to get the upper hand, the neglect of the means appointed for their preservation-saints may fall into fearful sins, and may even continue in them “for a time.” In this way they incur God’s displeasure, grieve His Holy Spirit, do injury to their graces, diminish their comforts, experience hardness of heart and accusations of conscience, hurt and scandalize others, and bring God’s chastisements on themselves.  Yet being saints their repentance will be renewed, and through faith they will be preserved in Christ Jesus TO THE END.
2 Sam. 12:14; Ps. 32:3,4; 51:10,12; Isa. 64:5,9; Matt. 26:70,72,74; Luke 22:32,61,62; Eph. 4:30.

THE ASSURANCE OF GRACE AND SALVATION

ALTHOUGH “temporary” believers and other unregenerate persons may be deceived by erroneous, self-engendered notions into thinking that they are in God’s favor and in a state of salvation-false and perishable hopes indeed!-yet all who “truly” believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and love Him in sincerity, endeavoring to conduct themselves in all good conscience according to His will, may in this life be certainly assured that they are in a state of grace.  They may rejoice in hope of the Glory of God, KNOWING that such a hope will NEVER put them to shame.
Job 8:13,14; Matt. 7:22,23; Rom. 5:2,5; 1 John 2:3; 3:14,18,19,21,24; 5:13.
The certainty of salvation enjoyed by the saints of God is not mere conjecture and probability based upon a fallible hope, but an infallible assurance of faith based upon the blood and righteousness of Christ revealed in the gospel.  It also results from the inward evidences of the graces of the Holy Spirit, for to those graces God speaks promises.  Then again, it is based upon the testimony of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of adoption, for He bears His witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. Such witness results in the keeping of our hearts both humble and holy.
Rom. 8:15,16; Heb. 6:11,17-19; 2 Pet. 1:4,5,10,11; 1 John 3:1-3.
The infallible assurance of salvation is not an essential part of salvation, for a true believer may wait for a long time, and struggle with many difficulties, before he attains to it.  It is not a matter of extraordinary revelation, for if he makes a right use of the means of grace, and is enabled by the Spirit to know the things that believers receive freely from God, he may well attain to it.  It therefore becomes the duty of every one to be as diligent as possible in making his calling and election sure. By doing this he will experience greater peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, greater love and thankfulness to God, and an increased strength and cheerfulness in dutiful obedience. These things are the natural outcome of the assurance of salvation, and they constitute strong evidence that assurance does not lead men into loose living.
Ps. 77:1-12; Ps. 88; 119:32; Isa. 50:10; Rom. 5:1,2,5; 6:1,2; 14:17; Titus 2:11,12,14; Heb. 6:11,12; 1 John 4:13.
True believers may find that their assurance of salvation fluctuates; sometimes more, sometimes less.  They may prove neglectful in preserving it, as for example, if they give way to some particular sin that wounds their conscience and grieves the Spirit; or a strong temptation may suddenly spring upon them; or God may see fit to withdraw ‘the light of His countenance’ and cause darkness to envelop them, a course He sometimes takes even with those who fear His name.  Yet, whatever happens, certain things inevitably remain with them-the new nature which is born of God, the life of faith, the love of Christ and the brethren, sincerity of heart and conscience of duty-and by reason of these and through the work carried on by the Spirit within them, the assurance of salvation may in due time be revived. In the meantime the same influences preserve them from utter despair.
Ps. 30:7; 31:22; 42:5,11; 51:8,12,14; 77:7,8; 116:11; Song 5:2,3,6; Lam. 3:26-31; Luke 22:32; 1 John 3:9.

THE LAW OF GOD

GOD gave Adam a law, written in his heart, that required his full obedience; also one command in particular, namely, that he must not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thereby Adam and all his posterity were bound to personal, complete, exact and perpetual obedience.  God promised life upon the fulfilling, and threatened death upon the breach of the law, and endued Adam with power and ability to keep His law.
Gen. 2:16,17; Eccles. 7:29; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3:10,12.
The same law that was first written in man’s heart continued to be a perfect rule of righteousness after Adam fell into sin, and was given by God upon Mount Sinai in the form of ten commandments, written in two tables.  The first four commandments constitute our duty towards God and the remaining six our duty to man.  The ten are known as the moral law.
Deut. 10:4; Rom. 2:14,15.
Besides the moral law God also gave to the people of Israel ceremonial laws which served as “types” of things to come.  They fell into two main groups.  In one group were rites, partly relating to worship, which pre-figured Christ, His graces, actions, sufferings, and the blessings He procured for us.  The other group contained a variety of instructions about moral duties.  By divine appointment all these ceremonial laws were to be observed, but only until they were abrogated in New Testament days by Jesus Christ, the True Messiah and Only Law-Giver Who was empowered by the Father to terminate them.
1 Cor. 5:7; Eph. 2:14,16; Col. 2:14,16,17; Heb. 10:1.
To the people of Israel God also gave sundry judicial laws which applied as long as they remained a nation.  The principles of equity which appear in them are STILL VALID, not because they are found in Moses’ laws but in virtue of their unchanging character.
1 Cor. 9:8-10.
Obedience to the moral law remains for ever binding upon both justified persons and all others, and that in respect of the actual content of the law, and also of the Authority of God, the Creator, who is its Author.  In the gospel Christ in no way cancels the necessity for this obedience; on the contrary He greatly stresses our obligation to obey the moral law.
Mat. 5:17-19; Rom. 3:31; 13:8-10; Jas. 2:8,10-12.
So far as the law is a covenant of works under which justification or condemnation is awarded, it has no application to true believers. Yet in certain other ways it is of great use to them as well as to others, for as a rule of life it informs them of the will of God and instructs them in their duty. This done, it directs and binds them to obey it.  It also reveals to them the sinful defilement of their natures, their hearts and their lives, so that as they examine themselves by the light of the law, they may be convicted more deeply of sin, and caused to humble themselves on account of it and to hate it the more.  At the same time the law also gives them a clearer sight of their need of Christ, and the perfection of Christ’s own obedience to the law.  Similarly, as the law forbids sin, it causes the regenerate to fight against the evil inclinations to sin that they find in themselves.  Furthermore, the threatenings of the law are of value in showing the regenerate what their sins deserve, and what afflictions their own disobedience may cause them in this life, even while they stand delivered from the curse and the unrestricted rigor of the law. In similar manner the promises attached to the law intimate God’s approbation of obedience and set forth the blessings which flow from the fulfillment of the law, but with the proviso that those blessings do not accrue to men from the law viewed as a covenant of works.  The fact that a man does good and refrains from evil because the law encourages the former and deters from the latter, is no evidence that the man is under the law and not under grace.
Rom. 3:20; 6:12-14; 7:7; 8:1; 10:4; Gal. 2:16; 1 Pet. 3:8-13.
The aforementioned uses of the law of God do not run contrary to the grace of the gospel, but are most happily in line with it, for the Spirit of Christ subdues the will of man and enables it to do freely and with cheerfulness that which the will of God, as revealed in the law, requires to be done.
Ezek. 36:27; Gal. 3:21.

THE GOSPEL AND ITS GRACIOUS EXTENT

AS the covenant of works was broken by man’s sin and was unable to confer life, God in His Mercy promised to send Christ, who would be woman-born; and by means of the promise the elect would be called, and faith and repentance wrought in their hearts. In this promise the very substance of the gospel was revealed as the “effectual” means for the conversion and salvation of sinners.
Gen. 3:15; Rev. 7:9.
This promise of Christ and of salvation by Him is revealed to men by the Spirit and Word of God alone. Neither the works of creation and providence, nor the light of nature, reveal Christ and His grace to men, not even in a general or obscure way; much less is it possible by their means for men who lack the revelation of Christ by the promise of the gospel to attain to saving faith or repentance.
Prov. 29:18; Isa. 25:7; 60:2,3; Rom. 1:17; 10:14,15,17.
The revelation of the gospel to sinners, both to nations and to certain persons, together with the promises and precepts which belong to gospel obedience, has been made at various times and in a variety of places, according to the Sovereign Will and Good Pleasure of God. The promise of the making known of the gospel has not been made contingent upon any good use made by men of their native abilities developed by means of light common to all, for such a development has never taken place, nor can it do so. Hence in all ages the extent to which the gospel has been proclaimed, whether to wider or more confined areas, has been granted to persons and nations in greatly varying measures according to the All-Wise Will of God.
Ps. 147:20; Acts 16:7; Rom. 1:18-32.
The gospel is the only “external” means of making Christ and saving grace known to men, and it is completely adequate for this purpose. But that men who are DEAD in their sins may be born again-that is to say, MADE ALIVE, or regenerated-something further is essential, namely, an effectual, invincible work of the Holy Spirit upon every part of the soul of man, whereby a new spiritual life is produced. Nothing less than such a work will bring about conversion to God.
Ps. 110:3; John 6:44; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 4:4,6; Eph. 1:19,20.

BAPTISM

BAPTISM is an ordinance of the New Testament instituted by Jesus Christ. It is intended to be, to the person baptized, a sign of his fellowship with Christ in His death and resurrection, and of his being engrafted into Christ, and of the remission of sins. It also indicates that the baptized person has given himself up to God, through Jesus Christ, so that he may live and conduct himself ‘in newness of life’.
Mark 1:4; Acts 22:16; Rom. 6:3-5; Gal. 3:27; Col. 2:12.
The only persons who can rightly submit themselves to this ordinance are those who actually profess repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, being willing to yield obedience to Him.
Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41; 8:12,36,37; 18:8.
The outward element to be used in this ordinance is water, in which the believer is to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 8:38.
Immersion, that is to say, the dipping of the believer in water, is essential for the due administration of this ordinance.
Matt. 3:16; John 3:23.

THE STATE OF MAN AFTER DEATH
AND THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD

THE bodies of men after death return to dust and suffer decay, but their souls which neither die nor sink into a state of unconsciousness-they are inherently immortal-immediately return to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous, whose holiness is at death perfected, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ, looking upon the face of God in Light and Glory, and waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torment and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day. Souls separated from their bodies are in either paradise or hell, for the Scripture speaks of NO OTHER abodes of the departed.
Gen. 3:19; Eccles. 12:7; Luke 16:23,24; 23:43; Acts 13:36; 2 Cor. 5:1,6,8; Phil. 1:23; Heb. 12:23; 1 Pet. 3:19; Jude 6,7.
At the last day, saints then alive on the earth Will not die, but be changed. All the dead will be raised up with their selfsame bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, and shall be united again to their souls for ever.
Job 19:26,27; 1 Cor. 15:42,43,51,52; 1 Thess. 4:17.
By the power of Christ, the bodies of the unrighteous will be raised to dishonor. By His Spirit, Christ will raise the bodies of the righteous to honor, for they will be refashioned after the pattern of His own glorious body.
John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15; Phil. 3:21.

THE LAST JUDGMENT

GOD has appointed a day in which He WILL JUDGE the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, to whom the Father has given all authority and power to judge. At that day the apostate angels will be judged. So too will all persons who have lived upon the earth; they will appear before Christ’s judgment throne to give an account of their thoughts, words and deeds, and to receive His award in accordance with what they have done in this earthly life, whether good or evil.
Eccles. 12:14; Matt. 12:36; 25:32-46; John 5:22,27; Acts 17:31; Rom. 14:10,12; 1 Cor. 6:3; 2 Cor. 5:10; Jude 6.
God’s purpose in appointing a day of judgment is to make known the glory of His mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect, and the glory of His justice in the eternal damnation of the reprobate, that is to say, the wicked and disobedient. In that day the righteous will inherit everlasting life, and receive a fullness of joy and glory in the Lord’s presence as their eternal reward. But the wicked, who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, will be relegated to everlasting torments and ‘punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power’.
Matt. 25:21,34,46; Mark 9:48; Rom. 9:22,23; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Tim. 4:8.
To deter all men from sin on the one hand, and to give greater comfort to the godly in their adversity on the other, Christ would have us firmly persuaded that a day of judgment lies ahead. For the same reasons He has kept the day’s date a secret so that men may shake off all confidence in themselves and, in ignorance of the hour in which the Lord will come, may be ever on the watch, and ever prepared to say, ‘Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly. Amen.’
Mark 13:35-37; Luke 12:35-40; 2 Cor. 5: 10, 11; 2 Thess. 1: 5-7; Rev. 22:20.

This is a summary of the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith that we believe to be essential to salvation and the Christian faith. We are grateful to the cloud of witnesses who have gone before us and compiled these truths from the Holy Scriptures into this summary. If you wish to examine The 1689 London Baptist Confession in its entirety, go to www.founders.org/library/bcf/confession.html.

May the God of peace bless these truths to your soul for Glory and Honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ