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Our Doctrinal Statement
1. We believe in the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the
original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in
faith and life. II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21
2. We believe in one God, eternally
existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. II Corinthians
13:14; Matthew 28:19
3. We believe that Jesus Christ was
begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin
Mary and is true God and true man. Luke 1:26-35; John 1:10-18
4. We believe that man was created in
the image of God; that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical
death but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all
human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who
reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed.
Romans 3:9-20; 5:12; John 3:1-21
5. We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative
and substitutional sacrifice; and that all who believes in Him are
justified on the ground of His shed blood, and saved by grace through
faith, wholly apart from human merit and works. I Corinthians 15:3-4;
Hebrews 9:22; Romans 5:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-10
6. We believe in the resurrection of the
crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into heaven and His present
life there for us as High Priest and Advocate. I Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts
1:9-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; I John 2:1-2
7. We believe that all who receives by
faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, and thereby
become children of God; that they are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit
and are secure unto the day of redemption. John1:12-13; I Corinthians
6:19-20; Ephesians1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30
8. We believe that Church of Jesus
Christ was begun at Pentecost, is composed solely of believers; is the Body
and Bride of our Lord; is distinct from Israel; and that its business is to
win lost souls to Christ, and to edify and perfect the saints in the Lord.
Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:1-4, 41; I Corinthians12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22-23,
4:11-13, 5:23-32
9. We believe that for the person who
receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, water baptism is an ordained
testimony portraying the believer's union with Christ in His death, burial,
and resurrection. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper
to commemorate His death till He comes. Moreover, we believe that neither
water baptism nor the Lord's Supper has any saving merit. John 1:12-13;
Romans 6:3-4; I Corinthians 11:23-26
10. We believe that the Scriptures
clearly teach every believer to live a life of separation unto the Lord
from all worldly and sinful practices; to abide in Christ; to walk in the
Spirit; and to enjoy victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. Romans
12:1-2; II Corinthians 6:4-7:1; I John 2:15-17; Colossians 3:1-17
11. We believe in "that blessed
hope", the personal and imminent coming of our Lord in the air for His
saints. We believe in the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ
to the earth, with His saints. We believe that between these events shall
occur the seven years of Daniel's seventieth week (Daniel 9:27), the last
three and one half years of which mark "The Great Tribulation",
culminating in the battle of Armageddon. I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus
2:11-14; Matthew 24:27-30; Revelation 19:17-21.
12. We believe that the gifts and
calling of God are without repentance, and therefore His covenant people, Israel, now "Scattered and
peeled", shall be redeemed and re-gathered to Palestine;
and under the personal and millennial reign of Christ upon David's throne
in Jerusalem,
shall become the head of the nations. Romans 11:25-32; Isaiah 11:1-12;
Revelation 20:4
13. We believe in the bodily
resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the
saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost. John 5:28-29; Revelation
20:11-15; II Thessalonians 1:6-9; Revelation 21:1-8; Matthew 25:41and 46;
Revelation 20:4-6
14. We believe that Satan is a personal
being, a fallen angel, the prince of demons, the great enticer and
deceiver, the god of this age, and the adversary of Christ and His Church,
and that his destiny is eternal punishment. Isaiah 14:12-15; II Corinthians
4:3-4; 11:14; I Peter 5:8; Revelation1 2:9-11; 20:10; Acts 2:6-8
15. We acknowledge that God is
sovereign and can give the gift of tongues whenever He pleases. But we
believe God's word teaches:
a. That the gift of tongues was a gift
of foreign languages for the purpose of telling the Gospel to others.
b. That such a gift was neither an
essential to prove the presence of the Holy Spirit nor an indication of
deep spiritual experience. (cf. Corinthians) Acts 2:6-8
And
since speaking in tongues has frequently been practiced by followers of
false religions such as Mormons, Spiritists, and Animists, and since the
present tongues movement stresses the importance of this gift above the
clear proclamation of the Gospel (prophecy), and since it's advocates often
compromise on the essential doctrines of Christianity in order to stress
speaking in tongues, and since the speaking in tongues is not helpful in
spreading the Gospel, but rather genders to pride and causes disintegration
among God's people, We, the Lake View Bible Church , declare our conviction
that the present day tongues movement is contrary to God's work, and
therefore we do not accept nor retain as members in our church anyone who
participates in this movement.
Our Position on Divorce and Remarriage
It
is the position of Lake View Bible Church that a believer who has a divorce
and/or a remarriage in his/her past be treated equally as any other
believer concerning elected or appointed offices as outlined in the
following statements:
Three Underlining Principles
Concerning Marriage and Divorce:
1.
God Hates Divorce (Malachi 2:16)
2.
One man and one woman are God’s original design for
marriage (Genesis 2; Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-6)
a.
God’s design was one man and one woman for life
(Matthew 19:5-6,8; Mark 10:6-9)
b.
All other designs of man that he calls marriages or family
other than the above are fornication and/or adultery (Genesis 19:1-11;
Romans 1:26-27)
3.
All marriages of believers are to be to other believers in
the faith (I Corinthians 7:15; II Corinthians 6:14-16)
Divorce and Remarriage are
Permitted Only for the Following Three Reasons:
1.
Divorce prior to Salvation – anyone who has been
divorced and/or remarried before salvation is not held accountable before
God or this Church since it occurred before they trusted in Christ as their
Savior, it is under the blood (II Corinthians 5:17). They are free to serve in any church
leadership position.
2.
Fornication/Adultery – any type of sexual
activity outside the marriage union.
If fornication/adultery has been committed by one of the spouses in
the marriage union:
a.
Divorce does not have to be sought. Reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24;
18:15-17; Romans 5:8-11; II Corinthians 5:17-21) and forgiveness (Matthew
18:21-22; Luke 23:34; Romans 12:14; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13) is the
desired outcome for any breach in a marriage union. But if divorce occurs, the innocent
spouse should remain unmarried until all avenues of reconciliation and restoration
are exhausted.
b.
If the marriage cannot be restored or the guilty spouse
remarries, then the innocent spouse is permitted to remarry (Matthew 19:9)
c.
If divorce is obtained it should be the offending spouse who
gets the divorce because he/she is the one who is personally accountable to
God for the destruction of the marriage.
If the wife is the guilty party – she should be the one to
obtain the divorce and let the full weight of God’s discipline be on
her. It needs to be pointed out that,
according to Mark 10:12, the woman is permitted to obtain a divorce.
3.
Abandonment – When two unbelievers are
married, and one of the spouses becomes a Christian, or an unbeliever and
believer are married out of God’s will or later the believer
rededicates himself/herself to the Lord:
a.
If the unbelieving spouse wants to stay in the marriage –
then the believing spouse is not to leave.
b.
If the unbelieving spouse wants to leave the marriage, then
the believing spouse is to let him/her depart and the believing spouse,
having been abandoned, is free to remarry, but only to another believer (I
Corinthians 7:10-16)
Policy Statement on “...the
husband of one wife...” (I Timothy 3:2):
The
meaning of the term is simply “a one woman man”, which is
cradled in the preceding section on Divorce/Remarriage and the only three
exceptions that any party can look to biblically (I Timothy 5:9; Titus 1:6)
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