What Do We Believe?

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

(II Timothy 4:2-5)

I. THE NAME

The name is Family Church, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

II. THE PURPOSE

The purpose of Family Church is to promote the worship of God by preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ at home and abroad believing by faith that as a result sinners will be saved and believers edified

(Acts 1:8; I Thessalonians 5:11; Matthew 28:19).

III. THE COVENANT

Having come by the grace of God to receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and having been led by the Holy Spirit to this part of the Body of Christ, we do now before God and in the presence of this assembly of believers; most joyfully and solemnly enter into covenant (contract) with members of the part of the Body known as Family Church, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

We affirm God's covenant with us and our covenant with Him through Jesus Christ. We understand that our part of the covenant is to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and that this is expressed by continuing trust in His promises and obedience to His commandments.

In joyful and solemn covenant with this church fellowship, we commit ourselves to seek to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to forsake sin, to regularly and cheerfully give of ourselves and God's spiritual and material gifts to us for the building up of the Body, to watch over one another in brotherly love, to lovingly lead all those committed to our care, and to lovingly submit to all God appoints over us.

We accept the affirmation of faith stated below as our basis of belief.

IV. AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

A. The Scriptures

The scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as originally written, were inspired of God, and are the only sufficient, certain, authoritative infallible rule for all human conduct, creeds and opinions.

(II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19-21)

B. The True God

We believe that there is only one living and true God, infinite in wisdom; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three personal distinctions: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit yet one in substance and equal in every divine perfection.

(Exodus 20:2, 3:1; I Corinthians 8:6, I John 5:7; John 10:30)

We believe in the absolute deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; that He was divine as no other man can be, being very God in the flesh, existing from all eternity co-equal with the Father and the Spirit; that He never ceased to be God for one instant and that His humiliation did not consist in laying aside His deity; that as man He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

(John 1:1, 2; I John 5:20; Matthew 1:20; Luke 1:26-38)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with the Father and Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment bears witness to the truth, and that He seals, endows, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, in-dwelling in every true Child of God bestowing spiritual gifts which are manifested diversely among believers but for the common good.

(II Corinthians 13:14; John 13:16, 17; Romans 8:14-17; I John 5:7)

C. The Devil or Satan

We believe in the distinct personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, author of all powers of darkness and sin, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire.

(Matthew 4:1-3; II Corinthians 4:4; Rev. 20:10)

D. The Creation

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, "each after its own kind" by direct act and, not by the process of evolution.

(Genesis 1:2; Colossians 1:16, 17; John 1:3)

E. The Fall of Man

We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell into sin, thus plunging the whole race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind is born in sin and shapen in iniquity, and so are without excuse and lost before God.

(Genesis 3; Romans 5:10-19)

F. The Redemption from Sin

We believe that man cannot save himself and that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, when He voluntarily took' upon Himself a human body and nature, yet without sin, and by His suffering, death and resurrection made full satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man that the blessings of this salvation are given on the grounds of grace to all who believe and confess and that it is God's desire that all accept this offer of mercy.

(John 1:1-3; 14; Acts 16:30-33)

G. Salvation by Grace

We believe that faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation from sin and this salvation is totally by grace; that no works, however good, can save man from eternal damnation. (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8,9) We believe that all who confess Christ as their personal Savior are born from above and are eternally secure in Christ.

(John 10:28, 19; Romans 8:35-39; Philippians 1:6)

H. The Church

We believe that the Church universal is a New Testament institution, established by Jesus Christ, who is the sole Head, revealed through the Holy Apostles; empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; His "Body" for service and His "Bride" for glory. It began with the New Testament saints and will be consummated at the coming of Christ in the Rapture.

(Matthew 16:18, I Corinthians 12:12-28; Acts 1:8, 2:1-13, 41-17, 15:14; Romans 16:26; Eph. 1:22, 23; Eph. 3:21, 5:23-33; I Thessalonians 4:13-16)

We believe that the Church universal is manifest through the local Church, which is a congregation of believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by His word; that its officers are Elders, Ministers and Deacons; that it has the absolute right of self-government, discipline and benevolence; that in such matters the will of the local Church is final. We believe the Church has the authority as evidenced by the 'Holy Scriptures to commission individuals, committees or groups by the laying on of hands to perform special tasks or missions as led by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 6:6)

Have questions about our doctrine or anything else we believe? Contact one of the pastors at FC at info@familychurch.ws or 870.247.3300.