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 The
Scriptures declare in 1 Timothy 3:15 that the church is "the
pillar and ground of truth." It is essential that a local church
knows what it believes so that it might "earnestly contend
for the faith" and "hold fast the Word of God" (Jude
3 and Revelation 3:11).
Following is Cornerstone's Statement of Faith concerning the Scriptures'
main truths. May we always "give attendance to doctrine"
as we endeavor to serve the Lord at Cornerstone (1 Timothy 4:13,
16).
- God is a Person who has revealed Himself as a Trinity in unity:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - three persons yet one God. (Deut.
6:4; Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 8:6)
- The Bible, including both the Old and New Testaments, is a divine
revelation, the original autographs of which were verbally inspired
by the Holy Spirit. (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)
- Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Eternal God, the
image of the Invisible God, which is to say, He is Himself very
God; He took upon Himself our nature, being conceived by the Holy
Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary; He died upon the Cross as a
substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of the world; He arose
from the dead in a body in which He is now, our interceding High
Priest; He will come again personally and visibly to set up His
Kingdom and to judge the quick and the dead. (Col. 1:15; Phil.
2:5-8; Matt. 1:18-25; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; Luke 24; Heb. 4:14-16; Acts
1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:16-18; Matt. 25:31-46)
- Man's only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Salvation os received through repentance
toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By the working
of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, being justified
by grace through faith, man becomes an heir of God according to
the hope of eternal life. Luke 24:47; John 3:3; Romans 10:13-15;
Eph. 2:8; titus 2:11; 3:3-7
- The church is an elect company of believers baptized by the
Holy Spirit into one body; its mission is to witness concerning
its Head, Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel among all nations;
it will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air before He appears
to set up His Kingdom. Acts 2:41; Acts 15:13-17; Eph. 1:3-6; 1
Cor. 12:12-13; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:6-8; 1 Thess. 4:16-18.
- The only Scriptural mode of Baptism is immersion, and only
those who profess personal faith in Christ are proper subjects
for this ordinance.
- The Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements bread and the
fruit of the vine, is the symbol expressing our sharing the divine
nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial of His suffering and
death and prophecy of His second coming, and is enjoined on all
believers "until He comes." John 6:48; 51, 53-57; Luke
22:19, 20; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 Cor. 11:26.
- Christ being the Head of the church, the local fellowship does
not recognize the subordination of one church to another, the
subordination of local churches to any common human authority,
nor the territorial union of churches except for fellowship in
common faith and interests, and for united effort in common work.
Each local fellowship is an independent spiritual democracy, having
no power or authority except for its own maintenance and preservation.
1 Thess. 2:4-14; Acts 15:6; 1 Thess. 2:4-14; Acts 15:6-11; 19:31;
23:36; 2 Cor. 8 & 9; Eph., 1:20-23.
- Organic union of church and state is unscriptural, and we believe
that civil government is divinely appointed for the interest and
good order of human society, that magistrates are to be prayed
for, honored and obeyed, except only those things opposed to the
revealed will of Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience.
Rom. 13:1-7; Matt. 22:21; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-17; 1 Tim. 2:1-3;
Acts 5:29; Matt. 10:28.
- Believing that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and
forever; and that His purpose and will for the church have not
changed since the Great Commission; a personal Pentecostal experience
is the promise for every believer. The manifestations of the Spirit
are given to the church for the confirmation of the preached Word,
and for the growth and development of the church. Heb. 13:8; Mark
16: 15-20; Heb. 2:3-4; Acts 5:12, 32; 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4:8-16.
- The Scriptures teach a life of holiness, without which no man
shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy Ghost we are able
to obey the command, "Be ye holy, for I Am holy." Holiness
is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly
pursued by walking in obedience to God's Word. Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet.
1:15-16; 1 Thess. 5:23-24; 1 John 2:6; Rom. 8:3-4.
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