Having been born again by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, and being justified through His shed blood, and having confessed before men faith in Him as Lord and Savior, we do now most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ. As God gives grace and power, we purpose:
To walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness, and service; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.
To promote the knowledge of God and His word in our families; and to seek their salvation.
To put away bitterness, wrath, anger, quarrelling, and slander; and to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven us.
To watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; and to aid each other in sickness and distress.
And, should we remove from this place, to unite with another church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
Believing this Covenant to be consistent with the teaching of the Scriptures, and desiring to affirm my commitment to the local Body of Christ at Faith Bible Church, I do willingly and joyfully enter into this Covenant of Fellowship.
Signed: _____________________________________________
Printed Name: ________________________________________
Date: ________________________________
A. The Bible. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, inerrant in the original writings (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; John 16:12-13).
B. God. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
C. Jesus Christ. We believe in the deity and the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ; in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles, His vicarious sacrifice resulting in His death which provided atonement through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory to reign on the earth (John 1:1,14; Luke 1:34-35; Hebrews 4:15; John 20:30-31; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 1:9; Luke 21:27; Revelation 19:11-20:6).
D. Satan. We believe that Satan is a person, the author of the Fall, and that he shall be eternally punished (Luke 4:1-13, 22:31; Genesis 3:4-5; John 8:44).
E. Humanity. We believe that mankind, having been created by God innocent and in the image of God, and for whom God ordained marriage as an honorable union of one man and one woman, is by Adam's sin fallen from grace, and we believe that in consequence, all have sinned, are guilty and lost, and absolutely incapable of saving themselves by their own works, being dead in their trespasses and sins (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:15-25, 3:1-24; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Romans 3:10-12,23; Ephesians 2:1,8-9).
F. Rightly Relating to God. We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful mankind, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential, repentance and exercise of faith in Jesus Christ by each individual are absolutely necessary, and the security of the believer by the grace and power of God is absolutely certain (John 3:6-7; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 20:18-21; Romans 5:1; John 3:16; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-39).
G. The Holy Spirit. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life, and by whose gifts the Christian is enabled to perform the will of God in effective service. Also, we believe that the Christian should prefer those gifts which edify the Body of Christ, and promote harmony among believers (Romans 8:5-11, 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4,11,31 & 13 & 14:1,4,12,33,40).
H. The Church. We believe that the universal church, the unified body of believers, includes all the redeemed of this age. Also, we believe that the local church is an assembly of professing Christians who voluntarily associate together to glorify God by worship, study, witness and service (Acts 2:46-47; Hebrews 12:23; Ephesians 5: 25-32; 1 Corinthians 1-2; Acts 13:1).
I. The Future. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: they that are saved unto the resurrection of life, and they that are lost to eternal punishment and separation from God (John 5:29; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 51-57; Revelation 20:5-15).