The Center For Biblical Ministries, under whose auspices
this ministry is run is a non profit organization. Funding
is neither solicited nor accepted. What we have received
freely, we give freely. We are hereafter referred to as CBM
in this article.
All contributors to the
FiveThingsYouShouldKnow.com
site hold these same basic beliefs.
This material was written so that folks who take the time
to look up the associated Bible verses will be able to
understand each point. Even so, we are always here to help.
Contact us for further clarification.
Ephesians 2:20
“Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone.”
OUR AIM –
SPIRITUAL MATURITY
CBM seeks to train men and women to walk in conformity to
the Word of God. It is our desire to know and make known
Jesus Christ as Lord. It is our conviction that Biblical
truth must be made personal and real.
OUR WEB SITES –
BIBLICAL
At CBM the Bible is at the heart of the entire
curriculum. The Word of God is the main textbook.
OUR FOCUS – PRACTICAL
Our stated goal is to lead men and women to Jesus Christ
and nurture them in their walk with Christ.
OUR FIELD – THE WORLD
At CBM we are firmly committed to the “Great Commission.”
We believe it is incumbent upon every Christian to have a
worldwide vision. The importance of the missionary mandate
of the Church is woven into all that we do.
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WHAT WE BELIEVE
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments in
their entirety, to be the verbally inspired Word of God.
They are the final authority for faith and practice. The
Scriptures are inerrant in the original manuscripts,
infallible and God-breathed. (I Corinthians 2:12-13; II
Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
THE
GODHEAD
We believe that God is Triune; that there are three
eternal, co-equal, divine persons in the Godhead: Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, and these three are one God. They are
identical in nature and attributes and are worthy of our
worship and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:18;
Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14)
THE PERSON AND WORK
OF CHRIST
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son
of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been
conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order
that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Luke 1:35;
John 1:1-2, 14, 18; Philippians 2:5-9; Hebrews 1:3, 8)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ provided
redemption for all men through His death on the cross as a
representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; that
His shed blood is the only atonement for sin; and that all
who by personal faith trust Him as Savior are freely
justified and stand before God accepted in Christ. This
justification is made sure by the literal, physical
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25;
Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:12; I Peter 1:3-5, 18-19, 2:24; 1
John 2:2; 2 Peter 2:1-9)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to
heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where,
as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of
Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-11;
Romans 8:34; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24)
4. We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal,
imminent, pretribulational and premillennial coming of Jesus
Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return
to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial
Kingdom. (John 14:1-2; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus
2:14; Revelation 1:7)
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D. THE
PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of
the Godhead who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in
regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of
Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of
redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians
12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides
believers into all truth and that it is the privilege of all
believers to be controlled by the Spirit. He is the
believer’s abiding Comforter, ever present to testify of
Christ, seeking to occupy us with our Lord instead of with
ourselves or our experiences. (John 16:13; I Corinthians 13;
Ephesians 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
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E. CREATION AND FALL
OF MAN
1. We believe that in the recent past (thousands of
years) God spoke and the heavens, earth, and all therein
came into being. Creation took six literal days and was
perfect. (Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11; Romans 1:20,
8:20-22)
2. We believe that God created Adam directly from the
dust of the earth and Eve from Adam’s rib. (Genesis 1:27,
2:21-22; Psalm 139:14; Mark 10:6)
3. We believe that man was created in the image and
likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell,
inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God;
and that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly
unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27;
Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-12)
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F. SALVATION
BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH
1. We believe that salvation is the gift of God; that in
grace He bestows eternal life upon any person who by faith
trusts the Lord Jesus Christ as his own Savior from sin;
that such a person passes immediately out of spiritual death
into spiritual life, becoming a child of God. (John 1:12,
3:16, 5:24; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9)
2. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept
by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever. It is the
privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their
salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which,
however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an
occasion to the flesh. A lapse into doctrinal or practical
disobedience is not, in itself, evidence that a man has not
been saved. However, the Bible teaches that a loving Father
will discipline His disobedient children. (John 10:27-30;
Romans 8:38-39, 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Philippians 1:6;
Colossians 3:1-4; I John 5:13; Hebrews 12:6-10; 1
Corinthians 9:27-32)
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G. THE TWO
NATURES OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures,
with provision made for victory of the new nature over the
old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit;
and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in
this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians
5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; I Peter 1:14-116)
We further hold that spiritual victory is available for
the believer through reckoning himself dead unto sin, but
alive unto God and through appropriating the privileges and
promises of his heavenly citizenship. Victory is not secured
as a result of law keeping or the application of kingdom
principles in the life of the believer. (Ephesians 2:1-10;
Romans 6:9-18; Colossians 3:1-5; Galatians 3:3; Galatians
5:16-18) …Top
H.
SEPARATION
We believe that all the saved are called to live in such
a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and
Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all
worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is
commanded by God. (Romans 12:1-2; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1;
Ephesians 5:11; II Timothy 2:19, 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17)
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I.
MISSIONS
We believe that it is incumbent upon all believers to
witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture
and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all men everywhere.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:18-20)
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J.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
1. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of
His gifts; and that each believer is engifted by the
indwelling Holy Spirit; and that speaking in tongues and
working of sign miracles, which were evident in the
apostolic age, gradually ceased as the New Testament
Scriptures were completed and their authority became
established. (I Corinthians 12:4-11, 13:8-10; Ephesians
4:7-12; Hebrews 2:3-4)
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2. We believe that when it is God’s will and when it is
accomplished for His eternal glory, He will perform physical
healing in answer to the prayer of faith. (John 14:12-14,
15:7; I John 5:14-15)
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K. THE
CHURCH
1. We believe the Church had its beginning on the day of
Pentecost and will continue on this earth till the Rapture;
and that this beginning was a new entity in God’s program
and is not to be confused with Israel in the Old Testament
or with God's kingdom program for Israel. (Acts 2:1-4,
41-47, 4:32-37; Ephesians 2:14-22)
2. We believer that the Church, which is the body and the
espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of
all born-again persons of this present age; and that Jesus
Christ is the Head of the body; and that the entire body is
to be subservient to Him. (I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians
1:22-23, 5:22-27; Colossians 1:15-19)
3. We believe that the establishment and continuance of
local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New
Testament; and that fellowship in such churches is based
upon a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior; and
that no unregenerate person should ever be received into
membership of a local church. (Acts 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy
3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
4. We believe that the Lord has committed two ordinances
to the local church, namely, Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
a. Water baptism is the immersion of the believer in
water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Spirit. This is distinctly a believer’s baptism that
pictures the identification of the believer with the death,
burial and resurrection of our Lord. It does not in any way
grant the forgiveness of sins or confer grace to the
individual. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-38)
b. The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to
commemorate His death for us. The elements used are symbolic
of our Lord’s body and blood and do not grant life or convey
grace to the participant. Believers are to practice this
ordinance until Christ comes again. (Luke 22:19-20; I
Corinthians 11:23-34)
5. We believe that the local church is autonomous and,
consequently, free of any external authority or control. We
also believe in the separation of church and state. (Acts 4:
17-20, 5:28-32, 13:1-4, 20:28; I Peter 5:1-4)
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L. DISPENSATIONALISM
We believe that the Scriptures, interpreted in their
natural, literal sense, reveal divinely determined
dispensations which illuminate the plan and program of
Christ in every period of history. These dispensations are
not ways of salvation but are rather divinely ordered
stewardships by which God directs man according to His
purpose. However, we reject the extreme teaching known as
“Hyper-Dispensationalism,” which opposes either the Lord’s
Supper or water baptism as Scriptural means of testimony for
the local church in this dispensation. (Matthew 28:19-20;
Acts 2:41-42; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25;
Ephesians 3:1-7; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6)
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M. SATAN
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and
the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared
enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally
punished in the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Luke 4:1-13;
II Corinthians 4:3-4; I Peter 5:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:10,
20:10) …Top
N.
FUTURE EVENTS
We believe the order of future events will be as follows:
1. The Rapture of the Church: This event is imminent and
involves the catching away of the true church, the body and
bride of Christ. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18)
2. The Tribulation: This is a period of approximately
seven years following the rapture of the Church when God’s
wrath will be poured out upon the world. During this period
of time the Anti-Christ will be revealed. Great persecution
and purging will come to Israel. This period is referred to
in Scripture as the time of Jacob’s trouble. (Jeremiah
30:4-7; Daniel 12:1; II Thessalonians 2:3-10; Revelation
3:10)
3. The Second Advent and the Millennium: Jesus Christ
will return with His Church, bring an end to the tribulation
and rescue Israel from the Gentile world powers. Satan will
be bound, and Christ shall reign for a period of one
thousand years. It will be a reign of absolute righteousness
and peace. (Isaiah 11:1-9, 65:18-25; Zechariah 14:1-4,
12-15; Revelation 19:11-15, 20:1-7)
4. The Great White Throne: Unsaved from all ages will be
resurrected bodily, judged for their sins, and cast into the
lake of fire to be in conscious torment forever. (Revelation
20:11-15)
5. The New Heavens and the New Earth: All who have
trusted Jesus Christ for salvation will enjoy eternal bliss
with God. (John 14:1-3; II Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1)
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O. THE ETERNAL STATE
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the
saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and
everlasting punishment.
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death
absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in
conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when
spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever
with the Lord. (II Corinthians 5:1-9; Philippians 1:23,
3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after
death in conscious misery until the second resurrection,
when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the
Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake
of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting
conscious torment. (Luke 16:19-26; John 3:18, 36; II
Thessalonians 1:6-10; Revelation 20:11-15)
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P. THE SUPREMACY OF
SCRIPTURE
The preceding doctrinal statement is meant to be a
summary “of those things which are most surely believed
among us.” It is only that—a summary. It is neither intended
to be a definitive statement of all revealed truth, nor to
exhaust all that the Scriptures say concerning those
doctrines listed. Final authority, therefore, must rest not
in this summary, but in the whole body of revealed truth,
the Holy Scriptures, commonly known as the Bible (Isaiah
8:19-20, 55:8-11; II Timothy 2:15).
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