TFTBM DOCTRINAL STATEMENT

1.  We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally and plenarily inspired by God and without error in the original writing; that the Bible is reliable in science, history, and every other matter it discusses; and that the Bible is of supreme and final authority in faith and life.  We believe that the King James Version is the preserved Word of God for the English speaking people of today.  It is the only version used by our missionaries.

2.  We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.

3.  We believe in God, the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, and He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from eternal death and from hell all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

4.  We believe in the absolute Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; His eternal existence as God, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit; His incarnation by means of the virgin birth; His sinlessness; His vicarious death through the shedding of His blood as an atonement for the remission of our sins; His literal bodily resurrection for the dead; His ascension; His present high priestly ministry in Heaven for believers and His personal return to earth.

5.  We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He bears witness to the Truth; that He is the Agent of the new birth; that He baptizes all true believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sanctifying all of them, sealing and thus securing them unto the day of redemption, that He endues, guides, teaches, and helps believers; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit, the evidence being soul-winning power and not speaking in tongues.

6.  We believe that Satan, a fallen angel, is a distinct and real personality, the god of this age, the adversary of Christ and all believers, and that His destiny is eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.

7.  We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, each after its own species, by direct act and not by the process of evolution.  We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in the image of God, in innocence under the law of his Maker, but who by reason of his voluntary sin, fell from his high and holy state; that as a result the whole race plunged into condemnation and death, so that now all human beings are born with a sinful nature; and that all who reach the age of moral responsibility become willful sinners in thought, word and deed, and so are without excuse before God.

8.  We believe that the justification of sinners is wholly of grace through faith in the blood sacrifice, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; that all who receive Him are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become children of God; that no rite, ceremony or work can avail one whit for the sinner’s salvation or make the believer’s salvation more secure; that Christ is the only and all sufficient Saviour; and that all who are truly saved are kept forever.

9.  We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel, that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel.

10.  We believe that sanctification for the believer is immediate, upon acceptance of Christ as Saviour, and progressive, continuing to the end of earthly life; and that the progressive phase of sanctification is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the continual use of the appointed means: especially study of God’s Word, self-denial, faithfulness in and through a fundamental local church, prayer and soul-winning.

11.  We believe that the saved are called into a life of separation from religious apostasy, and from all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations.

12.  We believe:

        a.  That the local New Testament church is composed of regenerated baptized believers, voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, and service.

        b.  That the officers of the local church are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures.

        c.  That the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity in the local community and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

        d.  That the local church has absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, religious or political.

        e.  That the one and only superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

        f.  That it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel, with each local church as the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation.

        g.  That on all matters of membership, policy of government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final.

        h.  We also believe that all born-again believers are part of the body of Christ which will meet when the Rapture takes place.

13.  We believe:

        a.  That there are only two ordinances for the local church:  Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  We believe that Bible baptism is the burial of a believer in water, thus setting forth in symbol his union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection; that every believer should be baptized because of the example of our Lord; and that, while there is no saving power in water baptism, it is an act of obedience by those who are already saved to picture that they are dead, buried and raised spiritually with Jesus Christ by faith in Him.

        b.  We reject infant baptism as unscriptural.

        c.  That the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death until He comes again; and that, in its ordinance, the Lord’s Table should be open to all regenerated persons living in fellowship with and in obedience to Jesus Christ.

        d.  In the literal, bodily, personal, premillennial, and imminent coming of our Lord in the air to catch away all believers unto Himself before the tribulation period; also, in the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ to the earth with believers, at the close of the tribulation period to judge the live nations and to set up His millennial kingdom on earth.