ASSOCIATED GOSPEL CHURCHES

    Contemporary Statement of Faith

    (This is for popular circulation only and is intended to be interpreted in light of the official Statement of Faith and Doctrine of the AGC.)

     

    We believe that the Bible is God speaking in man’s language, and in the original writings is exactly as He gave it, word for word without any error whatsoever. It has been preserved by God to be the authoritative standard for every age and every life.

    We believe that God exists in three persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that these three are eternal and are one. We also believe that God is the sole Creator of the universe.

    We believe that Jesus Christ in the flesh was both God and man, that he was born of a virgin and that He lived a sinless life, in which He taught and did mighty works and signs exactly as revealed in the four gospels. We believe that He was crucified, dying as a penalty for our sins and was bodily raised from the dead on the third day as the Scriptures declare. Later, He ascended to heaven where He is Head of the Church and intercedes for believers. From there He will come again personally and bodily and visibly to this earth to set up an earthly kingdom, afterward to reign forever as King in His universe.

    We believe that all are sinners and are guilty before God, and as such are worthy of both physical and spiritual death.

    We believe that since in His death the Lord Jesus Christ satisfied all the demands of God’s law, redeeming mankind by shedding His blood and assuming our curse, men and women can have a just standing before God. That is, they can become true Christians. The single basis for this standing is the death of Jesus Christ and an individual’s personal faith in Him.

    We believe that salvation with its forgiveness of sins, includes the receiving of a new nature and the assurance of eternal life. It is entirely apart from good works such as baptism or church membership, but is purely by God’s grace.

    We believe that a true believer cannot ever forfeit his standing with God. However, sin may interrupt the joy of his fellowship with God and bring the discipline of a loving Heavenly Father.

    We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, that He is God and has all the attributes of God. We also believe that He lives in all believers and that by His ministry every Christian is made to be part of God’s eternal family, is marked off as truly God’s possession, and is specifically and uniquely gifted for Christian service. The Holy Spirit also fills or empowers the believer, in response to confession of sin and yieldedness, then He teaches and guides the believer for effective Christian service.

    We believe that all genuine believers are part of the true Church, which in Scripture is referred to as the body of Christ, and that a local church is intended to be a visible expression of this body.

    We believe that Christians who die, depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness. Someday Jesus will come again to take away His living people from the earth. Then, all Christians will have glorified bodies similar to His resurrected body and share in His glory. They will reign with Him forever.

    We believe that Satan is a personality, the arch enemy of God and our defeated foe.

    We believe that those who refuse the offer of God’s gracious gift of salvation are doomed to suffer eternal conscious separation from Him.