Doctrinal Statement
We affirm our belief in
one God, infinite Spirit, creator, and sustainer of all things, who exists
eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. These three are one in essence but distinct in person and function.
We affirm that the Father
is the first person of the Trinity and the source of all that God is and does.
From Him the Son is eternally generated and from Them the Spirit eternally
proceeds. He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation, the author
of redemption, and the sovereign of history.
We affirm that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, eternally begotten from the
Father. He is God. He was conceived by the Virgin Mary through a miracle of the
Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and perfect man: two distinct
natures inseparably united in one person.
We affirm that the Holy
Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, proceeding from the Father and the
Son and equal in deity. He is the giver of all life, active in the creating and
ordering of the universe; He is the agent of inspiration and the new birth; He
restrains sin and Satan; and He indwells and sanctifies all believers.We affirm that God created all things. Angels were created as ministering agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless state to become agents of evil. The universe was created in six historical days and is continuously sustained by God; thus it both reflects His glory and reveals His truth. Human beings were directly created, not evolved, in the very image of God. As reasoning moral agents, they are responsible under God for understanding and governing themselves and the world.
We affirm that the Bible,
both Old and New Testaments, though written by men, was supernaturally inspired
by God so that all its words are the written true revelation of God; it is
therefore inerrant in the originals and authoritative in all matters. It is to
be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, its meaning
determined by the historical, grammatical, and literary use of the author’s
language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
We affirm that Adam, the
first man, willfully disobeyed God, bringing sin and death into the world. As a
result, all persons are sinners from conception, which is evidenced in their
willful acts of sin; and they are therefore subject to eternal punishment,
under the just condemnation of a holy God.
We affirm that Jesus
Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the appointment of the Father. He
fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full
substitution and payment for the sins of all, was buried, and on the third day
He arose physically and bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He
now intercedes for all believers.
We affirm that each person
can be saved only through the work of Jesus Christ, through repentance of sin
and by faith alone in Him as Savior. The believer is declared righteous, born
again by the Holy Spirit, turned from sin, and assured of heaven.
We affirm that the Holy
Spirit indwells all who are born again, conforming them to the likeness of
Jesus Christ. This is a process completed only in Heaven. Every believer is
responsible to live in obedience to the Word of God in separation from sin.
We affirm that a church is
a local assembly of baptized believers, under the discipline of the Word of God
and the lordship of Christ, organized to carry out the commission to
evangelize, to teach, and to administer the ordinances of believer’s baptism
and the Lord’s Table. Its offices are pastors and deacons, and it is
self-governing. It functions through the ministry of gifts given by the Holy
Spirit to each believer.
We affirm that the return
of Christ for all believers is imminent. It will be followed by seven years of
great tribulation, and then the coming of Christ to establish His earthly
kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will then be raised and judged
according to their works and separated forever from God in hell. The saved,
having been raised, will live forever in heaven in fellowship with God.
Source: Liberty University Doctrinal Statement
Source: Liberty University Doctrinal Statement