Believing the Bible to be the inspired, infallible Word of God and the final source of authority in matter of faith, principle and practice, we abide by the following statements of faith:

SECTION 1. HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (66 books) as verbally inspired of God, inerrant in the original writings, and of supreme and final authority in faith and life.

SECTION 2. HOLY TRINITY
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit; co-eternalin being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory, all having the same attributes and perfections.

SECTION 3. JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, is the only begotten Son of God who, retaining His divine nature became a man. He lived a sinless life so that He might be the perfect Redeemer for mankind. We believe that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is the true God-Man. We
believe in His vicarious (on behalf of others) and substitutionary (in place of others) atonement for the penalty of man’s sin. We believe in His bodily resurrection for our justification, His ascension into heaven, and His personal, pretribulational and premillennial return. We believe that Jesus Christ is at the right hand of the Father as the believer’s advocate, intercessor, and mediator.

SECTION 4. HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, the third Person of the blessed Trinity, co-equal with the Father and the Son. Relative to the world, the Holy Spirit restrains sin, convicts of sin and reproves of righteousness and judgment. Relative to the believer, He regenerates, indwells, seals, fills, guides and illuminates, quickens, and sanctifies.

SECTION 5. SATAN
We believe that Satan or the Devil is a personal being who is the enemy of God, Christ, the angels, and all mankind.

SECTION 6. MAN AND HIS SIN
a. Creation. We believe that the Scriptures clearly and emphatically show that man was the result of the immediate, special, creative and formative act of God, thus denying any theory of evolution. He was created in the image of God as a tripartite being with body, soul, and spirit.

b. Fall of Man. We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence. But by voluntary transgression he sinned, thus plunging the whole human race into condemnation and death so that all mankind is born in sin and shapen in iniquity. We become practicing sinners with the first expression of personal choice, not only by nature but also by choice, and so we are without excuse before God.

c. Nature of Sin. We believe that sin originated in the angelic world through Satan and, in the human realm, through Adam. Sin means to miss the mark or deviate from the norm, and man has deviated from God’s norm. We believe that sin is threefold: an act – the transgression of God’s Holy Law; a principle — hostility toward God; and a state — absence of righteousness and holiness.

d. Human Sexuality. As a wonderful gift from God, sexual intimacy is to be expressed between one man and one woman within the commitment and love of a marital relationship. Therefore, we believe that any other form of sexual intimacy is both immoral and a perversion of God’s perfect gift. Since we believe marriage is a sacred covenant between one man and one woman as created by God, and that the wedding is a ceremony of commitment and worship to God, we require all who desire to be married at Cross Lanes Bible Church to affirm and adhere to our Biblical position on marriage. Generally, only those who are members of Cross Lanes Bible Church will be permitted to use the church facilities and property for weddings, receptions and other functions.

SECTION 7. SALVATION
a. We believe that man is saved by the grace of God through faith in the sacrificial death and blood atonement of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice. All who believe in Christ as the Son of God, receive Him as Savior, and confess Him as Lord are justified on the basis of His shed blood.

b. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus 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. The Scriptures clearly forbid the use of the Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.

SECTION 8. SECOND COMING
We believe in the “Blessed Hope”: the personal (bodily and visible), pretribulation, premillennial, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom.

SECTION 9. THE ETERNAL STATE
a. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.

b. We believe that the souls of the redeemed, at death, are absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection (Rapture). Then spirit, soul, and body are reunited to appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ, to be glorified forever with the Lord.

c. We believe that the souls of unbelievers, after death, remain in conscious torment until the second resurrection, when the reunited spirit, soul, and body 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 punishment.

SECTION 10. THE CHURCH
a. Body of Christ. We believe that the Church, the body and espoused bride of Christ, its Head, is a spiritual organism composed of all believers who have been born again by the Spirit of God and baptized by Him into the body of Christ.

b. Local Church. We believe that a local Church is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel. The local church observes the ordinances of Christ, is governed by His laws, and exercises the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by His Word. It has the absolute right of self-government by the Holy Spirit. It is answerable only to Christ. In all matters of membership, policy, discipline and benevolence, the will of the local church is final.

c. Church and State. We believe that the state has the responsibility to punish evildoers, to praise them that do well, and to protect those under its God-given authority. We believe that the Church is to be in subjection to the powers of the state in all areas wherein the state’s authority is derived from God, as contained in His Word, the Bible. We believe in the separation of Church and state to the extent that the state shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.

d. Church Ordinances. We believe that there are two Church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (1) Baptism. We believe that the Lord Jesus established the ordinance of baptism as a single immersion in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The purpose of baptism is for believers to give public testimony of their faith in Christ and to identify with Him in obedience of faith. It sets forth, in a beautiful and solemn way, our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior. Baptism has nothing whatever to do with a person’s possessing salvation because we are saved by faith in Christ’s finished work of redemption. Water baptism is an outward sign of an inward grace. This ordinance shall be administered by the Pastor or another person approved by the Pastor or the Official Board.

(2) Lord’s Supper. We believe that the Lord Jesus established the Lord’s Supper to commemorate His death until he comes again in the joy and fellowship of the future millennial kingdom. We believe that this ordinance should be observed regularly, preferably on the Lord’s Day. Since it is the Lord’s Supper, none who are His shall be prevented from participating; however, the Pastor shall frequently state the scriptural admonitions for participation. This ordinance shall be administered by the Pastor and Deacons or other persons designated by the Pastor or the Official Board.

SECTION 11. SEPARATION AND SERVICE
a. We believe that all the saved should live so as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. Separation from all religious apostasy, and all sinful pleasure, practices and associations is commanded by God.

b. We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scriptures; to intercede for others in prayer; and to proclaim the Gospel, insofar as it is possible, to all the world.