Scenic Park Bible ChurchScenic Park Bible ChurchScenic Park Bible Church
  November 14, 2024 
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Scenic Park Bible Church
7145 Madelynne Drive
Anchorage, Alaska  99504
Phone: 333-1414
Contact Via Email

What We Believe

What We Believe

Section 1  The principles of our faith
Section 2  Details about each principle
Section 3  Authority of our statement of faith
Section 4  The covenant of our faith


1 - PRINCIPLES OF FAITH  Summary:

(A)   Holy Scriptures
(B)   Dispensationalism
(C)   The Godhead
(D)   The Person and Work of Christ
(E)   The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
(F)   The Total Depravity of Man
(G)   Salvation
(H)   The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
(I)   The Church
(J)   Separation
(K)   The Second Advent of Christ
(L)   The Eternal State
(M)   The Personality of Satan
(N)   Creation
(O)   Civil Government
(P)   Local Church Leadership
(Q)   Human Sexuality
(R)   Divorce and Remarriage
(S)   Abortion
(T)   Lawsuits Between Believers

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2 - PRINCIPLES OF FAITH  Details:
(A)   Holy Scriptures 

 We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
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(B)   Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in the natural, literal sense, reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations - the age of law, the age of the Church, and the age of the kingdom--are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Genesis 1:28; I Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25,27; Revelation 20:2-6).

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(C)   The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

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(D)   The Person and Work of Christ
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 the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

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 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).

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(E)   The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person 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; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14).

We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 John 2:20,27).

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12).

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

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(F)   The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human 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; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
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(G)   Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
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(H)   Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5).

We believe that 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 (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
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(I)   The Church
We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27).

We believe the church is to be governed by a plurality of men known as Elders who serve under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ as undershepherds of the Church (1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:17).

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17; 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1,4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7,13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the Church in this age (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to all nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that every Christian should give sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of financial gifts once they have been made (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17).
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(J)   Separation
We believe that all the saved should 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 of God (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).
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(K)   The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His Church prior to the outpouring of His wrath upon an unrepentant world. At the end of the period of God's wrath, Christ will personally and visibly return, with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the Nation of Israel (Psalms 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
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(L)   The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).

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 (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23;3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6).

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment 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 punishment and torment (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 29:11-15).
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(M)   The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
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(N)   Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11).
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(O)   Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the Church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the Church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14).
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(P)   Local Church Leadership
We believe that the Biblically designated leaders serving under the authority of Jesus Christ and over the local assembly are Elders (also called Bishops, Pastors, and Pastor-Teachers). These men must fit Biblical qualifications. We believe that these men have been commanded to rule and lead the congregation and that the congregation has been commanded to submit to their leadership (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 5:17-22; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Hebrews 13:7,17).
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(Q)   Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).
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(R)   Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. However, through the fall, sin entered the world and man disobeyed God's ideal for marriage. With the curse came the potential for divorce to occur. God permits divorce and remarriage, after all efforts of reconciliation have failed and restoration is impossible, on the grounds of adultery, desertion by an unbeliever, or divorce prior to salvation. He never commands or demands divorce. (Romans 7:1-3; Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; 1 Corinthians 7:10-15).
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(S)   Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother, are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1; 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).
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(T)   Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32).
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3 - AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH:
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.
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 4 - COVENANT:

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and on profession of our faith, we do now, in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.

We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this Church in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline and doctrines; to give it a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the Church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

We also engage to maintain family and private devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred, acquaintances, and all others; to walk circumspectly in our deportment; to avoid all gossip, backbiting, and excessive anger; to be free from all oath-bound secret societies and partnerships with unbelievers; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.

We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love, to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Saviour, to secure reconciliation without delay.

We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible, unite with some other Church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
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