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God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

(Genesis 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

God the Father is the first person of the Godhead who reigns with providential care over His universe, His creation, and the flow and stream of human history according to His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all living and all wise. God is Father to those who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude towards all people.

(Genesis 1:1, 2:7, Exodus 3:14, 6:2-3, 15:11, 20:1, Lev 22:2, Deut 6:4, 32:6, 1 Chronicles 29:10, Psalm 19:1-3, Isaiah 43:3, 15, 64:8, Jeremiah 10:10, 17:13, Matthew 6:9, 7:11, 23:9, 28:19, mark 1:9-11, John 4:24, 5:26, 14:6-13, 17:1-8, Acts 1:7, Romans 8:14-15, 1 Corinthians 8:6, Galatians 4:6, Colossians 1:15, 1 Tim 1:17, Hebrews 11:6, 12:9, 1 Peter 1:17, 1 John 5:7)

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

(Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13).

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. The Christian seeks to live under His control daily.

(2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18).

The Bible is God’s Word to all people. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any mixture of error.

(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalms 119:105, 160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5).

You are made in the spiritual image of God to be like Him in character. You are the supreme object of God’s creation and love. You are, however, marred by both an attitude of disobedience towards God and actions of disobedience towards God called sin. This sin separates you from God until the relationship is restored through a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.

(Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:306; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1-2).

Salvation is a gift from God to humanity. We can never make up for our sin by self- improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of Forgiveness can we be saved from Sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. At that point of salvation a person has new life in Jesus Christ.

(Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12, Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1).

New life, or new birth, is the work where by God’s grace a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. It is a change of heart prompted by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. By faith in Jesus Christ a person is justified, which means he/she is forgiven for all sin - past, present and future. By faith in Jesus a person is sanctified, which mean is the process of the old man becoming new; learning to live by the Spirit and not by the flesh. This process is witnessed as Christian maturity. By faith in Jesus a person glorified, which is the final blessed and abiding state for all those who have been redeemed. Complete glorification will happen when Jesus Christ returns for His Church.

Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is grace and keeping power of God that gives this security.

(John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

Humans were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.

(John 3:16, 1 John 2:25, 5:11-13; Romans 6:23, Revelation 20:15)

A New Testament church of Jesus is an autonomous local gathering of baptized believers who are part of the Kingdom Church of Jesus. Local church believers are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship in the Gospel; observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper; governed by His Word and the Holy Spirit; for the purpose of bringing God glory by leading people to know, love and live new life in Jesus Christ.

(Matthew 16:18, Colossians 1:18, Acts 2:42-27, Ephesians 1:22-23, Acts 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 12)

Baptism is the immersion of a believer in father in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life and the resurrection to walk in new life in Jesus Christ. Baptism is a prerequisite for covenant membership in Riverbend Church.

(Matthew 3:16, Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, 1 Peter 3:21, Mark 16:16, John 3:5, Romans 6:3-4, Ephesians 4:5, Galatians 3:27, Colossians 2:12-13, Acts 8:38, John 1:33, Matthew 28:18-20)

The Lord’s Supper is symbolic act of obedience where members of the church, through the taking of bread and fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of Jesus and anticipate His return.

(1 Corinthians 11, Matthew 26, Luke 22, Mark 14:22-24, John 6:51-71)

God is the source of all blessings, material and spiritual. The believer surrenders all he has back to God upon Salvation, including time, talents and material possessions. According to the Scriptures, every believer should contribute of their means cheerfully and generously for the mission of the Church on this earth. As for financial means, a tithe (1/10th) is a starting point for obedience and beyond that believers should practice irrational generosity.

(Malachi 3:8-13, Matthew 6, 1 Corinthians 4:1-2, Luke 16:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Genesis 14:19-20, 2 Chronicles 31:4-5, Nehemiah 10:35-37, Proverbs 3:9-10, Matthew 23:23, Mark 12:41-44, Luke 11:42, Hebrews 7:1-2)

God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. The church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. No ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience to all things that do no contradict the revealed will of God.

(Genesis 1:27, 2:7, Matthew 6:6-7, 24, 16:26, 22:21, John 8:36, Acts 4:19-20, Romans 6:1-2, 13:1-7, Galatians 5:1, 13, Philippians 3:20, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, James 4:12, 1 Peter 2:12-17, 3:11-17, 4:12-19.)

The family is God-ordained as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption.

(see Scripture references below)

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s gift to reveal the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Church and to provide the framework for man and woman to have intimation companionship, sexual expression and for procreation of the human race. (see Scripture references below) The term “marriage” has only one biblical meaning. Marriage is sanctioned by God as one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union. Go intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Any intimate sexual activity outside of marriage is a sin before God. (see Scripture references below) The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in His image. The marriage relationship models the way that God relates to His people. A husband is to love His wife as Christ loves the Church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect and lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the leadership of her husband, as the church submit to Christ. She, being created in the image of God and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to nurture her household.

(see Scripture references below)

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from God. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

(see Scripture references below)

Sexuality is a gift designed, decided and given by God. Therefore, any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, homosexual behavior, bisexual behavior, beastiality, pornography, an attempt to change one’s biological sex or the choice to live contrary to one’s biological gender is a sin before God.

(Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16; Matthew 5:31-32, 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7.)

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government, and society as a whole under the sway of the principles of righteousness, truth, and brotherly love. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth.

(Exodus 20:3-17; Leviticus 6:2-5; Deuteronomy 10:12; 27:17; Psalm 101:5; Micah 6:8; Zechariah 8:16; Matthew 5:13-16,43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3ff.; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Romans 12-14; 1 Corinthians 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 6:5-9; Colossians 3:12-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Philemon; James 1:27; 2:8)