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Statement
of Faith of the
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
Biblical
Inerrancy: |
The Bible
is the Word of God, and that its original manuscripts are free from
errors and contradictions. It is the one and only infallible,
authoritative, and trustworthy rule for faith and life. (2 Peter. 1:21, 2 Tim. 3:16). The
Catholic apocrypha is not inspired scripture. |
| God: |
God is the only Supreme Being with
no gods created before or after Him (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 44:8). He has always
been God (Psalm 90:2).
He is Holy (Rev. 4:8),
Eternal (Isaiah 57:15),
Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27),
Omnipresent (Psalm 137-12),
Omniscient (1 John 3:20);
etc. He is Love (1
John 4:8, 16); Light
(1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator
(Isaiah 40:12,22,26),
etc. He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Ex. 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11). He is to
be served (Matt. 4:10;1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14). He is to be
proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8). |
| Trinity: |
There is one God in whom there are
three eternal, simultaneous persons -- the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. All three are the
one God, coeternal, coequal, etc., yet there is only one God, not
three, and not one person who took three modes, or forms. (Isaiah 44:6,8;
45:5; Gen. 1:26-27; 3:22; Matt. 3:17; 28:19; Luke 10:35; 2 Cor. 13:14). See also, The Trinity |
| Jesus: |
Jesus
Christ is the Word (God) who became a man. He added human
nature to His divine nature. He is presently both human and
divine, and, therefore, has two natures. Yet, He is one person, not
two. He is not part God and part man. He is presently
wholly God and wholly man. (Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:5-13; John 1:1-3,14) |
| Virgin Birth: |
Jesus Christ was miraculously
conceived and born of the virgin Mary. (Luke 1:42) |
| Resurrection: |
Jesus Christ rose from the dead
in the same body He died in, after being in the grave for three days. He
was raised in a glorified, physical body.
He ascended bodily into heaven, sits at the right hand of the
Father, and rules heaven and earth. (John 2:19; 1 Cor. 15; Luke 24:39). Likewise,
we Christians will be raised bodily from the dead and spend
eternity with the Lord. |
| Substitutionary
Atonement: |
God so loved us that He sent His
only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Jesus became man and bore our
sins in His body on the cross (1
Peter. 2:24) and died in our place suffering the consequences of
the breaking the Law that was due us. He became sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). As a
result, God's justice was satisfied and Christian believers are
released from eternal punishment. (Isaiah 53:4-12;
1 Pet. 3:18; Matt. 1:21; Rom. 5; 1 John 2:2) |
| Baptism |
Baptism is an important action
of obedience for a Christian and signifies a person's
identification with Christ. It is an outward manifestation of an
inward reality. Baptism does not save anyone. We are
made right before God by faith, not by faith and baptism (Rom.
3:28-30; 4:3,5;
5:1; Gal. 2:16,
21; Phil. 3:9; see
also Acts 10:44-48) |
Man's
Condition |
Man is fallen, corrupt, and
wicked. Man believes in God by grace through faith, is unable
to come close to God through his own efforts, nor can he win
salvation by his attempt at good works, nor once saved does he
maintain his salvation by his works, nor can he understand the
spiritual things of God on his own. Eternal punishment in hell and
separation from the blessed presence of God are the consequences of
the unregenerate person's sinfulness. (John 6:44; 15:5; Rom. 8:7; 1 Cor. 2:14; 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13) |
| Divine Election |
"From all eternity God chose us
in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy
and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as
sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind
intention of His will," (Eph.
1:4-5). |
Justification
by
Grace through
Faith Alone: |
We are saved from damnation by the
undeserved and unearned mercy and kindness of God, not because of
our good works but because of the imputed righteousness of Christ to
the one who has faith in Christ alone. This justification is
received by faith alone and only upon trusting the true and living
Lord Jesus. (Eph. 1:1-11;
2:8, Rom. 3:23; Gal. 2:21) |
| Eternal
Security |
"My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me; 28 and I give eternal life to
them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them
out of My hand," (John 10:27-28). Christ has
done all that is needed for our salvation and he says that those
who have eternal life will never perish. Those who
appeared to be Christian but fell away never were Christians
begin with (1 John 2:19). |
| Sanctification: |
Sanctification is the process by
which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do,
think, and desire and increases our ability to repent from sin -- by
God's grace. (1 Thess. 4:7; Eph. 2:10; 1 Tim. 4:4; 1 Peter. 3:15; 2 Tim. 2:25). This
process continues all of the Christian's life and is a the result of
salvation, not a cause of it. Furthermore, the effort of
sanctification does not maintain salvation. |
Christian
Church: |
God calls Christians to his Church
where the Word of God is preached, where baptism and the Lord's
Supper (communion) is administered, where believers are discipled
and disciplined, and where believers serve to build up one another.
(Matt. 16:18) |
Church
Officers |
God calls qualified Christians to be
ordained and to serve Jesus Christ in special leadership capacities,
i.e. Elders, Deacons, Ministers of the Word, and Evangelists.
The office(s) of pastor and elder is limited to qualified men only,
called by God, recognized by the body, and meet the biblical
standard of eldership. Women are not to be pastors nor elders.
(1 Tim. 2:11-15; 3:11-13; Titus 1). |
| Rapture |
The event where, upon Jesus' return,
those who have died in Christ and those Christians who are then
alive will be physically caught up to the clouds and meet the Lord
Jesus in the air. We will then forever be with the Lord. (1 Thess. 4:16-5:2) |
Second
Coming |
Jesus Christ will bodily and visibly
come from heaven with great glory and majesty. Then all human
creatures will appear in person before Him to be judged -- men,
women, and children, who have lived from the beginning until the end
of the world. The evil ones will receive everlasting torment. The
faithful ones will receive everlasting life on a new world. So we
look forward to that great day with longing in order to enjoy fully
the promises of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord. (Matt. 24; Rev. 19-21) |
| Millennium |
Because of the diverse opinions
among godly Christians regarding the millennium, CARM considers
amillennialism, premillennialism, and post millennialism to be
within the scope of Christian orthodoxy. |
| Rapture |
Because of the diverse opinions
among godly Christians regarding the rapture, CARM considers
pre-trib rapture, mid-trib rapture, and post-trib rapture to be
within the scope of Christian orthodoxy. |
| Spiritual Realm |
There is a spiritual realm of
angels and demons. |
| Eternal
Judgment |
All who are not justified by the
blood of Christ will face eternal and conscious judgment. |
| Evangelism |
Part of the beliefs and Purpose
of CARM is to carry out the work of evangelism which means that
we must teach the gospel of Jesus Christ as well as refute false
doctrines, false religions, and whatever else might contradict
the word of God including such sins as homosexuality, adultery,
pornography, pedophilia, bestiality, lying, fornication, false
gospels, false gods, etc., inside and outside of the church. |
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