God

I. We believe that there is one God. "For there is one God"-1 Tim. ii, 5; "And that there is none other God but one"-1 Cor. viii, 4-6.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Acts viii, 37: and that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, and of Jesus Christ his Son. "If so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you"-Rom. viii, 9; "God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"-Gal. iv, 6; "Christ in you the hope of glory"-Gal. i, 27; "God dwelleth in us"-1 John iv, 6. From these texts, and many more of like import, we believe that there is a union existing between the Father, the Son,and the Holy Spirit; and that they are equally divine and equally entitled to our adoration.

Humankind

We believe that the depravity of man is in his will and affections; and that it is such as unfits him for the kingdom of God, or the society of holy beings, and disinclines him to come to Christ, or receive His truth.

"God made man upright"-Eccl. vii, 29; "God created man in his own image"-Gen. i, 27. "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return"-Gen. iii, 17-19. "Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all men have sinned"-Rom. v, 7. "The carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God"-Rom. viii, 7. "And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life"-John v, 40. "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God"-1 Cor. vi, 9. "They did not like to retain God in their knowledge"-Rom. i, 28. "There is none that doeth good: no not one"-Ps. xiv, 3. "And were by nature children of wrath"-Eph. ii, 3.

Nature of Jesus

III. We believe that "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him, should not perish, but have eternal life"-John iii, 16; that He took on Him our nature, and was born of the Virgin Mary; that He offered Himself a sacrifice for sin; that He suffered death upon the cross, was buried, and at the expiration of three days and three nights He rose from the dead; that he ascended to the right hand of God, and is the Mediator between God and man,-from whence He will come to judge and reward every man according to the deeds done in their bodies.

"He took on him the seed of Abraham"-Heb. ii, 16; "And being found in fashion of a man, he humbleth himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"-Phil. ii, 8. "But now in the end of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself"-Heb. ix, 26."The Son of Man shall be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth"-Matt. xii, 40. "He is risen as he said"-Matt. xxviii, 6. "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God"-Mark xvi, 19. "For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ"-Rom. xiv, 10. "He hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead"-Acts xvii.

Nature of Atonement

"The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all"-Isa. liii, 6. "And he is the justification for our sins; and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world"-1 John ii, 2. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the Angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man"-Heb. ii, 9. "Who will have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth"-1 Tim. ii, 4. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ"-Rom. v, 1. "Without faith it is impossible to please him"-Heb. xi, 6. "Follow peace with all men, and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord"-Heb. xii, 14.

Regeneration

V. We believe that regeneration is essential to salvation; that it consists in a renovation of the heart,-hatred to sin, and love to God; and that it produces a reformation of life, in whatever is known to be sinful, and a willing conformity to the authority and precepts of Christ.

"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"-John iii, 3. "If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature"-2 Cor. v, 17. "Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God"-1 John iv, 7. "For we are his workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works"-Eph. ii, 10. "Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead, being alone"-James ii, 17. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments"-1 John v, 2.

Lifestyle

VI. As to good works, we believe that they are not the ground of a believer's hope; but that they are fruit essential to a justified state, and necessary as evidence of the new birth.

"If a man love me he will keep my word"-John xiv, 23.

Bodily Resurrection

VII. We believe that there will be a general resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

"The hour is coming in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth: they that done good unto the resurrection of life, and that that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation"-John v, 28-29.

Judgment

VIII. We believe that there will be a day of judgment for both the righteous and the wicked, and that Jesus Christ shall judge and reward every man according to his works.

"He hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world," &c.-Acts xvii, 31; "Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his works shall be"-Revelations xxii, 12.

Eternal Life or Damnation

IX. We believe that the righteous will be admitted into life eternal, and that the wicked shall receive eternal damnation.

"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal"-Matt. xxv, 46.

Scriptures

X. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are given by inspiration, and that they contain the whole of God's revealed will, and that they are the only infallible guide to our faith and duty.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works"-2 Tim. iii, 17, 2 Pet. i, 21; "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them"-Isaiah viii, 20.

God's Law

XI. We believe that the law of God, contained in the Decalogue, and recorded in the 20th chapter of Exodus, to be morally and religiously binding upon the Church of Christ.

"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled," "If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments"-Matt. v, 17; xix, 17.

Sabbath

"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work"-Ex. xx,10; "The Sabbath was made for man, therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath"-Mark ii, 27-28.; "And they rested the Sabbath-day, according to the commandment"-Luke xxiii, 56.

Church Membership

XIII. We believe that a gospel church is composed of such persons, and such only, as have given satisfactory evidence of regeneration and have submitted to gospel baptism.

"Then they that gladly received his word were baptised; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls"-Acts ii, 41.

Baptism

XIV. We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, of a believer in Christ, upon the profession of the gospel faith, and that no other water baptism is valid.

"Buried with him in baptism"-Col. ii, 22, Rom. vi, 5; "One Lord, one faith, one baptism"-Eph. iv, 5.

Laying on of Hands

XV. Concerning the imposition of hands: We believe it was the practice of the apostles and the primitive church, to lay hands upon the newly-baptized believers; and, that it should be continued in the church, we therefore practise it.

"Then laid they hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost"-Acts iii, 17. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied"-Acts xix, 6; "The doctrine of baptism, and of laying on of hands"-Heb. vi, 2.

Lord's Supper

XVI. We believe it is the duty of all the members of the church to commemorate the sufferings of Christ, in partaking the Lord's Supper, as often as the church shall deem expedient, and their circumstances admit.

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it"-Matt. xxvi, 26-27. "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come"-1 Cor. xi, 26.

Guarding the Table

XVII. As we deem it unscriptural to admit, to the membership of the church, any person who does not yield obedience to the commandments of God and the institutions of the gospel, or who would be a subject of church censure, were he a member of the church, so we deem it equally improper to receive such at the Lord's table, or to partake with them of the Lord's Supper.

"But now I have written unto you not to keep company; if any man that is called a brother, be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, with such a one, no, not to eat"-1 Cor. v, 11; "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us"-2 Thess. iii, 6.