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The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of
autonomous churches united around these theological convictions:
God
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely
perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine
Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless
knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity
to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own
glory.
The Bible
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New
Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired
Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the
complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority
by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.
Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that
it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned
when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by
nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only
through God's saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled
and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully
man, one Person in two natures. Jesus - Israel's promised Messiah - was
conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a
sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily form the
dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as
our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute,
shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for
our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the
only grounds for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the
Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates
sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted
as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides,
equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified
by God's grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by
the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true
church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed
only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and
the Lord's Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though
they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in
genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
8. We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His
sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and
others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another,
compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God's
Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to
combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission,
we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the
gospel in word and deed.
Christ's Return
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and premillenial return of our Lord
Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands
constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to
godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the
gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus
Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the
world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious
punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord
in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace.
Amen.
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