The Bible
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of 66 books which constitute the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and unalterable special revelation of God and our final authority. As stated in the preamble, we believe in the normal, literal, grammatical, historical, and systematic interpretation of the Scripture and in a dispensational understanding of God’s progressive revelation.
Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
The Trinity
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit –co-eternal in being, co-identical in essence, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. We believe God is spirit, from everlasting to everlasting the same, the direct creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:22; Psalm 139:7-10; Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 44:24; Jeremiah 23:24; Malachi 3:6; Luke 24:39; John 1:3; John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:16-17; James 1:17; 1 John 3:20; Revelation 19:6
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and that He lived a sinless life. He came in order to reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice in providing an unlimited atonement for the sins of the whole world, and that our justification is verified by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. 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.
Luke 1:35; John 1:1-18; Acts 1:9-10; Romans 3:24-25; Romans 8:34; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24; 1 John 2:1-2
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead Who in this present age convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; Who regenerates and baptizes into the body of Christ those who believe; and Who indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher Who guides believers into all truth. It is the privilege of believers to be filled with and their duty to walk in the Holy Spirit. John 16:8-13; Roman: 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20-27
The Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God. In Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature; and became alienated from God. Therefore, man is totally depraved and apart from God is unable to remedy his lost condition.
Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12
Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for all people. All who trust Him are saved by His grace through faith solely on the ground of His shed blood and not our works. They are then “accepted in the beloved,” kept by God’s power and thus secured in Christ forever. We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. 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.
John1:12; John 6:37-40; John 10:27-30; Romans 6:13; Romans 8; Romans 13:13-14; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Galatians 5:13-25; Ephesians 1:6-7; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:22-24;
Colossians 3:9-10; Titus 2:11-15; 1 Peter 1:5-19; 1 Peter 2:13-20; 1 John 3:5-9
The Church
We believe that the Church, which began with the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, is the Body and Bride of Christ. It is the spiritual organism made up of all born- again persons of the present age. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
Acts 2:1-13-47; Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17-32; 1 Corinthians 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11
Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ established two ordinances for the Church in this present age. These are believer’s water baptism, practiced by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper, observed obediently as a memorial of His death. These ordinances are not a means of saving grace. 1 Corinthians 1:14; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; Acts 8:12-39; Acts 10:47-48
Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Gospel; making disciples from among all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19- 20
The Devil
We believe that the devil is a created being, the author of sin, the tempter in the fall, the declared enemy of God and man, and the “god of this world”. He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
Job 1-2; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; Matthew 25:41; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10
Second Coming of Christ
We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. We believe that at the end of the seven- year tribulation He will return to earth with the saints in power and glory to reign for a thousand years in a literal earthly kingdom.
Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:9; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6
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. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, there in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. We believe that the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in conscious misery 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.
Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; Luke 23:43; John 5:28-29; John 11:25-26; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20
PRACTICAL MATTERS
Marriage and Human Sexuality
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one legitimate meaning, and that is marriage sanctioned by God, which joins one man and one woman in a single, covenantal union, as delineated by Scripture. Marriage ceremonies performed in any facility owned, leased, or rented by Cornerstone Bible Church will be only those ceremonies sanctioned by God, joining one man with one woman as their gender was determined at birth. Whenever there is a conflict between the church’s position and any new legal standard for marriage, the church’s statement of faith, doctrines, and biblical positions will govern.
Genesis 2:24; Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-9; Ephesians 5:22-23
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage (as defined in Section 14, A.1 above). We believe that any other type of sexual activity, identity, or expression that lies outside of this definition of marriage, including those that are becoming more acceptable in the culture and the courts, are sinful perversions of and contradictory to God’s natural design and purpose for sexual activity.
Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1-7; 1
Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4
Gender and Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female. We further believe that the Bible recognizes only two genders and gender expressions which are valid for all of humanity. These two, distinct, complementary genders reflect the image and nature of God. We believe rejection of one’s biological gender or expression and presentation as the opposite gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person. Cornerstone Bible Church desires to adhere to these clear truths of Scripture while simultaneously expressing the love of God as commanded in Scripture. Cornerstone Bible Church will not conform its facilities to accommodate those whose gender expression is not aligned with Scripture but does commit to expressing the love of God to all who enter its doors. Genesis 1:26-27
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Cornerstone Bible Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to its members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Cornerstone Bible Church and its ministries, in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, in any capacity, agree to and abide by the statements on marriage, gender and sexuality as presented in this Statement of Faith.
Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin and seek His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Cornerstone Bible Church.
Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31
Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God and that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors/elders) of the church.
Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 1 Timothy 3:4-5, 12; Titus 1:5-9
We believe that God has ordained the family (as defined in Section 14, A.1 above) as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a wonderful gift and heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate training and discipline.
Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; Proverbs
22:15; Proverbs 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Peter 3:1-7
Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce except on the grounds of adultery.
Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Mark 10:11-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16
Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion is murder and constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life.
Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:24; Isaiah 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; Jeremiah 20:15-18; Luke 1:36, 44
Euthanasia
We believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, facilitates premature death is assuming a decision that is to be reserved for God. We do not believe that discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome is euthanasia.
Exodus 20:13; Exodus 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28
