1) About the Bible. I believe the Bible is the Word of the living God, verbally inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, and having supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. I believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures, by which I mean this: Literal interpretation gives to each word its plain, natural sense, as when employed in writing, speaking or thinking, and determines the meaning intended by the author according to the normal and customary usage of language in its original setting, with due regard for figures of speech. (Deut. 29:29; Neh. 8:8; Isa. 8:20; 40:8; II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21)
2) About the Trinity. I believe there is one living and true God, an infinite, personal spirit Being, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love, and eternally existing in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with each Person of the triune Godhead being fully God, and worthy of equal honour and allegiance. (Matt. 3:16-17; 6:9-10; 28:19; Jn. 4:24; II Cor. 13:14; Eph. 2:18)
3) About Christ. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself deity, the second Person of the Godhead. As to His humanity, He was miraculously incarnated in the womb of the virgin Mary. I further believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atoning death, His bodily resurrection and His present intercession on behalf of the saints, at the Father’s right hand. (With regard to Christ’s second coming, see #12 below.) (Matt. 1:18, 22-23; Lk. 1:31-33, 35; Acts 1:11; Rom. 5:6-9; Heb. 1:1-3, 8; 4:14-15; 7:25)
4) About the Holy Spirit. I believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit of God. In the present age, He convicts the world of sin, and regenerates those who put their faith in Christ. I further believe He baptizes each believer (a spiritual baptism), uniting him or her to Christ, and the body of Christ, at the moment of conversion, and that He indwells each believer to empower and guide. (Jn. 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 13:2; 16:6-8; I Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13-14; 2:18)
5) About Satan. I believe Satan (the devil) is a personal and powerful spirit being. Created by God, he later rebelled against his Maker and became what he is today, the father of lies and the declared enemy of God, having a host of demons (evil spirits) as his agents. Though for a time a sovereign God allows him to pursue his deceitful and destructive purposes, he and his evil host will ultimately be consigned to the lake of fire forever. (Matt. 4:1-11; 25:41; Lk. 8:12; Jn. 8:44; II Cor. 4:3-4; Eph. 6:11-18; Rev. 20:21)
6) About Creation. I believe in the biblical account of creation, that by His almighty word God called into being this material universe “ex nihilo” (out of nothing), and that the creation week of Genesis 1–2 consisted of seven literal solar days (cf. Exod. 20:11). I further believe that man was made in the image of God by a special act of the Creator, and I totally reject any theory that man evolved from some lower form of life over millions of years. (Gen. 1:1, 26-27; 2:7, 21-22; Heb. 11:3)
7) About Salvation. I believe all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, and are therefore under God’s condemnation. However, those who turn from their sin and put their faith in Christ are eternally justified (declared righteous) by a holy God, and spiritually reborn into the family of God. Our salvation was purchased by the shed blood and substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, and that sinners are saved by grace through personal faith in the finished work of Christ alone, apart from any works. Further, I believe that one who is truly saved is saved forever and can never gain be lost. I hold to the eternal security of the believer. (Jn. 1:12-13; 3:3, 16; 10:27-28; Acts 16:30-31; Rom. 3:24, 28; 4:4-5; 8:38-39; 10:17; I Cor. 15:1, 3-4; II Cor. 5:17, 21; Eph. 1:6; 2:8-10; Tit. 3:4-7; I Pet. 1:23; 2:24; 3:18)
8) About Christian Living. I believe each human being is able to have a personal relationship with God, through faith in Christ. I further believe that while those who are born again become new creations in Christ, the old nature is not eradicated, yet the believer is able to live in victory by walking in the Spirit. I believe that Christians should live for the glory of God, and should walk in holiness, seeking to realize the fullest possible stature of spiritual maturity in Christ. (I Cor. 3:11-15; 10:31; Gal. 6:10; Phil. 2:15; II Cor. 9:6-8; Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:28-29; 2:6-7; I Pet. 4:10)
9) About Spiritual Gifts. I believe God has given to each believer spiritual gifts to equip him or her for service for Him, but that no one particular gift is given to all believers. I do not believe the apostolic sign gifts (such as tongues) are for the church today. Agencies and movements which advocate or emphasize such things as extra-biblical revelations, signs and wonders, slaying in the Spirit, and modern tongues speaking, are not in harmony with the Scriptures. (Acts 2:22; Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4, 7, 29-30; 13:8; II Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:3-4)
10) About the Church. I believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members. I also believe in the importance of local churches, companies of believers worshipping and serving God together in a particular time and place. I believe each local church should be autonomous and free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. (Matt. 16:18; 22:21; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 4:18-20; 5:28-29;Eph. 1:22-23; I Cor. 12:12-13; Gal. 3:26-27; I Thess. 1:1-10; I Tim. 2:1-4)
11) About the Ordinances. I believe the Lord committed to us two ordinances to be conducted by the local church. First, water baptism, by which I understand a baptism of believers, by total immersion, as a means of public testimony to identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and to their desire to walk in newness of life. Second, the Lord’s Supper, instituted by Christ as a memorial of His death, to be commemorated regularly by those who love Him. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:12; Rom. 6:3-4, and Matt. 26:26-28; I Cor. 11:23-26)
12) About Future Things. I believe in the imminent personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to catch away His church unto Himself, and that after a seven-year Tribulation period on earth, He will descend visibly, with His saints, to judge the nations of the world, and to set up His thousand-year kingdom of righteousness and peace. I believe this will be followed by the creation of the new heavens and the new earth, and the ushering in of the eternal state, in which the righteous will live in eternal blessing and the wicked will suffer eternal judgment. (Isa. 9:6-7; Dan. 7:13-14; Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 14:1-11; Lk. 1:31-33; Jn. 14:2-3; Acts 1:11; I Cor. 15:51-57; I Thess. 1:9-10; 4:13-18; II Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 20:1-6,11-15; 21:1-5)
For an excellent and understandable review of Bible doctrine, see the following book by Lewis Sperry Chafer and John F. Walvoord: Major Bible Themes.