Statement of Faith Of Dr. Andrew Thomas Knight
A. The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be
the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-
breathed and, therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old
and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall
be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of
interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the pastor. The King James Version of the
Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-
21)
B. Dispensationalism. We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense
reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in
successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered
stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these
dispensations—the law, the church, and the kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in
Scripture. (Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25,
27; Rev. 20:2-6)
C. The Godhead. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father,Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26
Cor. 13:14).
D. The Person and Work of Christ.
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to
be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He
might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-
21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8) - We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the
cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made
sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1
Pet. 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5) - 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. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
E. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgement; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers
into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11;
Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14) - We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate
the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.
(Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27) - We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that
they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12) - We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of
healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the
baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death
awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses
to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
F. The Total Depravity of Man. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of
God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated
from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
(Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
G. Salvation. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received
by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the
forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are
forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)
H. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers. - We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in
Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5) - 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. (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
I. The Church - We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely
made up of born-again persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27) - We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and
defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-
11) - We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts
13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4) - We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience
for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
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J. Separation. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring
reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious
apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all
immodest and immoderate appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. (Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-
2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14;7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
K. The Second Advent of Christ. We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent
return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the
end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His
earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-
45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
L. The Eternal State.
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
judgement and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-
13) - We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with
the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body
are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1
Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6) - We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and
torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the
Great White Throne Judgement, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but
to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke
16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
M. The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause
of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be
eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev.
20:10)
N. Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject
evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories
of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
O. Family Relationships. We believe that God has ordained the family 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. We also believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before
God but 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 and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and
ordination by the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
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P. Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: (1) the home, (2) the church, and (3) the state. Every person is subject to
these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and
governed by His Word.
God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church,
and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)
Q. Missions. We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the
Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic
group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we
must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us.
(Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
R. Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth
entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local church. We believe that God has
established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other
offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and
the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of
his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor.
16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17) 6.17.
This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the
sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing
Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and, therefore, is
binding upon all directors and employees of the Corporation.
ARTICLE 7 – Binding Arbitration
7.01 Believing that lawsuits between believers are prohibited by Scripture, all directors,
officers and employees of this Corporation agree to submit to binding arbitration any
matters which cannot otherwise be resolved, and expressly waive any and all rights in
law and equity to bringing any civil disagreement before a court of law, except that
judgment upon the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having
jurisdiction thereof.
7.02 In the event of any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement arising out of or relating to
these bylaws or any other corporate matter, the parties shall use their best efforts to settle
such disputes, claims, questions, or disagreement as befits Christians. To this effect, they
shall consult and negotiate with each other in good faith and, recognizing their mutual
interests not to disgrace the name of Christ, seek to reach a just and equitable solution. If
they do not reach such solution within a period of sixty (60) days, then upon notice by
either party to the other, disputes, claims, questions, or differences shall be finally settled
by arbitration as described in Section 7.01, above, and such Procedures for Arbitration as
adopted by the board of directors.
ARTICLE 8 – Amendments
8.01 These bylaws may be amended and new bylaws adopted at any meeting of the Board of
Directors by a majority vote of those present, a quorum being present.
8.02 As an alternative to section 8.01, these bylaws may be amended and new bylaws adopted
without a meeting by the written consent of all of the Directors.