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OUR
BELIEFS
There are two things on the earth that
will last forever: the Word of God and the souls of people. Christians have been
called to bring the two together. BMW
is committed to scriptural integrity and doctrinal purity as expressed in our
doctrinal statement. We seek to hold these beliefs in the spirit of love and humility. OUR
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT Biblical
Ministries Worldwide is an independent, fundamental faith mission board. The following
doctrinal statement is an integral part of the constitution. Every two years,
all missionaries and board members affirm in writing their agreement with this
doctrinal statement and position of separation.
The Holy Scriptures 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.
We believe in the normal, literal, and consistent interpretation of the Scriptures;
and 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 Godhead We believe in the one triune
God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - co-eternal
in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the
same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
The Person and Work of Christ We believe
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,
and lived a sinless life. He came that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man.
(Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2,14) We
believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on
the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice sufficient
for the sins of the whole world, and our justification is verified by His literal,
physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9;
1 Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; 1 John 2:2) We
believe 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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John
2:1-2) The
Person and Work of the Holy Spirit We believe 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. (John 16:8-11; Romans
8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) We
believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth;
and it is the privilege of believers to be filled with, and their duty to walk
in, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20,27) The
Total Depravity of Man We believe 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; and man is totally depraved and unable to remedy his lost
condition. (Genesis 1:26- 27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3,12) Salvation
and Security We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice
for all people and all who trust Him are saved by grace through faith on the grounds
of His shed blood, accepted in the beloved, kept by God's power, and thus secure
in Christ forever. (John 1:12; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,38-39; 1 Corinthians
1:4-8; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5,18-19) We
believe every saved person is a new creation with provision made for victory over
sin through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The sin that is present in
us is not eradicated in this life. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:13; 8:12-13;
Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John
3:5-9) We believe
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. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13;
Titus 2:11-15; 1 Peter 2:13-20) The
Church We believe 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.
(Acts 2:1-36; 1 Corinthians 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe 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 Timothy 3:1-13;
Titus 1:5-11) Ordinances We
believe 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 as a memorial of His death. (Acts 8:12, 35-39; 10:47-48;
1 Corinthians 1:14; 11:23-34)
Missions We believe that Christ commissioned
individuals in the church to make disciples from among all nations, to baptize
them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them
to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8;
2 Corinthians 5:19-20) The
Ministry and Spiritual Gifts We believe the Lord Jesus Christ gives
the Church evangelists and pastor-teachers. These gifted men are to equip the
saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:7-14) We
believe the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers for Christian service
and the edification of the Church. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter
4:10-11) We believe
the church age was initiated through the ministry of the apostles and prophets
accompanied by sign gifts to confirm their message. These sign gifts gradually
ceased by the time of the completion of the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31;
13:8-10; 14:1-28; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 2:3-4) We
believe God hears and answers prayer in accord with His own will for healing of
the sick and afflicted. (John 14:13-14; 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15)
Dispensationalism We believe the Scriptures
interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations,
which define man's responsibility in successive ages. A dispensation is not a
way of salvation, but a divinely-ordered stewardship by which God directs man
according to His purpose. (John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18;
Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation
20:2-6) We believe
salvation is always by grace through faith regardless of the dispensation in which
the believer may have lived. God's purpose of salvation by grace through faith
alone has always been based upon the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus
Christ upon the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 11:6; 1 Peter 1:10-12) The
Personality of Satan We believe Satan 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 age. He shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah
14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10) The
Second Advent of Christ We believe in the personal, imminent, pretribulational
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. (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1
Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 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.
(Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5,6,12-13) We
believe 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 and glorified to be forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17;
Revelation 20:4-6) We
believe 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; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation
20:11-15) Creation We
believe the triune God, by a free act and for His own glory, without the use of
existing materials or secondary causes, brought into being - immediately and instantaneously
in six literal days by the word of His mouth - the whole visible and invisible
universe. (Genesis 1:1-27; Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 104:25-26; Isaiah
40:21-31; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:16-17) Human
Sexuality Sexual intimacy is a wonderful gift of God that is only
to be expressed between a man and a woman within the love and bonds of marriage.
Therefore, we believe that any other form of sexual intimacy is both immoral and
a perversion of God's gift. (Genesis 2:24-25; Proverbs 5:18; 1 Corinthians 7:5;
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; Leviticus 18:1-30; Proverbs 6:32; 1 Corinthians
6:18; Romans 1:26-27) Separation
and Unity We believe the saved should be separated unto the Lord
Jesus Christ, necessitating holy living in all personal and ecclesiastical associations
and relationships. We believe we are responsible to identify false teaching and
dangerous movements where they relate to the conduct of the Mission's ministries.
We believe separation is required in those instances where people, groups, and
organizations whose doctrinal position is the same as the Mission's engage in
contradictory practices which compromise the faith. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians
6:19-20; Titus 2:14; James 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 18:15-17;
Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:7-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 4:1-6; 2
Thessalonians 3:11-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9-11) (Scripture
verses are representative, and not to be considered exhaustive.)
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