OUR DOCTRINE

The Articles of Faith of Lindley Community Church are substantially the same as those of the IFCA (formerly known as the Independent Fundamental Churches of America).  They are as follow:

The Holy Scriptures:  We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (II Tim. 3:16,17; II Pet. 1:20,21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12,13).

The Godhead: We believe in 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 (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14).

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 man (John 1:1,2,14; Luke 1:35).
  • 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 (Rom. 3:24,25; I Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).
  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into 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; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1,2).

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 judgment, 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; II Cor. 3:6; I Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13,14).
  • We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16: 13; I John 2:20,27; Eph. 5:18).

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 race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God, and that man is totally depraved, and , of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:22,23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).

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 (Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:18,19).

The Eternal Security and Assurance of the Believer:

  • 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; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5).
  • 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).

The Two Natures of the Believer: 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 (Rom. 6:13; 8:12; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9).

Separation:

  • We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1,2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John, vss. 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1).
  • When a person receives Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell, old things are passed away, and all things become new.  Because of this, certain moral changes will take place and the true believer will want to separate himself from worldliness unto God.  At the same time, he is in the world and needs to win the confidence of unbelievers to the end that he may witness to them and win them to Christ.  But in so doing, he should not partake of their evil deeds.  Each individual should follow the direction of the Holy Spirit with regard to his moral conduct.
  • Our moral conduct should be based on Biblical principles.  We should ask ourselves the following questions relating to questionable activity:
    • Is it for the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31)?
    • Can it be considered the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes or the pride of life (I John 2:16)?
    • Is it injurious to the body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19,20)?
    • Is it good from a standpoint of my stewardship and money (I Cor. 10:23)?
  • Regarding the area of Christian separation, we:
    • should not judge one another (Rom. 14:3,4,10,13a);
    • should be fully convinced in our own mind (Rom. 14:5);
    • should realize we are responsible to God alone for decisions and our activity (Rom. 14:12); and
    • should be careful not to cause a brother to stumble (Rom. 14:21).

We will endeavor to follow the above principles in our daily walk.

Missions: We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19,20).

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts:

  • We believe that God is sovereign is the bestowal of all his gifts, and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the Saints today, and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established (I Cor. 12:4-11; II Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12).
  • We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; I John 5:14,15).

The Church:

  • We believe that the church, which is the body and the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age (Eph. 1:22,23; 5:27; I Cor. 12: 12-14; II Cor. 11:2).
  • We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:14,28-32; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
  • We believe two ordinances of the Church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
    • Christ commanded His disciples to “. . .teach all nations, baptizing them in    the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. . .” ( Matt. 28:19).  It follows that true believers should obey His commandments by becoming baptized.  We believe that baptism is the outward testimony of the inward spiritual transformation in the life of one who has trusted Christ for salvation (Acts 2:38-41: 8:36-38).  While recognizing that water baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.  It is our conviction that the Scriptural method of baptism is immersion.
    • The Lord’s Supper, which was instituted by Christ, is a commemoration of His death to be observed regularly by all believers - - an occasion when we meditate upon what Christ did for us on the Cross.  The two emblems, the bread and the wine, represent His body and His blood which was shed for the remission of sins (I Cor. 11:23-30).

Dispensationalism: We believe in the dispensational view of the Bible interpretation but reject the extreme teaching know as “Hyper-Dispensationalism,” such as that teaching that opposes eith the Lord’s Table or water baptism as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age (Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 2:41,32; 18:8; I Cor. 11:23-26).

The Personality of Satan: We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall, 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).

The Second Advent of Christ: We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to earth with His Saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom (I Thess. 4:13-17; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thess. 1:5:9; Rev. 3:10).

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 (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 re-united to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; I Thess. 4:16,17).
  • We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body re-united, 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 and conscious punishment (Luke 16:19,26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:6-11; Jude, vss. 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).