Declaration of Faith
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe and testify that the Holy Bible is the Word of God, divinely inspired in its original documents (2 Samuel 23:2). Of human handwriting but of divine and ineffable spirit (2 Peter 1:21), and composed of the canon of 66 books of which 39 compose the Old Testament and 27 the New Testament; different in practices and ceremonial teachings because they are directed to man in different dispensations, but all forming a single whole with the same objective. That they have God as their author, salvation as their object and truth as their content without mixture of error. Being, therefore, the true center of Christian union (John 5:39), and supreme standard of authority in all that concerns our faith and conduct (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
2. God
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that there is but one living and true God, personal, eternal, perfect in righteousness, infinite in power, wisdom, and goodness; the Maker, Upholder, and Supreme Arbiter of all things in heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1,26,27); unspeakably glorious in holiness (Exodus 15:11); worthy and deserving of all love, worship, trust, and obedience. That in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons (the Holy Trinity): the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (John 15:26); distinct in the performance of offices, but equal in substance, divine attributes, and glory (John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6); and harmonizing in the great work of redemption.
3. Christ
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is the Word of God manifested in the flesh (John 1:14), that in Him there are two natures: the divine, with all its attributes; and the human, in its absolute perfection, constituting a single indivisible person (John 20:28; Philippians 2:5-8); He dwelt among men as Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Christ was conceived and begotten in the womb of the blessed virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, and took human form, without ceasing to constitute, as the only begotten Son of God, one thing with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:26-38). Christ is true God and true man.
4. The Holy Spirit
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the person of the Holy Spirit is not a mere divine influence, but is eternally God together with the Father and the Son, and that only through His agency and power can man come to the true knowledge of God (John 16:8,9), to the understanding of His Word, and to the approval of the redemptive work of Christ (John 16:26-27). The Holy Spirit reproves the sinner, regenerates the repentant heart and sanctifies the believer, in whom He dwells (Ephesians 4:30) as a pledge and guarantee of his eternal salvation (John 16:7-14), to strengthen him in his tribulations, comfort him in his trials, and lead him to a life of obedience to God. The Holy Spirit is the only infallible vicar of Christ on earth.
5. The Fall of Man
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that man was created in holiness (Genesis 3:1-9), in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26-27), subject to the law of his Maker; distinct from all other creatures, visible and invisible; endowed with intelligence, justice, will, and sensitivity, that he might rule over the visible creation and procreate the human race (Genesis 1:28-31), all to the glory of his Creator. From that happy state he fell by voluntary transgression, being destitute of that righteousness and holiness which he possessed; for which reason all mankind are now sinners, not necessarily, but by nature, being entirely destitute of the holiness required by the nature of God, positively inclined to evil (Romans 8:7), and therefore under just condemnation, without defense or excuse to justify them.
6. Free Will
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that man enjoys free will in his actions, which are not predetermined by external forces (Ezekiel 18:19,20); freedom means self-determination. Man was created free in the sense of being able to make self-determined choices (Deuteronomy 11:26-28). This freedom does not mean that he can exempt himself from infrequencies, motives, heredity, or environment (Genesis 26:3-11), but that he can choose between good and evil, using his capacity (Romans 14:12). God's foreknowledge, or prior knowledge of our determinations, does not in any way obligate or hinder our free choice. Man, by virtue of being a rational creature, is in a position to fulfill his moral and social duties at the determination of his own will.
7. Providence
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the Providence of God upholds and governs all creation, that it pleased the Almighty from the beginning to sustain and maintain not only man but also all creatures (Psalm 104; 105:15, 16). Under His directing and provident care, He supplies the body with food and supplies every need of every living thing. The elements and all the circumstances surrounding man's life are also subject to Divine Providence (Acts 17:24-29), so that man may rely on luck and misfortune, plenty and scarcity, happiness or calamity, that he does not depend on chance or blind fate (Matthew 6:25-32). Nothing in the universe can be called chance; not a sparrow nor a hair of the head falls to the ground without His knowledge (Matthew 10:29-30). Anything that was not too small for God to create is not too insignificant for Him to fail to preserve and govern it (Revelation 4:11).
8. Divine Grace
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that Divine Grace is that eternal purpose of God according to which He mercifully provides salvation to sinners (Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:13; Titus 2:11), opening the way of His favor to them without their deserving it (Romans 5:8; 8:28-30); this purpose, perfectly consistent with human free will, embraces all means together with the end, but only in Christ, the only Mediator and Redeemer (1 Corinthians 4:7; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 2:10), absolutely excluding all human boasting and promoting humility (Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Peter 1:10-11). Grace accomplishes the election of man according to the divine foreknowledge of Jesus Christ and never outside of Jesus Christ.
9. The Atonement
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that Christ's death was for the atonement of the sins of all men (Isaiah 53:4,5; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4), and that it is only by virtue of the merits of His death that man (Galatians 1:4) can be reconciled to God and fully saved (Romans 5:8-10). It is by His life, death, resurrection, and glorification that Jesus Christ became the only Mediator (Hebrews 12:24) between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:10-12), although this truth is only applied to the extent that each particular man individually accepts this atonement as a personal necessity (John 3:15-16).
10. Regeneration
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the regeneration of the believer is through the work of the Holy Spirit. Every human being, by nature, is a sinner, with an innate tendency to sin and sinful behavior, and that, as a consequence, he is destitute of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Only the action of the divine Regenerating Spirit can transform him, giving him a new nature (Romans 8:9) capable of participating in the holiness of God (John 17:21-23; Romans 8:16-17). Regeneration requires faith on the part of the individual in the person and work of Christ Jesus (John 1:12; Acts 8:34-38; 16:31; Romans 10:9), an indispensable condition for obtaining salvation. The truly regenerated person must progress in holiness among men, the believer is a "saint" (2 Corinthians 7:11; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:22-23; Romans 4:5).
11. The Virgin Mary
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that blessed Mary was the woman chosen by God to give human form to Jesus Christ, who was and is the Only Begotten of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. That being a virgin (according to the prophetic prophecy, Isaiah 7:14), she conceived in her womb by the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, becoming favored by God and blessed among all women (Luke 1:26-35). She was an obedient and humble virgin of the lineage of David, who with her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior and, in her humility, recognized herself as a servant and handmaid of the Almighty (Luke 1:45-48), and she is in no way an object of worship (Acts 1:13-14), having no saving power or capacity to be a mediator (1 Timothy 2:5).
12. The Church
A. Its nature.
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the redeemed, without distinction of education, race, sex, or social position (1 Timothy 2:5), constitute the Universal Church and are members of the body of which Christ is the only Head (Ephesians 1:22-23). The Church, in the local, congregational sense (Acts 2:32,47; 14:23), is a fellowship of believers in Christ (Romans 12:5), baptized according to the teachings of the New Testament, united under the sacred guidance of the Holy Spirit (who unmistakably knows the converted), for the worship of God (John 4:23, 24), the edification of its members, the performance of the ordinances of Christ, and the spreading of the gospel (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41,42).
B. Its Ordinances
I. Baptism.
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that Christian baptism is by immersion in water (Acts 8:36-39) of one who receives Christ as personal Savior, performed in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-19). It does not serve or assist in any way our salvation, although it is an act of obedience (Mark 16:15-15) and confession of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, with all of which the believer identifies himself (Romans 6:4).
II. The Lord's Supper.
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the Lord's Supper is an institution and not a sacrament containing any grace; that it was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ; that its celebration consists of two elements: bread and fruit of the vine (Matthew 26:26-28). Both were instituted to commemorate the death of Christ (Acts 2:41-42; 20:7), and are symbols of His body and blood (1 Corinthians 10:16-17). That the atoning sacrifice of Christ cannot be repeated, although it is granted to us to remember it. Whenever we worthily partake of the Lord's Supper, we proclaim His death until He comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-32). Its observance should be preceded by careful self-examination on the part of each participant.
13. Diversity of Gifts
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the convert receives the gift of the Holy Spirit upon believing (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 5:18), depending on the life of obedience, purity, and consecration (Acts 6:2-4). The Holy Spirit enriches the Church (the body of Christ) with spiritual gifts, distributing to each one as He wills; not all receive the same gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 27-30; 14:12) but no one receives the Holy Spirit by measure (John 3:34).
14. The Day of the Lord
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the Creator has designated one day of the week for man to rest from his daily work and to consecrate it to Him (Exodus 20:8; Psalm 118:24). Since the glorious resurrection of Christ, the first day of the week (Sunday) is kept as a day to worship God (John 20:19,20,26; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
15. The Security of Salvation
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that those who have been truly regenerated will never perish (John 10:28-29) since they are sealed by the Holy Spirit for the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14), being in such union with Him that not even death can break it (Romans 8:30-39).
16. The Christian Life
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the believer, although living in the world, is not of the world, since he is a pilgrim to heaven. Consequently, he does not “love the world nor the things in the world” (1 John 2:15-17). Being a pilgrim on earth means that the believer will avoid living in worldly pleasures contrary to the faith he professes. Since his body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:16), the Christian will not allow any habit or vice, which is sin, to destroy this sacred temple. His motto is to be able to “do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Colossians 3:17).
17. The Second Coming of Christ
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the personal, premillennial, pretribulational, and imminent second coming of Christ (Revelation 20:1-6; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53) will have as its immediate object the rapture of the Church in the clouds. Of the return of Christ (John 14:1-3), as well as of the resurrection of the dead (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), no one knows the day or hour, only God the Father. He will come without warning and at the least expected hour. Believers are therefore required to live waiting, always vigilant (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11), saying: “Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen” (Revelation 22:20).
18. The Future Life
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the souls of those who trust in Christ for their salvation, upon death (as soon as they leave this earthly body), pass immediately into the presence of the Lord (Philippians 1:23), where they remain in a state of conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body (1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Souls who willfully reject the Gospel remain, after death, in Hades (a place of suffering) until the final judgment (Luke 16:19-26), when the resurrected soul and body will be destined to eternal damnation (Revelation 20:11-15), to the lake of fire.
19. Real Existence of the Devil
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that the old serpent, called the Devil or Satan (Revelation 12:7-9), has a personal existence and is “the god of this age,” “the prince of this world,” and “the father of lies” (John 8:44), acting through his material and spiritual servants (Ephesians 6:10-12). This angelic being, the crown of the angelic creation, was perfect in all his ways until the day that iniquity was found in him; and he was arrogant because of his beauty (Ezekiel 28:1-19), so that God cast him out from His presence (Isaiah 14:12,15), and with him the angels who had not kept their first position. Satan's work in this world is to deceive souls, sowing doubt in them and keeping them in unbelief so that they do not turn from darkness to the light of God, that is, to His Gospel (Genesis 3:4).
20. The Civil Government
We believe and testify that the Holy Scriptures teach that civil authority exists by divine disposition (Romans 13:1-7), for the benefit and peace of men, looking after the interests and good order of human society (1 Peter 2:13-16). The church must pray for magistrates (1 Timothy 2:1-8), honoring them in conscience and obeying them as is proper, except in things that are contrary to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4:18-20; 5:29), the only owner of conscience and prince of the kings of the earth. We must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Matthew 22:21).