BIBLE BULLETIN BOARD STATEMENT OF BELIEFS Bible Bulletin Board (BBB) is a Christian ministry utilizing computers as a vehicle for the proclamation of the Word of God. Dialogue about the Bible and Christianity is available to all who call BBB, and computer text files are available for download, covering various Biblical subjects. The purpose of Bible Bulletin Board is to reveal the Glory of God to all men, thereby bringing ultimate glory to God. This specific purpose will be realized by the achievement of the following goals: 1. Proclaiming the whole will of God by the systematic preaching and teaching of the Word of God through the primary media of electronic communications using computers. 2. Seeking the salvation of the lost through diligent prayer, holy living and the presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 3. Exhorting each Christian user of Bible Bulletin Board to utilize their own Spiritual Gift(s) in the service of an established church in their community. 4. Cultivating an awareness, interest, and involvement in the work of missions in America and abroad consistent with the doctrinal statement of Bible Bulletin Board. 5. Exhorting each Christian user of Bible Bulletin Board to, "live by faith." Demonstrating to each other and to their community that God will provide for our every need if we will but put our trust in Him. STATEMENT OF DOCTRINE 1. The Holy Scriptures The Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. 2. The Trinity There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to man in three Persons--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--each equally deserving of the same worship and obedience, and they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption. 3. God the Father God the Father is an infinite, personal, moral, eternal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, justice, and love. His Fatherhood denotes a spiritual relationship, first of all, within the Trinity; and secondly, within mankind: creatively in relation to all men, but spiritually only in relation to believers. He hears and answers prayer and He saves from sin and eternal judgment all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. 4. God the Son The Son, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father, is equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, possessing exactly the same eternal nature and divine attributes as they. Before His incarnation He existed in the form of God, was with God, and was God. For the purposes of the redemption of men He humbled Himself and of His own choice laid aside His divine glory to take upon Himself the form of a servant and the likeness of a man. He is both fully God and fully man. As a man He was supernaturally conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin. He lived a sinless life on earth and performed mighty works and miracles exactly as recorded in the four Gospels. He died, was bodily raised from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and there perpetually intercedes for true believers, and will personally and visibly return to earth to rule and reign forever. His death on the cross provides the perfect atonement for sin by which the wrath of God against sinners may be appeased and furnishes the only ground upon which God can deal in mercy with sinners. 5. God the Holy Spirit God the Holy Spirit is equal with God the Father and God the Son and possesses the same eternal nature, and attributes. In His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled, and also convicts of sin, or righteousness and of judgment. He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony. The Holy Spirit is the agent in the new birth in that He seals, and indwells every believer in Christ at the moment of salvation. He also guides, teaches, comforts, sanctifies and helps the believer. 6. Man Man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness. He was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, free will, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God. The purpose of man's creation was to glorify God, enjoy His fellowship, and live his life in the Will of God. As a result of Adam's sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence; incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death; became subject to the wrath of God; became inherently corrupt, and became utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God, apart from divine grace. With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost, apart from the salvation which is in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. All men were in the loins of Adam, and the consequence of that sin has been transmitted (imputed) to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the exception. All men [thus] are sinners by divine declaration, by nature, and by choice. 7. Salvation Salvation is wholly the work of God by grace, through the redemption of Jesus Christ, by the merit of His shed blood; not on the basis of human merit, or works. It is received when a person exercises Faith in Christ, Repents of known sins, and Submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Each of these three elements are generated by the Holy Spirit as He calls people to salvation and are not works of the flesh. The presence of Faith, a Repentant Heart, and a willingness to Submit to Christ give evidence of a true Holy Spirit led conversion. The absence of any of these three elements indicates a false profession and will not bring salvation but will result only in further condemnation. 8. Regeneration Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are communicated. It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God, so as to secure voluntary obedience to the Gospel. Regeneration will be manifested by repentance, faith, and righteous living. Good works are its proper evidence and fruit, and will be experienced to the extent that the believer submits to the control of the Holy Spirit in his life through faithful obedience to the Word of God. This obedience causes the believer to be increasingly conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus. Such a conformity is climaxed in the believer's glorification at Christ's coming. 9. Election We believe that election is the act of God by which, before the creation of the world, He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies. God exercised this sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, and wisdom. 10. Justification Justification before God is an act of God by which He declares righteous those who believe in Christ. This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man, and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ, and the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us. 11. Sanctification Every believer is "set apart" (sanctified) unto God by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every believer is therefore declared to be holy and identified as a saint. This is not a progressive sanctification. This sanctification has to do with the believer's standing, not his present state. There is, by the work of the Holy Spirit, an experiential sanctification, by which the state of the believer is progressively brought closer to the standing the believer enjoys through justification. Through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ. 12. Security The redeemed once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. 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 for sinful living and carnality. There is no sin or action by a Christian that can ever result in the loss of salvation. 13. Separation The doctrine of separation from sin is clearly evident throughout the Old and New Testaments, and the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase. Therefore, all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord and to maintain separation from all religious apostasy, and worldly and sinful practices, as commanded of God. 14. The Church Universal All who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately baptized into one united spiritual Body--the Church, of which Christ is the Head, and which is His espoused Bride. The formation of this Body began on the Day of Pentecost and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own in the Rapture. The Church, then, is a unique spiritual organism made up of all born again believers in this present age. The Church is distinct from Israel. 15. The Local Church The establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, and the members of this one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies. The one supreme authority for the Church is Christ, and the order, discipline, and worship are appointed through His sovereignty. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders, also called bishops, pastors and pastor-teachers, and deacons who must fit biblical qualifications. These leaders lead or rule in the place of Christ and have His authority in directing the Church. The congregation is to submit to their leadership. Also, they are responsible for the disciplining of sinning members of the congregation as in accord with the standards of Scripture. The local church is autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. It is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith. However, each local church through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scriptures is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation as well as on all matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government. 16. Spiritual Gifts All saints (believers) are called to the work of the ministry. The church's ministry is to accomplish God's purpose in the world. For the accomplishment of that purpose, God has given the Church spiritual gifts. First, He gave gifted men for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry, and He also gives unique and special spiritual abilities to each member of the Body of Christ. At the moment of spiritual birth every believer receives such a gift or gifts. These gifts are sovereignly bestowed. It is essential that every believer discovers, develops, and employs his spiritual gift or gifts for the edification of the Body and the accomplishment of the work of Christ in the world. There were two kinds of gifts: temporary confirming gifts and permanent edifying gifts. With the New Testament revelation at last complete the confirming gifts are no longer a necessary criteria for evaluating the validity of a man and his message, since they can be counterfeited by Satan so as to deceive even believers. The temporary confirming gifts--healing, speaking in tongues (unlearned languages), interpretation, and the working of sign miracles--gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. 17. Healings No one possesses the gift of healing today, but God commands the sick person to call for the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the Name of the Lord. In response to this act of faith by the sick person and the Church, God will answer in accordance with His own perfect will. It is also true that God hears and answers the prayer of faith on the part of every believer, and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will, for the sick, suffering, and afflicted. 18. Ordinances Two ordinances have been committed to the local church: Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 19. Baptism Christian baptism (by immersion) is an act of obedience to the command of Scripture to be baptized. The act of baptism is a testimony of a believer, showing forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and of our union with Him in death to sin, and resurrection to a new life. It is also a sign of fellowship, an identification with the visible Body of Christ. 20. Lord's Supper The Lord's Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be preceded always by solemn self-examination. While Christ's flesh and blood is not actually present, the Lord's Supper is an actual communion with the risen Christ who is present in an unique way, fellowshipping with His people. 21. Holy Angels Angels are created beings and are not to be worshiped, although they are a higher order of creation than man. They were created to serve God and to worship Him. 22. Fallen Angels Satan is a created angel and the author of sin. He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator, by involving numerous angels in his fall, and by introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve. Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and is the prince of this world who was defeated, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. 23. Death Physical death involves no loss of consciousness. The soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ; however, the soul of the unbeliever is cast immediately into torment and suffering awaiting final judgment. There is a separation of soul and body, and that separation will continue for the believer until the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. Until that time, the souls of the redeemed in Christ remain in joyful fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. For the unbeliever this separation will continue until the second resurrection when the body, soul, and spirit of the unbeliever will be reunited to be subject to judgment and eternal punishment in the Second Death of the Lake of Fire. 24. Resurrection There will be a bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life (Heaven), and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Lake of Fire). The souls of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hades, where they are kept under punishment until the second resurrection, when the soul and a resurrection body are united. They shall then appear at the Great White Throne judgment and will be cast into the Lake of Fire, apart from the life of God forever. 25. The Rapture of the Church There will be a personal bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to translate His Church from this earth, and to reward them according to their works, with sufficient time elapsing between this event and His glorious return with His Church to allow for the judgment of believer's works, and this period includes the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy. 26. The Tribulation Period Immediately following the removal of the Church from the earth, the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world. These judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth, at which time the Old Testament and Tribulation Saints will be raised and the living will be judged. 27. The Second Coming and the Millennial Reign After the tribulation period, Christ will come to occupy the throne of David and establish His Messianic kingdom for a thousand years on the earth. During this time the resurrection saints will reign with Him over Israel and all nations of the earth. This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the antichrist and the false prophet, and by the removal of Satan from the world. The kingdom itself will be the fulfillment of God's promise to Israel, to restore them to the land which they forfeited through disobedience, with the result that Israel was temporarily set aside, and they will be awakened through repentance to enter into the land of blessing. This time of our Lord's reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life, and will be brought to an end with the release of Satan. 28. The Judgment of the Lost Following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign, Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city of Jerusalem, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from Heaven. Following this, Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, whereupon Christ, who is the judge of all men, will resurrect and judge the wicked, great and small, at the Great White Throne judgment. This resurrection of the unsaved dead will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment, they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment. 29. Eternity After the closing of the Millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers, the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God. The elements of the earth are to be replaced with a new earth wherein only righteousness dwells, and the heavenly city that comes down out of Heaven is to be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another. The Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father, so that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever. Bible Bulletin Board internet: www.biblebb.com modem: 609-324-9187 Box 318 Columbus, NJ 08022 ....online since 1986 Sysop/Webmaster: Tony Capoccia