Dean
Bible Ministries
Doctrinal
Statement
We
believe the Scripture in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek,
both Old and New Testaments, to be the plenary, verbally inspired Word of God.
“Plenary” means that the entirety of Scripture is equally and fully revealed
and inspired by God. “Verbal” refers to the principle of inerrancy, that
inspiration extends to each and every word. Inspiration means “God-breathed” (2
Timothy 3:16) and means that the Bible is God’s complete and connected thought
to mankind (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
God the Holy Spirit so supernaturally directed the human writers of scripture,
that without waiving their human intelligence, vocabulary, individuality,
literary style, personality, personal feelings, or any other human factor, His
complete and coherent message to mankind was recorded with perfect accuracy in
the original languages of Scripture, the very words bearing the authority of
divine authorship. Therefore the Bible is the final authority in all matters
about which it speaks. Further, we believe the Bible is to be interpreted in a
normal and literal way consistent with the historical, grammatical principle of
hermeneutics under the filling of God the Holy Spirit (John 10:35; Matthew
5:18; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
We
believe in one God, Who is sovereign, righteous, just, eternal, love,
omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, immutable, veracious, merciful, good,
infinite, and gracious in His essence. He exists in three persons; the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three persons of the Godhead are co-equal and
co-eternal and co-infinite. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-5; John 10:30; Psalm 22:1;
Matthew 3:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Genesis 48:15-16, 2 Samuel 23:2-3; Genesis
1:26.
We
believe that God the Father is the first person of the Godhead. He is the
Father, architect, and planner of all creation (Malachi 2:10; Acts 17:29;
Jeremiah 33:27; 1 Corinthians 8:6). He is the Father of all believers in the
Lord Jesus Christ (Psalm 103:13; Galatians 3:26) but not the Father of
unbelievers (John 8:42-44). The relationship between God the Father and God the
Son did not have a beginning but has existed from eternity past. The Father’s
character is revealed to us in the person of Christ (John 8:58; 17:5, 24;
20:17). The Father and the Son are co-equal and co-eternal in essence. The Son
voluntarily submitted Himself to the Father’s plan so there could be a savior
for mankind (1 Corinthians 8:6). The Father is the Supreme Person of the
universe (Hebrews 6:13). He has absolute will and does whatever He pleases
(Isaiah 55:11, 56:4, 42:21, Psalm 115:3, 135:6, 1 Corinthians 1:21; Colossians
1:19; Hebrews 11:5; Ephesians 1:5, 9). It pleased the Father to send the Son to
die as a spiritual substitute for the sins of the human race (John 3:16-18).
The Father was propitiated by the Son’s impeccable sacrifice on the cross
(Romans 3:25). Those who accept the Son and His work on their behalf enter into
the family of God at the instant of faith in Christ. Through this the Father
brings many sons into glory and glorifies the Godhead (Romans 8:14, 19;
Galatians 4:5-6, Hebrews 2:10; 1 John 3:2).
We
believe that God the Son is co-equal, co-eternal, and co-infinite with God the
Father and God the Holy Spirit; He possesses the same divine attributes as the
Father and the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Second Person of the Trinity,
the Son, agreed to the incarnation in order to glorify the Father and redeem
mankind from the slave market of sin. The Son (undiminished Deity) united with
perfect humanity (Hebrews 10:5) to become Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 1:21-25).
The humanity of Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Holy Spirit when the
Spirit enabled the virgin Mary to conceive apart from procreation (Luke 1:35).
His conception was supernatural and thus Jesus did not have a human father. Due
to this He did not possess Adam’s sinful nature and did not receive the
imputation of Adam’s original sin. The Son’s nature was such that He was true,
sinless humanity and undiminished deity united in one person forever (Isaiah
7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Colossians 2:9; Philippians 2:5-9). We believe that He
voluntarily restricted the independent use of His divine attributes while on
earth in order to rely strictly upon the Holy Spirit’s power for His spiritual
life and power for some miracles. In this way He was victorious over Satan and
the world system using the Spirit’s power in order to defeat His enemies and
show us how we should live by means of the Spirit. Thus he set the precedent
for the unique spiritual life of the Church Age. Jesus is the One and only
Savior of the world and to gain eternal life one must place their faith alone
in Him alone for salvation (Acts 4:12; 16:32; John 3:16, 36).
We
believe that the Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal and co-infinite with
the Father and the Son. As God He possesses the same divine attributes as the
Father and the Son. His ministry is to convict the world concerning the sin of
unbelief, the absolute righteousness of God, and the judgment of Christ as our
substitute (John 16:8-11). The Spirit is the agent of regeneration,
sanctification, and comfort to those who believe in Jesus Christ (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit is a person just as the Father and Son are persons. He indwells
all believers of the present church age. By Him all believers are baptized into
the body of Christ and He seals them until the day of redemption. It is the
duty of every believer to be filled with the Spirit through confession of sin
(1 John 1:9) and thus fulfill the command to be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph.
5:18) and “walk by the Spirit” (Gal. 5:18).
We
believe that the human soul was created in the image of God. The image of God
refers to the reflection of His divine essence. Man's image reflects God's
image in his immaterial makeup. Adam sinned willfully against God's command not
to eat of the forbidden tree and died spiritually. Mankind instantly became
separated from God and unable to fellowship with Him (Genesis 3:18-19; Romans
3:23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:12). All human beings inherit a sin nature which
has been genetically passed down through the male since Adam. To this sin
nature is imputed Adam's original sin (Romans 3:23; 5:12) and each person is
therefore born physically alive and spiritually dead. This describes the depravity
of all mankind. Man, controlled by the sin nature, wants independence from God.
God condemns mankind and will bring him to judgment (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation
20:11-15). God is fair and offers mankind an alternative through the sacrifice
of His Son. Adam and the woman accepted the coats of skins from the hand of the
Lord in Genesis 3:21. The shedding of animal (lamb, sheep, goats) blood and the
couple's faith in the promised, future Savior enabled them to receive the free
gift of eternal life. This became the pattern of recovery for all of mankind.
Each individual must personally accept the Savior in order to be removed from
judgment (John 3:36).
We believe that the
Lord Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to pay the penalty for all human
sin, make provision for all of mankind to be delivered from spiritual death and
certain judgment. Jesus came to redeem mankind (1 Peter 1:18-19) through His
efficacious, spiritual, substitutionary death on the cross (2 Corinthians 5:21;
1 Peter 2:21-24; Isaiah 53:10-12). In the Hebrew of Isaiah 53:9 and the Greek
of Col. 2:12 two deaths are mentioned:
His
grave was assigned with wicked men
Yet He was with a rich man in His DEATHS,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. Is
53:9
The first death of the Savior was
spiritual as darkness descended upon the cross and the Father poured out our
sins upon Him and then judged Him. The great violence of this activity was
hidden from the eyes of all He suffered alone in the darkness. Upon completion
of His work He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
The work for our
reconciliation was completed. The door was open for anyone to believe in Him
and gain eternal life for He died for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2).
He paid for our sins while still physically alive. He then dismissed His own
spirit to the Father (John 10:17-18; Luke 23:46) and died physically. When the
soldiers came to break His legs they found Him dead. His spiritual work on the
cross paid for the sins of the world and there is no work that mankind can do
to add to His work or take away from it. All that we have to do is believe in
Him as our personal Savior to receive eternal life (Romans 5:9; 1 Peter
1:18-19).
We
believe in the bodily, physical resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the
grave; his bodily and physical ascension into heaven and His session which
means He is seated at the right hand of God the Father during the present
Church Age. He is currently the interceding High Priest and Advocate for all
Church Age believers. (1 Peter 3:18; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Hebrews
7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2; Romans 8:34)
We
believe that dispensations are distinct administrations of God in human history
in which the purpose of God is revealed through divine revelation. Human
history is a sequence of divine administrations each having unique
characteristics, as well as certain functions in common with other ages. God
administers through delegated authority in each dispensation. Each designated
authority, such as Israel in the Age of Israel and the Church in the Church
Age, is to teach the gospel and explain God's purpose and will to mankind
(Romans 3:2; Acts 15:14; Ephesians 3:2). The essence of dispensationalism is a
consistent distinction between God's plan and purposes for Israel and his plan
and purpose for the Church; a literal, plain system of interpretation applied
to every area of Scripture, and an understanding that all of human history has
the glory of God as its ultimate purpose. We reject the development known as
Progressive Dispensationalism.
We
believe in the blessed hope which is the personal, bodily, physical return of
Jesus Christ in the clouds for His bride, the Church (Titus 2:11-14). He will
return before the seven year tribulation period also known as “Daniel's
Seventieth Week” or “Jacob's Trouble.” He will appear in the clouds and the
church will rise to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-15). His return
is imminent, “at any moment,” for no prophecy need be fulfilled prior to His
return. The rapture is said to occur in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians
15:51-54). During which time the bodies of all spiritually born again believers
will be changed into resurrection bodies and the dead in Christ shall rise
first followed by the living believers. All unbelievers will remain on the
earth to go into the tribulation period. Because Christ delivers His church at
the rapture no believer will ever experience, participate in, or suffer any
part or portion of the tribulation period (Revelation 3:10).
The
last seven years of the Age of Israel is called the tribulation. It begins
after the rapture of the church when the Antichrist signs a peace treaty with
the nation Israel. This age is characterized as a time of judgment upon
unbelievers (Revelation 5-19). Mankind has rebelled against the Lord and
refused to accept Jesus Christ as the Savior therefore God's wrath begins to be
poured out immediately after the rapture. The tribulation is also called the
seventieth week of Daniel (Daniel 9:27, Jeremiah 30:7) and the time of Jacob's
trouble (Matthew 24:15-21, Revelation 6:1-19) since it is also a time of
judgment upon Israel.
We believe that
anyone who accepts the free gift of salvation through faith alone in Christ
alone receives eternal life at the point of faith or belief. As a child of God
(John 1:12), member of the royal family of God and royal priest (I Peter 2:5-7,
9) each believer is eternally secure in Christ. At no time can a believer
forfeit his salvation by irresponsible, neglectful behavior, or any sin of the
mind, speech, and behavior. Eternal security is based upon God's hold on us,
not our hold upon Him (John 10:28-29; Jude 24).
Since we are saved
by faith it is an act of God's grace to give eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9;
Titus 3:5). Therefore, it is God's responsibility to keep us in His love in
which He is absolutely capable (Romans 8:38-39). Even if we fall away into sin
and deny our salvation, the Lord cannot deny us our salvation although He will
deny us rewards (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Believers are assigned titles such as
“holy”, “beloved”, and “elect” to indicate their eternal security in Christ (Colossians
3:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-20).
We believe that
Satan is real and a literal enemy of God. His former name was Lucifer (Isaiah
14). He rebelled against God by claiming to have a better plan for the angels (Isaiah
14:12-14). His rebellion is the basis for the ongoing angelic conflict between
God and His elect angels and Satan and his fallen angels (demons).
Satan tempted man
in the Garden of Eden and enticed Adam and Ishah (later renamed Eve) to sin.
Through their fall Satan gained rulership of the world. He is called the prince
and power of the air (Ephesians 2:1-4). He has been given a limited time by God
to prove that his plan is superior to God's plan. If he fails, and he will, he
is destined to the lake of fire which was created for the devil and his angels
(Matthew 25:41). He will be judged and cast into the lake of fire to suffer for
all eternity (Revelation 20:1-10). In the meantime he is loose on earth and is
the father of evil and all rebellion against God. He seeks to control nations
in order to promote his concept of a perfect world where he is god and receives
the worship of mankind. He will not be bound until the time of Christ's future
Millennial Kingdom.
We believe in the
separate, bodily, physical, resurrection of the dead. The justified ones
(believers) will go to the Judgment Seat of Christ at the Rapture to receive
their rewards (Romans 14:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, 1 Corinthians 3:11-16).
They will spend eternity with the Lord with no more tears, no more sorrow, and
no pain (Revelation 21:4—22:9) in a state of rejoicing and peace.
On the other hand,
the unbelievers will be gathered at the end of the Millennium at the Great White
Throne Judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). Since their names do not appear in the
Book of Life, they will have to stand on their own works. Their works will not
be an adequate substitute for faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His imputed
righteousness so they will be condemned and cast into the lake of fire where
they will spend eternity in agony. (Revelation 19:20; 20:15).
We believe that
immersion is the only method of baptism taught and commanded in the Scriptures.
While it is an important ritual, it has no saving or delivering or sanctifying
power. As a ritual it portrays the believer's new position in Christ and his
belief in his own future bodily resurrection. Spiritual rebirth is necessary
before water baptism is to be performed.
When a believer is
taken into the water he is publicly identifying with the death and burial of
Christ. When he comes up out of the water he is identifying with the
resurrection of Christ and his own future bodily resurrection.
We believe that the
Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's spiritual substitutionary death on the
cross in payment for our sins. This is the basis for mankind's reconciliation
with God (1 Corinthians 11:23-25, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Believers are to
partake of the elements of communion which are unleavened bread and wine (non
fermented grape juice may be substituted). Communion is a time when Christians
express their faith and positive volition to God in worship as well as time of
intimate fellowship with God.
The unleavened bread symbolizes the perfect sinless humanity of Christ who was tempted in all ways but was without sin. He never went against the Father's will at any time and therefore arrived at the cross sinless. The cup symbolizes the last three hours of Christ's spiritual substitutionary sufferings as He bore our sins and was violently judged by the Father (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-24, Isaiah 53:10-12). The unleavened bread and the cup are symbols of these things and never a