Christian Mission for the Deaf’s Core Beliefs
Things most surely believed among us:
I. We believe that the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God; that it is inerrant in the original writings and of supreme, absolute, and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith and conduct.
II. We believe that there is one God, co-equally and eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
III. We believe in the Personality and Eternal Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ: that He was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and possessed a sinless human nature–in that, He was truly God and truly man.
IV. We believe in Personality and Eternal Deity of the Holy Spirit: that as promised, He descended to earth on the day of Pentecost, to dwell permanently in the Church and in the body of each believer; and that He, as the Indwelling One, is the source of all power for Godly living, Christian service, and spiritual worship.
V. We believe in the personality and reality of Satan, “. . . that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world.”
VI. We believe that man was originally created in the image and after the likeness of God; that he lost his spiritual life through Adam’s sin, becoming “dead in trespasses and sin,” and became subject to the power of the devil; that this spiritual death (or total depravity of human nature) has been transmitted to the entire human race–with the exception of Jesus Christ alone; and, therefore, that every descendant of Adam is born into this world with a nature which is essentially and unchangeably bad apart from divine grace.
VII. We believe that Jesus Christ became the sinner’s substitute before God and died as an atoning, vicarious sacrifice for the sin of the whole world.
VIII. We believe that, on the third day of His death, Jesus was raised bodily from the dead; and that He ascended into Heaven and now sits on the right hand of God to intercede and advocate for the believers.
IX. We believe that, by grace, individual salvation comes only through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ; that repentance is a vital part of believing; and that no other acts, such as baptism, confession, prayer, or faithful service, must be added to believing as a condition of salvation.
X. We believe that it is the privilege of all who are born again by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ to be assured of their salvation; that they are in present possession of eternal life, and are delivered from judgment and the wrath to come.
XI. We believe that the true Church, which is Christ’s body and of which He is the Absolute Head, consists of the unity of all truly regenerated persons, regardless of race, color or socio-economic status; and that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
XII. We believe that water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are the only ordinances of the church and that they are a Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this dispensation.
XIII. We believe that, by virtue of the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are called into a life of separation from worldly living and sinful practices, and to abstain from such amusements and habits as will cause others to stumble or bring reproach upon the Cross of Christ.
XIV. We believe that the Bible commands Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit; that speaking in tongues is not the proof of being filled with the Spirit. Rather the Bible encourages a spirit of rejoicing, thankfulness, love for the brethren and power in witnessing.
XV. We believe that the supreme mission of those whom Jesus Christ has saved is to make Him known to the whole world.
XVI. We believe in the imminent and personal return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
XVII. We believe in the eternal blessedness of the saved.
XVIII. We believe in the eternal punishment of the lost.
