|
Church Education Resource Ministries |
|
|
|
|
||
The Holy Scriptures
CERM believes in the
inspiration, inerrancy &
sufficiency of the Holy
Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments and that they compose the entire Word
of
God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible,
and God-breathed; and therefore, are the final authority for
faith
and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are
the
complete and divine revelation of God to man. The Scriptures
shall be
interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical
meaning.
CERM primarily uses the New International Version, the
English Standard Version, the King James Version,
the
New King James, and the New American Standard Version
for the writing of articles. CERM does not agree with the
King
James Only
Fundamentalist
movement. There are no perfect bible translations. Only
the
originals are perfect. All translations have
strengths and
weaknesses.** (See Footnote at
Bottom
of Page).
The
Godhead
CERM believes in one Triune God, eternally existing in three
persons being the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and each
are
coeternal in being, coidentical in nature, coequal in power and
glory, and having the same attributes and perfection's.
(Deuteronomy
6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26, 1 John
5:7-8)
The Person and Work of Christ
CERM believes that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of
God,
became man without ceasing to be God, having been begotten by
the
Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might
reveal
God and redeem sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John
1:1-2,
14; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8)
CERM believes 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. (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians
1:7;
I Peter 1:3-5)
CERM believes that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended
to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as
our
High Priest, He fulfills the ministries of Representative,
Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25;
Romans
8:34; I John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
CERM believes that the Holy Spirit is the One 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; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14;
II
Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
CERM believes that He is the Divine Teacher Who
assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures
and
that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled
with
the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
CERM believes that God is sovereign in the
bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses
evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the
assembly
in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Romans
12:3-8; I
Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
CERM believe that the sign gifts of the
Holy
Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing
were
temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was
never the
common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy
Spirit
and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death
awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection,
though
God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for
physical healing. (I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
The Fallen Nature of Man
CERM believes that man was created in the image and likeness
of
God, but that in AdamŐs sin the human race fell, inherited a
sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that all men
are
sinners by birth and by choice, and, of themselves, utterly
unable to
remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23;
5:12;
6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
Salvation
CERM 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
(John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19) and that in
order
to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a
new
creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a
process.
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
CERM believes that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by
GodŐs power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John
6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I
Peter
1:4-5)
CERM believes that it is the privilege of
believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through
the
testimony of GodŐs Word which, however, clearly forbids the use
of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans
13:13-14;
Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
The Church
CERM believes that the local church, which is the body and
the
espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again
persons. (I
Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23;
5:25-27)
CERM believes that the establishment and
continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in
the
New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy
3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
CERM believes in the autonomy of the local
church,
free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4;
15:19-31;
20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter
5:1-4)
CERM recognizes water baptism and the LordŐs
Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church
in
this age. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Corinthians
11:23-26)
Separation
CERM believes that Christians should live in a manner that
does
not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that
separation
from all religious apostasy, all sinful pleasures, and practices
is
commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2;
14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John
2:15-17; II
John 9-11).
The
Second Advent of Christ
CERM believes in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent
return of Christ Who will rapture His Church prior to the
seven-year
tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will
personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His
earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of
Israel.
(Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I
Thessalonians
1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
The Eternal State
CERM believes in the bodily resurrection of all men whom are
saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and
everlasting
punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation
20:5-6, 12-13)
CERM believes 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 reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke
23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I
Thessalonians
4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
CERM believes that the souls of unbelievers
remain
after death in conscious punishment and torment until the second
resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, 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 conscious
punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke
16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
The Personality of Satan
CERM believes that Satan is a Fallen Angel, the author of
sin,
and the cause of the fall of man; 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; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11;
25:41;
Revelation 20:10)
Creation
CERM believes that God created the universe in six literal,
24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the
Day-Age
Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of
origin.
(Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
Civil Government
CERM believes that God has ordained and created all
authority
consisting of three basic institutions: (1) the home, (2) the
church,
and (3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities,
but
all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God
and
are governed by His Word. God has given each institution
specific
Biblical responsibilities and has balanced those
responsibilities
with the understanding that no institution has the right to
infringe
upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal
and
sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of
responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24;
Hebrews
13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
Unchaste Conduct
CERM believes that God has commanded that no intimate
physical
activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a
woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism,
bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and
pornography is a sinful perversion of GodŐs original intent for
a physical relationship between a husband and wife. (Genesis
2:24;
19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I
Corinthians
5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
Divorce and Remarriage
CERM believes that God hates divorce and intends marriage to
last
until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced and remarried
persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in a
church
and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not
be
considered for the offices of pastor or deacon of a church.
(Malachi
2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus
1:6)
Abortion
CERM believes that human life begins at conception and that
the
unborn child is a living human being. Abortion
constitutes the unjustified, inexcusable taking of unborn human
life.
Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of
pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender
selection,
birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the
mother
are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24;
49:1,
5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
Missions
CERM believes that God has given the church a great
commission to
proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a
great
multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language
group
who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ
we
must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and
not
wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke
24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:20)
Lawsuits Between Believers
CERM believes that Christians are prohibited from bringing
civil
lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve
personal
disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources
necessary
to resolve personal disputes between members.** (See Footnote at
Bottom of Page).
Giving
CERM believes that every Christian, as a steward of that
portion
of GodŐs wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his
local church financially. We believe that God has established
the
tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should
also
give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support
of
the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the
Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to
direct
the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.
(Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians
16:2; II
Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy
5:17-18;
I John 3:17)
** The Holy Scriptures
There are many arguments against the
KJVO
movement. CERM has written a rebuttal in
this article.
** Lawsuits Among
Believers
CERM does not believe that a Christian may
seek
compensation for injuries from another Christian's insurance
company
as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (I
Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)