What We Believe

 

  
The Bible – We believe the Bible to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and is infallible and the authoritative Word of God. 
(II Peter 1:20, 21; II Timothy 3:16, 17)
   

God –

We believe in the triune God, Creator and Sovereign Lord of all that exists, eternally self-existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Each person of the Godhead is equal in being, nature, and power.
(Matthew 28:19; Romans 11:33 – 36)
   
Jesus – We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He is fully God and fully man without sin.  He was crucified, dead, buried and on the third day, He rose bodily.  The shedding of His blood is sufficient for the salvation of all mankind. 
(Matthew 1:8; Romans 8:33, 34)
   

The Holy Spirit –

We believe that the Holy Spirit is Himself God, the third person of the Trinity.  He was sent into the world to convict the world of sin, Righteousness, and judgment.  At the moment on conversion, the Spirit regenerates believers, indwells them and baptizes them into the body of Christ.  He imparts gifts to each Christian, as He chooses, for the edification of the Church. 
(John 16:8 – 11; I Corinthians 12:1 – 13)
   

Human Nature –

We believe Adam and Eve were created by a direct act of God in God’s own image.  When they disobeyed God, they were judged and punished with physical and spiritual death.  As descendants of Adam, all human beings inherit this sinful condition and its consequences, are guilty before God, and are totally unable to approach God or to be reconciled to Him on their own merit. 
(Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12)
   

Salvation –

We believe that salvation, found in Christ alone, provides forgiveness of sin and reconciliation to God.  It was purchased by the sufficient substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  It is offered by grace to all people and must be personally received by repentance and faith as God’s gift, apart from any human effort.  In salvation, all believers receive the righteousness of Christ and eternal life. 
(John 3:16 – 21; Ephesians 2:8 – 10)
   

The Church –

We believe that the Church is divinely ordained of God to fulfill His mission in the world.  The church is called by God to evangelize every nation and people and to be salt and light to this lost world. 
(Acts 2:41 – 47; Hebrews 10:24, 25)
   
Angels – We believe in the reality of the fallen angel, Satan, a created being who rebelled and chose to be the enemy of God and mankind.  Satan has a host of demons that are also fallen angels to do his work.  Although powerful in this age, Satan and his angels are doomed by the sacrificial death of Christ.  More numerous are the angels of God that serve Him to accomplish His work and worship Him.           
(Isaiah 14:12 – 15; Hebrews 1:14)
   
The future – We believe in the visible and personal return of Jesus Christ in order to culminate history.  At the appointed time, the dead shall be raised and all mankind shall appear before the Lord to give an account.  Believers in Christ will be transformed and enjoy everlasting life in the presence of their Lord.  Unbelievers will be condemned to everlasting, conscious punishment, forever separated from God. 
(I Thessalonians 4:13 – 18; II Thessalonians 1:6 – 9)
   

Ordinances –

We believe in a believer’s baptism by immersion.  It is a public declaration of one’s faith.  We believe that Communion is a symbolic celebration and remembrance of our Lord’s work of salvation.  It is an act of worship that sustains one’s faith. 
(Romans 6:1 – 6; I Corinthians 11:23 – 26)
 
 
 

WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN?
 

Today, many people use the term “Christian” to describe their spiritual orientation.  Unfortunately, the title has a wide range of meaning in American culture.  So we thought it would be a good idea if we told you what we at Bible Fellowship Church of Ephrata mean when we call ourselves “Christians.”
 

A simple definition of a Christian is “one who has accepted Jesus Christ as his or her personal savior and is devoted to following Him.”  This definition has two basic elements: faith in Jesus and following Jesus.
 

Faith in Jesus  When we say that we are people who have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior, we are saying that we believe Jesus is God and came to earth as a man in order to initiate and pay for a relationship between Himself and humanity.  He voluntarily died on a cross to pay the bill for us to go to heaven and be with Him forever.  This gift is offered to whoever accepts it by faith.  Faith simply means to “trust.”  To accept Christ’s offer by faith means we trust that the death of Jesus alone pays our way to heaven.  We have accepted his gift of eternal life
 

Following Jesus  Since we believe Jesus is God and has shown us such incredible love, we have committed to following His lead in our lives through Bible study and prayer.  We believe the Bible is God’s instruction book for life and its guidance is perfect, so we try to understand the world through its principles.  We also believe that God uses prayer as a powerful form of communication to give guidance to us about the issues of life we all face.
 

For more on how to become a Christian, click on Salvation Plan on the bar underneath the church name.  If you have further questions or would like to talk to someone about your decision, please call the church office at 717-733-2526.
 

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