Our Beliefs
Lyndon Bible Church is committed to the following statements:
General
Lyndon Bible Church accepts the authority of the entire Word of God, the Bible, the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (Ps. 119:105; 2 Tim. 3:16)
1) The Bible
We believe the Bible is God’s Word provided for us by His inspiration of various human writers. In the original text of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, within the personalities and cultural backgrounds of the writers, selected each and every word. In English language translations where scholars have worked faithfully under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God’s Word is made available to us. We recognize the Bible to be the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:13; Col. 3:16; 1 Thess. 2:3; 2 Pet. 1:3-4, 1:21)
2) God
We believe there is one God, the sovereign and eternal Spirit, who is revealed to us in the Bible as three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, always acting in complete harmony. All are equally God, infinite in power, knowledge and wisdom. Although no human can fully comprehend the threefold nature of God, we accept the Biblical teaching with unreserved faith. (Matt. 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)
A. As Father, He is the unseen supreme Head of all things, acting according to His own will and pleasure. He exercises Fatherly love, discipline, care and guidance to all who are His children. (Deut. 6:4; Jn. 4:24)
B. As Son, He is the exact representation of God to us, and the only Mediator between God and man. The name Jesus, meaning Savior, was given to Him when He came into this world begotten by the Holy Spirit as the child of a virgin, Mary, thus becoming the eternal God-man. His sinless life as a man qualified Him to be our Savior. His substitutionary death, burial and bodily resurrection from the dead and ascension back to heaven and exaltation at God’s right hand accomplished the ransom (payment) our sin deserved from a Holy God. Thus, it provided the atonement for our sin, the propitiation (satisfaction) of God’s wrath, the redemption from the bondage of sin and Satan’s domain, and imputed His righteousness to us (justification). The title Christ describes one who is separated to God and who is qualified to fulfill God’s purpose. It also identifies Him as the long-awaited Messiah of the Old Testament. The title Lord describes His sovereign rule over all creation. (Matt. 16:16; Jn. 1:1,14, 10:30-38, 14:6,9; Col. 2:9; Rom. 5:1-2; 2 Cor. 5:21)
C. As Holy Spirit, He is the active agent in the work of the Father and the Son, including creation of the world, inspiration of the Bible, the birth of Jesus, the conviction and conversion of man, the sealing and spiritual gifting of believers, and the formation of the Church. He lives within each born-again believer (indwells) to empower (fill), to teach, to guide and to comfort. Every believer is given at least one spiritual gift which is to be used in accordance with Scripture for the mutual building up of the body of Christ. (Gen. 1:2; Jn. 16:8-11; Acts 1:8, 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Pet. 1:21; I Cor. 12-14; Rom. 12:3-8; I Pet. 4:10-11; Eph. 4:7-14).
3) Creation
We believe the universe and all that is contained in it, including the human family, is the creation of God. It continues to exist for His pleasure and purposes, and only by His power and authority. (Gen.1:1; Jn. 1:3; Acts 17:24-28; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3; Rev. 4:11)
4) Humankind
We believe Adam and Eve, the first human beings, were created equally in the image of God as male and female. As created, they were declared to be very good and enjoyed fellowship with their Creator. Adam was given the position of head over the entire creation on earth. However, because he exercised his choice to disobey God’s command, he sinned, was separated from God and was helpless to restore fellowship with God. As a sinner, he has passed his sinful nature on to the entire human race. It is because of sin that everyone must die. If God had not intervened, the entire human race would have been doomed to eternal separation from God. (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:21-23, 3:17-19; Rom. 5:12; Heb. 9:27)
A. Marriage We believe marriage is a good gift from God who alone designed it and defined it to model the relationship of Christ and the Church and for the blessing of the human family. God’s design for marriage according to Scripture is to be a complementary one flesh covenant between one man (born a male) and one woman (born a female) until death. Their sexual union is for the purpose of procreation, mutual pleasure, and the protection of the marriage partners and family. All other relationships and unions other than marriage between a man and a woman are contrary to God’s Word, will and blessing. (Gen. 1:26-28, 2:18-25; Eph. 5:21-23; Matt. 19:4-6; Mk. 10:6-9; Lev. 18:6-23; 20:10-21; Rom. 1:24-27; I Cor. 6:9-20, 7:1-5; I Thess. 4:3-8; Heb 13:4.)
B. Gender We believe all persons are created in God’s image and are made to glorify Him. God’s design for the human race was the creation of two distinct and complementary biological sexes, male and female which designate the fundamental distinction God has embedded in the very biology of the human race and form our true gender identity. Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles as ordained by God are part of the created order and should find expression in every human life. The fall of humankind into sin and God’s subsequent curse have introduced brokenness and futility into God’s good creation. We therefore affirm God’s good design that gender identity is determined by biological gender and not by one’s self-perception (a perception which is often influenced by fallen human nature in ways contrary to God’s design such as gender confusion, transgenderism, bisexuality, non-binary, intersexuality etc.). We extend love and compassion to all those whose self-understanding is shaped by a painful conflict between their biological gender and their perceived gender and invite them to trust in Christ and experience renewal in the Gospel and acceptance of their true God given biological gender identity. (Gen. 1:26-27; I Cor. 6:19-20, 10:31; 2 Cor. 4:15; Eph 1:12; 2 Pet. 1:3; Matt. 19:4; Mk. 10:6; Gen. 2:18-25; Eph. 5:21-33; I Tim. 2:8-15; Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 8:20-21; Eph. 4:17-19; Rom 1:26-27, 8:23; I Tim. 1:15-16; I Cor. 6:11)
5) Salvation
Salvation is provided by God’s grace alone, completely apart from any help or work by humankind. God demonstrated both His righteousness and His love for humankind by fully punishing sin through the death of His Son, so that He offers forgiveness to sinful humankind. Any person who will confess to being a sinner, and who will commit to faith in Jesus Christ alone, will receive forgiveness, eternal life, and restored fellowship with God. To commit to faith means to believe and personally accept Christ’s substitutionary death, burial and resurrection. This is what the Scripture refers to as being “born-again.” All believers are called into a life of separation from worldly and sinful practices and to a life of holiness and good works which are the natural result of the new birth. Refusal to accept God’s salvation leaves a person exposed to eternal wrath and separation from God. (John 3:6-8, 3:16; Acts 16:31; Rom. 5:6-11, 8:3, 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 2:11; Rom. 12:1-2; Phil. 2:12-13; Eph. 2:10; II Tim. 1:9; Jam. 2:17-20; I Pet. 1:15-16; I Jn. 2:3-6, 15-17; II Cor. 6:14; I Thess. 4:3)
6) The Church
All born-again believers in Jesus Christ, whether on earth or with the Lord, are united by the Holy Spirit into one church which is a spiritual organism with the Lord Jesus as its head. This universal church is the body of Christ into which all believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:13). As a local church, Lyndon Bible Church is a living organism of believers who have given a credible confession of faith, have been baptized, and have voluntarily associated to carry out the Biblical activities for local churches. These activities include worship of God, mutual care and love among members, prayer and teaching, spreading the Gospel, water baptism of believers, and celebration of the Lord’s Supper. Its officers are elders and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures (I Tim. 3; Titus 1:5-9.) All believers have equal standing before God, but Page 3 each one is gifted by the Lord to fulfill their part in the church. (Matt. 16:18, 28:18-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:23-26, 12:12-13; Eph. 1:22-23; Heb. 10:23-25)
7) The Ordinances
We believe that there are two basic Church ordinances: namely, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of believers in water, showing forth the believer’s identification in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is the remembrance of the Lord’s death until He comes, and should be observed only by believers after solemn self-examination. (Matt. 3:16; Acts 8:36-39; Rom. 6:3-6; I Cor. 11:23-29)
8) Angels, Demons, and Satan
Angels are spirit beings created by God before the creation of the world to act as God’s messengers in carrying out His will, and to worship Him. Satan, or Lucifer, was once the highest of all these angelic beings, but he became proud and sinned against God. Consequently, he lost his position, along with all those angels, also known as demons, who followed him in his sin. Satan and his demons now war against God and all those who are His, including believers, as he seeks to thwart God’s will and work. Although he is a creature and under God’s sovereign control Satan is a powerful enemy, against whom every believer should be on guard. (Gen. 3:22-24; Job 38:6-7; Isa. 6:1-11, 14:4-21; Ezek. 28; Eph. 6:10-20; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:14; Jam. 4:7; I Pet. 5:8-9)
9) Future Events
The Scriptures reveal that there will be a climax to earth’s history as God fulfills His purposes through a series of major events. Hope, encouragement, and warnings will be given to those who pay attention to and believe in God, but the merely curious will be disappointed. As He promised, the Lord Jesus Christ will come to take His Church from the earth, to judge each member’s deeds, and to celebrate His union with the Church as His bride. There will be a final judgement, at which those who have rejected the Lord Jesus will be punished, and new heavens and a new earth will be formed. Believers will be with Christ forever, while unbelievers will be in the Lake of Fire, separated from God forever. (Isa. 66:22; Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:21-30; Jn. 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:13-17; II Thess. 2:8; II Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 19:7-9, 20:1-6, 11-15; Jer. 30:7)