Salvation

We believe, owing universal death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again; and that no degree of reformation however great, no attainments in morality however high, no culture however attractive, no baptism or other ordinance however administered, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those thus saved are sons of God.  We believe, also, that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin and was made a curse for us, dying in our room and stead; and that no repentance, no feeling, no faith, no good resolutions, no sincere efforts, no submission to the rules and regulations of any church, nor all the churches that have existed since the days of the Apostles can add in the very least degree to the value of the blood, or to the merit of the finished work wrought for us by Him who united in His person true and proper deity with perfect and sinless humanity (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 26:28; John 3:7-18; Romans 5:6-9; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13, 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; I Peter 1:18-19, 23).

We believe the new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ and that repentance is a vital part of believing, and is no way, in itself, a separate and independent condition of salvation: nor are any other acts, such as confession, baptism, prayer, or faithful service, to be added to believing as a condition of salvation (John 1:12, 3:16, 18, 36, 5:24; 6:29; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Romans 1:16-17; 3:22, 26, 4:5, 10:4; Galatians 3:22).

We believe that when an unregenerate person exercises faith in Christ which is illustrated and described as such in the New Testament, he passes immediately out of the spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified from all things, accepted before the Father as Christ His son is accepted, loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him as one with Him forever.  Though the saved one may have occasion to grow in the realization of His blessings and to know a fuller measure of divine power through the yielding of his life more fully to God,  he is, as soon as he is saved, in possession of every spiritual blessing and is absolutely complete in Christ, and is therefore in no way required by God to seek a so-called “second blessing” or a “second work of grace” (John 5:24, 17:23; Acts 13:39, Romans 5:1; I Corinthians 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:10; I John 4:17, 5:11-12).