The fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith are precious to us. We hold to these doctrines in our membership, our teaching, and our fellowship.
The statements and policies below describe our doctrine and practice.
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
The Godhead
We believe in One Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – Co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Person and Work of Christ
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that Man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:2, 6, 27; Rom. 3:22-23, Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by repentant man through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 3:19; Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Rom. 6:13; Rom. 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col 3:10; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commended by God (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the gospel to all mankind (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19-20).
The Ministry of Spiritual Gifts
The Church
Ordinances
Dispensationalism
We believe in the dispensational view of Bible interpretation, but reject the extreme teaching known as “Hyper-Dispensationalism” such as the teaching which opposes either the Lord’s Table or water baptism as a Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-43; 18:8; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; 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; Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulation, and premillenial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and, in His subsequent return to the earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (1 Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).
The Eternal State
Associations
We believe that the Church should not associate its name, by giving support of any kind, with any who do not believe and obey the Word of God, (1 Cor. 5:1-13; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:5-11; 2 John 7-10) or with any who maintain supportive connections with any who do not believe and obey the Word of God (Matt. 18;15-17; Rom. 16:17; 2 Thess. 3:1-15; Titus 3:8-11; 2 John 11).
Marriage
We, the members of the Morrow Bible Church do covenant together, God helping us, that as strangers and pilgrims we will abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; that we will put away from us all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, and be kind one to another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven us; that as we have opportunity we will do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith; that we will remember them which have the rule over us, who speak unto us the Word of God; and that we will give as God hath prospered us; not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver.
I. Prospective missionary candidates should be able to give full assent to the statement of faith contained in our church constitution.
II. Such candidates should hold sympathetically and without reserve, the position of their home church with respect to complete separation from apostasy and any entanglements therewith. Those who could go as easily and without compunctions of conscience under the old-line denominational mission boards, could hardly qualify as taking the position of Morrow Bible Church in matters of Biblical separation. The Official Board will take into consideration the work and testimony of the individual in the home field as an indication of his or her attitude toward Scriptural separation.
III. It shall be expected that our prospective missionary candidates, desiring the prayerful and financial support of their home church, shall seek to go to the fields of their call under such missionary boards and agencies free from all connections with the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Christian Churches, and the National Association of Evangelicals or such other organizations as may work in harmony therewith.
The facilities of Morrow Bible Church were provided through God’s grace and by the sacrificial generosity of God’s people. The church desires that its facilities be used for the exaltation of God, edification of God’s people, and evangelism of the lost.
In no event shall persons or groups who hold, advance, or advocate beliefs, or advance, advocate, or engage in practices that contradict the statement of faith use any church facility. Nor may church facilities be used in any way that contradicts the statement of faith. This policy applies to all church facilities, regardless of whether the facilities are connected to the church’s sanctuary, because the church sees all of its property as holy and set apart to worship God (Prov. 3:6; Col. 3:17; Rom. 14:6-8; 1 Cor. 10:31).
The board of Elders must approve all uses of church facilities. Generally, priority shall be given to church members, their immediate families, and organized groups that are part of the ministry or sponsored activities of the church.
We use the King James Version as our standard translation for public settings to provide unity in memorization, public reading, and preaching. We have chosen the KJV because of its reliability as a translation and continued widespread acceptance among English-speaking Christians.
We believe the original writings were completely inspired and inerrant, and that copies and translations are only reliable insofar as they accurately reflect these original documents.
We believe God has preserved His Word for us today, but we cannot identify one set of manuscripts or a particular translation as perfectly preserved. Because the original writings are not available and there is no perfectly preserved single copy of those writings, we affirm the usefulness of manuscript comparison in determining the very best reading for a translator to use. While seeking to warn against the poor translation methods of many modern versions, we affirm the usefulness of good modern translations for Christians today.