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| Contact Us |
Mailing address:
P.O. Box 484
Blenheim, New Zealand
Phone:
03-578-9990
Email:
pastor@mbbc.org.nz
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What
We Believe
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The Scriptures:
We believe that the Bible is the literal and completed word of God. We believe that the Bible is verbally inspired, the product of Spirit-filled men and is preserved for us today without error in the Authorized Version of 1611. We believe the Bible to be the sole standard of conduct for the believer and to have only one correct interpretation which may be revealed to any believer by the Holy Spirit.
The True God:
We believe that there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. We believe that in the Godhead there are three persons - The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost - equal in every divine perfection and yet executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
The Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy
Spirit is equal with God the Father and God
the Son and of the same nature; that He was
active in creation; that He convicts of sin,
of righteousness, and of judgment; that He
bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in
our preaching and testimony; that He is the
agent of the new birth; that He seals, fills,
leads, intercedes, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies,
and comforts the believer.
Jesus Christ:
We believe that Jesus
Christ was begotten by the Holy Ghost in a
miraculous manner, born of a virgin; and that
He is both completely man and completely God.
He was subject to temptation, yet was without
any sin. He is the Messiah for Israel, the
Savior of the world, the only way any man
can come to God the Father for forgiveness
of sins and everlasting life. He is to be
worshipped and glorified as the LORD.
Satan:
We believe that Satan
was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors
but through pride and ambition to be like
God, fell and drew after him a host of angels.
He is now the prince of the power of the air
and the unholy god of this world. We hold
him to be a real and literal being responsible
for all evil in the world. His final destiny
will be the Lake of Fire.
The Creation:
We believe the Genesis
account of creation to be a literal, historical
account of the direct creative acts of God
in the person of Jesus Christ without any
evolutionary processes. We hold that man is
made up of a body, soul and spirit with all
men being descended from the historical Adam
and Eve, the first parents of the human race.
The Fall of Man:
We believe that man was
created in a state of innocence by his Creator,
but by voluntary and willful disobedience
Adam sinned bringing death and sin into the
human race. As all men since Adam are partakers
of his fallen nature, all men are sinners
by nature and by conduct and therefore are
under just condemnation, without defense or
excuse.
Salvation:
We believe that Jesus
Christ atoned for our sins on the cross with
His shed blood; this atonement was not limited,
but is effectual for any sinner accepting
it by faith. We believe that the new birth
is the regenerative act of the Holy Spirit
upon a sinner when he repents of his sins
and believes the gospel according to the Scriptures,
receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal
Savior. We believe that salvation is by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ and is in no
way dependent upon our own works or merits.
As a result of the new birth, the sinner is
made a new creature in Christ receiving eternal
life as a free gift of God; salvation makes
one a son of God and this relationship is
eternally secure.
Eternal Destiny of Man:
We believe in the bodily
resurrection of the just and the unjust; the
everlasting blessedness of the saved in heaven
and the literal, eternal punishment of the lost
in the Lake of Fire.
The Church:
We believe in the unity
of all true believers in the Church which
is the Body of Christ, which was established
on the Day of Pentecost, and that all believers
are added to this Church by the baptism of
the Holy Spirit at the exact time that they
trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. We believe
that this Church is only manifested practically
through the local church which is a congregation
of immersed believers associated by covenant
of faith; observing the ordinances of Christ;
governed by his laws in accordance with Pauline
revelation; and that its officers are pastors
and deacons, whose qualifications and duties
are clearly defined in Scripture. We believe
the true mission of the church is for the
edification, perfection, exhortation, and
comfort of its members in spiritual matters;
the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men
as we have opportunity. We hold that the local
church has the absolute right of self-government
free from any hierarchy of individuals or
organizations; that the one and only head
of the local church is the pastor, just as
Jesus is the Head and Chief Shepherd over
the entire church; that it is scriptural for
true churches to cooperate with one another
in contending for the faith and for the furtherance
of the gospel; that each local church is the
sole judge of the measure and method of its
cooperation; and that on all matters of membership,
policy, government, discipline and benevolence,
the will of the local church is final.
Baptism and the
Lord's Supper: We
believe that Christian baptism is the immersion
of the believer in water, by the local church,
to show forth in a like figure our submission
to, and faith in, the crucified, buried and
risen Savior, through Whom we died to sin
and rose to new life. We hold that only one
scriptural baptism is necessary in the life
of any believer and that baptism is a prerequisite
to the privileges of church membership. We
believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration
of His death until He comes, and should be
preceded always by serious self-examination
and confession.
Spiritual
Gifts, Miracles, Signs and Wonders:
We believe that the gifts
of the Spirit from I Corinthians chapter twelve
are given, today, for the ministry to all
parts of the Body of Christ with the exception
of those gifts which are specifically called
"signs." Those gifts which are signs, wonders
or miracles given by the Spirit during the
beginning of the church in the book of Acts
were for these purposes: 1) to identify an
apostle; 2) to get the Jews to listen to the
gospel or to believe new revelation; and 3)
to confirm new revelations from God before
the completion of the written scriptures.
Since there are no apostles alive today, since
our ministry is almost exclusively to Gentiles,
and since we have a completed Bible, we reject
the use today of the supernatural sign gifts,
such as tongues or divine healings (we do
believe that God can and does heal in accordance
with his divine will through faith and confession).
We believe that any other signs or wonders
today are heresy and "lying signs and wonder"
produced by either Satanic powers or by self-delusion.
Things to Come:
We believe in the personal,
imminent, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial
return of the Lord Jesus Christ to catch up
to Himself the church. We believe that the
church will stand before the Judgment Seat
of Christ in heaven where the individual Christian's
works and motives will stand the test of fire
for reward or loss. Simultaneously, those
on earth will be undergoing the seven years
of tribulation determined upon the nation
of Israeland the world. Christ will return
at the end of the tribulation to judge the
nations and establish his earthly kingdom
for 1000 years. Following this will be the
last, great judgment of the Great White Throne
where all of the unconverted since Adam will
be judged according to their works to determine
their degree of punishment in the Lake of
Fire. God will then destroy the earth by fire
making a New Heaven and a New Earth.
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