The Doctrinal Statement of Plattsmouth Bible Church

The Bible

The Bible, consisting of both Old and New Testaments in their entirety, is the only divinely inspired, inerrant, truthful and authoritative written Word of God, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The divine inspiration of Scripture extends only to the original manuscripts and not to the various copies and translations of Scripture.  The Bible should be interpreted literally, grammatically, contextually and historically.

God

There is one infinite, personal God, the Creator, eternally existing in three persons, revealed in Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, conceived in the flesh by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man.  Jesus Christ lived a sinless human life, was crucified, and died to pay for the sin of all mankind.  He was buried and three days later He rose bodily from the dead by the power of God. Jesus appeared to many people after His resurrection and then ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father where He is our only Mediator, High Priest and Advocate.

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God, a person, not a force.  The Holy Spirit’s ministries include convicting all men of sin, calling, regenerating, indwelling, and baptizing all believers into the body of Christ.  The Holy Spirit sets believers apart to holy lives, teaching, keeping, and empowering them day by day. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, living the life of Jesus the Son who lives the life of God the Father. The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to each believer according to His will. We do not seek after particular gifts nor do we prohibit particular gifts, but we believe God, in His sovereignty, like in the earthly life of the Lord Jesus, can use any of the gifts according to His desire.

ManKIND

Mankind was created in the image of God to both enjoy a personal relationship of love with Him and to bear His image in the world.  The first man sinned and destroyed the possibility of that relationship.  All offspring of Adam, the first man, are consequently sinners. Since no sinner can attain God’s standard of perfection, mankind is separated from God, spiritually dead in his sin.  The judgment for sin is eternal separation from God in the lake of fire, a place of eternal torment.

Salvation

God made it possible for the relationship between Him and any of mankind to be restored by only one way:  The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ on the cross is the satisfactory payment for mankind’s sinfulness.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ provides for the restoration of that relationship. A person must trust in Jesus Christ alone to obtain the free gift of salvation.  Once a person has trusted in Christ alone for salvation, that person is unable to remove himself or to be removed from that relationship for all of eternity.

Sanctification

Every true believer is given a perfect standing before God and can experience holiness in this life as Jesus Christ lives His life in that person through the indwelling Spirit.

The Church

The Church, referred to as the body of Christ in the Bible, is made up of all people in the world and throughout all history who have trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Christians, being members of the universal Church, should submit themselves as citizens of God’s Kingdom to a local church for worship, accountability, growth, fellowship, and service.  The Church is God’s chosen instrument to make known to the world the possibility of a restored relationship with God.

Satan

Satan is a real created spiritual being who is the author of sin, our adversary, our accuser, and the great deceiver.  Satan is diametrically opposed to the things of God but is in no way God’s opposite (God being far beyond any comparison or equal). The Bible tells of Satan’s certain defeat by the Lord Jesus Christ and his eternal punishment in the lake of fire.

Future Events

A literal time of great tribulation is coming at the end of the present age.  After this terrible period, Christ will return in power and glory to judge the wicked and establish His Millennial Kingdom literally on earth. At a time known only to God the Father, Jesus will catch away His Church from the earth so that they will not suffer God’s wrath when it is poured out before His glorious coming. The Millennial Kingdom will be followed by the judgment of all who have not trusted Christ for salvation. Those people will be separated from God, cast into the eternal lake of fire with no hope of relief.  After that comes the creation of a new heaven and new earth, which will be the eternal home, with the Lord Jesus, of all who have trusted Christ alone for salvation.

Plattsmouth Bible Church is part of the Berean Fellowship of Churches - check out the BFC website at www.weareberean.org