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Adopted by the Conference on June 26, 2008
"The Evangelical Free Church of America is an
association of autonomous churches united around these
theological convictions:
God
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things,
holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a
loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless
knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously
purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself
and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures,
both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human
authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible
is without error in the original writings, the complete
revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate
authority by which every realm of human knowledge and
endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be
believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it
requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His
image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union
with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by
choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only
through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be
rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate,
fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures.
Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through
the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a
sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose
bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at
the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and
Advocate.
The Work of Christ
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our
representative and substitute, shed His blood on the
cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our
sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection
constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He
does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the
world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him
they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as
heirs in the family of God. He also indwells,
illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for
Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who
have been justified by God's grace through faith alone
in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in
the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true
church is manifest in local churches, whose membership
should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus
mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper,
which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though
they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by
the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm
and nourish the believer.
Christian Living
8. We believe that God's justifying grace must not be
separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God
commands us to love Him supremely and others
sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for
one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for
the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and
fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the
spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s
commission, we are to make disciples among all people,
always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s Return
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and
premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands
constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates
the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and
energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
10. We believe that God commands
everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to
Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge
the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and
eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal
blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and
the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace.
Amen."
-text from
www.efca.org/about/doctrine
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