Conestoga Bible Camp
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STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe:

  • In one holy God, almighty, sovereign, perfect, creator of all things, existing forever in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is merciful, gracious, compassionate, and loving. He is also the righteous judge of all men. [1]
  • In the Lord Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary for His time on earth. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins, was buried, and rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven, was exalted by the Father and now intercedes as our high priest and advocate. [2]
  • In the Holy Spirit, who along with the Father and the Son, is God. The Spirit came to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, convict the world of sin, regenerate the believing sinner, and live in all Christians. He guides, instructs, empowers, and gives gifts to believers for godly living and for service in building up the body of Christ. [3]
  • In the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, as the inspired Word of God, which are entirely trustworthy and without error in the original writings. They are the complete revelation of God's will for the salvation of people and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and conduct. [4]
  • That mankind, who was created in the image and likeness of God, has sinned and is guilty before a holy God. Man is born in sin, but can be declared righteous before God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and be reborn by the Holy Spirit. [5]
  • In the substitutionary death of Christ. Faith in Him and His work provides the only ground for a sinner's justification and acceptance by God. All who repent of their sins and receive the Lord Jesus by faith are cleansed of their sin by His blood and are born of the Holy Spirit, becoming children of God. Those who are "born again" are sealed by the Spirit, have eternal life, are kept by the power of God, and shall never perish. [6]
  • That at any time, the Lord Jesus will return personally to take all believers to be with Himself forever. Following this, God will unleash His wrath on this rebellious world, Israel will be restored, and Christ will establish His millennial reign. [7]
  • In the bodily resurrection of the dead, of the believers to everlasting joy with the Lord in Heaven, and of the unbeliever to everlasting conscious judgment and exclusion from the presence of God. [8]
  • In water baptism as an outward expression of a believer's identification with Christ and commitment to follow Him. Our practice is to baptize by immersion, symbolizing the believer's death and burial with Christ and his being raised with Him to live a new life. [9]
  • The true Church is a living spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. The church is composed of all genuine Christians united by the Holy Spirit. Believers are to study the Scriptures and to meet for prayer, for spiritual instruction, for mutual fellowship, and for observance of the Lord's Supper. It is the responsibility and joy of each Christian to worship God in Spirit and in truth, to share the Good news of salvation through Christ, and to live an exemplary life, controlled by the Holy Spirit. [10]
  • That we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit who desires to produce spiritual fruit in our lives; however, we do not believe that in our present day, the Holy Spirit necessarily reveal Himself in exactly the same manner as He did in the early New Testament church. We believe that speaking in tongues and other special signs confirmed the divine authority of the apostles' message. The complete Scriptures, and not these signs, authoritatively confirm the truth of the Good News of Salvation that we are instructed to share with all men. [11]
  • That where there are differences of opinion or belief between believers over debatable issues, peace and unity should be guarded. Especially in doctrinal matters, submission to godly leadership out of love for Christ ought to be practiced. [12]

Scripture references:

[1] (Gen 1:1;Deut 6:4; 2 Sam 22:31; Neh 9:17; Job 41:11, 42:2; Prov 16:33, 21:1; Isa 6:3, 42:8, 48:11; Jer 10:10; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; 1 Pet 1:2; Rev 4:8, 6:8)

[2] (Isa 42:1-4; Matt 1:18-25; John 1:1-5, 10:30, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom 1:4, 8:43; 1 Cor 15:3,4; Heb 4:14-16, 7:24, 25, 9:24; 1 Pet 2:22, 3:18; 1 John 1:1, 14, 3:5)

[3] (John 14:16-26, 16:7-15; Acts 5:3,4; Rom 8:9; 1Cor 3:16, 6:19, 12:11; Gal 5:22, 23)

[4] (John 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 1Thess 2:13; 2 Pet 1:21)

[5] (Gen 1:27; Rom 3:10, 23, 5:12, 19; John 3:3-5; Tit 3:4-7)

[6] (Rom 3:21-26, 4:25, 5:6-10, 8:1, 10:9; John 3:16-18, 36, 5:24, 10:27-29; Eph 1:7-14; Tit 3:4-7; Heb 7:25, 1Pet 1:3-5)

[7] (John 14:2,3; Tit 2:13; 1Thess 4:13-17; 1Cor 15:23-25, 51-52; Matt 24:4-44; Isa 2:2-4, 11:1-10; Rom 11:25; Rev 1911-16, 20:1-6)

[8] (2Thess 1:6-10; 1Cor 15:12-58; Luke 16:19-31, 23:39-43; John 5:24-29, 14:1-3)

[9] (Matt 28:19; Rom 6:3,4; Col 2:12; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:12, 35-39, 16:31-33)

[10] (Eph 1:22-23; 5:1-17; Matt 16:18; 28:19-20; Col 1:18; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26, 12:12-27; Heb 10:24-25; John 4:23; 2Tim 2:15; Tit 2:7-8)

[11] (Eph 5:18; 1Cor 13:8-10; Mark 16:20; Gal 5:22-26)

[12] (Ps 133:1; Rom 16:17-18; Eph 4:1-3; 1Thess 5:12-15; Tit 3:1-3; Heb 13:7, 17; 1Pet 3:8, 5:5)