CONSTITUTION
OF THE
ST. LOUIS
CHINESE GOSPEL CHURCH
ARTICLE I NAME
The name of this church is
St. Louis Chinese Gospel Church
ARTICLE II PURPOSE
The purpose of this church
is to bring honor and glory to God and to reconcile man to Him among the Chinese
Community in Greater Saint Louis through:
¡¤ the obedient and holy
worship of God which brings individual and congregational adoration;
¡¤ the proclamation of the
gospel to non-believers which brings conviction by the Holy Spirit to accept
Christ as their personal Savior;
¡¤ the teaching of the whole
counsel of God as found in the Holy Scriptures which brings growth of the body
of Christ in both maturity and number;
¡¤ and mutual exhortation and
fellowship which brings a unified and disciplined body where God¡¯s living
presence may be seen and experienced.
ARTICLE III DOCTRINAL
STATEMENTS
1. SCRIPTURE --
We
believe that the Holy Scriptures both Old and New Testaments, is God-breathed;
it is the only authoritative and infallible Word of God. II Tim. 3:16,17; II Peter 1:21; John
10:35, 12:47,48
2. GOD --
We
believe in one God who is Creator and Ruler of heaven and earth, eternally
existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Gen. 1:1; Isaiah 44:6;
Matt. 28:19, 3:16,17; II Cor. 13:14; Deut. 6:4
3. CHRIST --
We
believe in the Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life,
miracles, inerrant teachings, substitutionary death and atonement, bodily
resurrection and ascension to the right hand of God. I Cor. 15:1-4;
I Tim. 3:16; Acts
1:11; Matt. 1:22,23; Phil 2:8; I Cor. 15:3,4
4. HOLY SPIRIT --
We
believe in the Holy Spirit who reproves the world of sin; by whose conviction
the sinner is regenerated; by whose indwelling the Christian is sanctified and
empowered to live a Godly life.
Acts 26:18; I Cor.
2:10,12; Eph. 1:17, 18; Phil. 2:13, 4:13; II Cor. 3:5
5. MAN --
We
believe man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam¡¯s sin
(being tempted by Satan) the race fell, inherited a sin nature; became
alienated from God, and is in a total depraved state thus requiring salvation
for reconciliation. Gen. 1:26,27,
2:7; Isaiah 53:6; Rom. 1:18-3:23, 5:12,18,19; John 3:3,5,7; II Cor. 5:17-19
6 SALVATION --
We
believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary
sacrifice. All who receive Him by
faith as Lord and Savior are justified wholly on the ground of His shed blood
and are born anew of the Holy Spirit into the family of God. Rom. 5:8, 3:24; John 1:12,13; Eph. 2:8,9;
Rom. 6:23; Titus 3:5
7. CHURCH --
We
believe that the true Church, the Body of Christ, is composed of all those who
have been regenerated and to it is given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances
of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints in fulfillment of
Christ¡¯s great commission. John
17:20-22; I Cor. 12:12,13; Gal.4:26-29; Matt. 28:19,20;
Luke 24:46-48
8. CHRISTIAN LIFE --
We
believe that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the grace of God is
available and sufficient for all believers, and that all of us should live
soberly, righteously and godly in this present world; we are under the command
of the Lord Jesus Christ to be witnesses by word and deed, proclaiming the
gospel to all the world. II Cor.
12:9, 9:8; Titus 2:12; I Cor. 10:13¡¯ Matt. 28:19
9. CHRIST¡¯S RETURN --
We
believe in the imminent, visible, personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in
power and glory. John 14:1-3; I Thess. 4:14-17
10 ETERNAL DESTINY --
We
believe in the resurrection of the saved and the lost, of the eternal
blessedness of the saved and conscious punishment of the lost. Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:29; Rev. 20:15