Making no apologies for its belief in the infallibility of the Bible,

 

Southland Bible Institute stresses the necessity of believing what the Bible teaches.

 

 

Article II: We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and practice, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21.

 

Article III: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man.

We believe that through His virgin birth He received a human body and a sinless human nature; and in practice, He was sinless throughout His life.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice, and that our redemption is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Luke 1:30-35; Matthew 1:18-25; Romans 3:24- 25; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5; 2:24.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in Heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate. Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; I John 2:1-2.

We believe in that "Blessed Hope," the personal imminent pretribulational coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and His premillennial return to the earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial Kingdom. Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6

 

Article IV: We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature and consequent alienation from God; and man is totally depraved and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace, and received by personal faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18- 19

We believe that all who are born of the Spirit through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ are secure in Christ forever. John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Peter 1:3-5; I John 5:13.

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life in heaven, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in hell. Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26: Revelation 20:5, 6, 13.

 

Article V: We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims of eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. Romans 6:13; 8:12-13: Galatians 5:16- 25: Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-15: I John 3:5-9.

 

Article VI: We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age. I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27.

We believe that establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, and that active participation in the local church is commanded for every believer. Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has left two ordinances to be observed by the local churches - water baptism by immersion and the observance of the Lord's Table. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41, 46-47; I Corinthians 11:23-32.

 

Article VII: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead, and that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, enabling them to maintain a consistent Christian walk; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; I John 2:20-27; Romans 8:5-13, 26-29.

 

Article VIII: We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts, and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.

We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism nor of the filling of the Spirit. Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-16.

We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith in accordance with His will on the behalf of the sick and the afflicted, but we believe the complete deliverance from bodily infirmity or death must await resurrection. John 15:7; I John 5:14-15.  

 

Article IX; We believe that it is the obligation of every born-again believer to bear witness, both by life and word, to the truths revealed in the Word of God, and to proclaim the Gospel to the world. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:19-20.

 

Article X: We totally reject the modern ecumenical movement, and other trends toward modern liberalism as not in harmony with the teachings of the Word of God. Romans 16:17; Ephesians 5:11; Galatians 1:6-9; II Corinthians 6:17- 18; Amos 3:3. 

 

Article XI: We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spiritual beings known as angels who are sent forth as ministering spirits to believers. Hebrews 1:13- 14; Revelation 7:11-12; Psalm 91:11.

We believe that Satan, as a person, was created as an angel and that he, and a number of other angels, fell.

We believe that he is the enemy of God and the people of God, and that his ultimate end is the lake of fire. Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Revelation 20:7-10; Ephesians 6:11-13; I Peter 5:8.