- DOCTRINAL STATEMENT -

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DWCM recognizes that it cannot CONTROL the consciences of individual members in areas where the Scripture does not speak directly, but that each believer is to be led by the Lord to whom they alone are ultimately responsible and accountable to. For the preservation of the peace and unity of the church, officers, teachers and leadership shall be in agreement with this Doctrinal Statement. All members should refrain from imposing doctrines that are not included in this Doctrinal Statement in such a way as to encourage doctrinal disputes which could destroy the peace and unity of this church. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to make Him known and to be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Section One – The Word of God and the Bible

WE BELIEVE the Bible, which includes the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, to be the divinely inspired, infallible, inerrant, supreme and final authoritative Word of the True and Living God for faith, life and living. We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, are the inspired, infallible Word of God. (Ps. 19:7-11; Luke 24:27; John 17:17; Acts 17:2-3; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; 3:15-16)

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Section Two – The Trinity of the Godhead

WE BELIEVE that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; and that these three are the one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection, and are worthy of the same homage, confidence, obedience, praise and worship. We believe God the Father is the personal, transcendent, and sovereign creator of all things. We believe Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us. After Jesus ascended to heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today. (Is. 48:16; Matt. 28:19; Mark 12:29; John 1:1,14; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:14)

 

Section Three – The Total Sinfulness of Man

WE BELIEVE that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned through disobedience and thereby incurred not only physical but also spiritual death, the later which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature; that all have fallen short of the glory of God; that humans express their sinful natures through thoughts, words and deeds; and that such humans, in and of themselves, cannot please God. (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 3:1-19; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 6:44,65; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 8:7-8; Eph. 2:1-3)

 

Section Four – The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

WE BELIEVE in the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, His absolute deity, His sinless humanity and perfect life, the eternal all-sufficiency of His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, and His ascension to the Father’s right hand where as the only mediator between God and man and it is He that makes intercession for us until He comes again. (Isa. 7:14; Isa. 9:6-7; Luke 1:30-35, 2:40; John 1:1-2,18; Romans 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:4; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:13-15; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:3; 2:14-18; 1 John 3:5)

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Section Five – The Blood Atonement of Jesus Christ

WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice. His shed blood is the redemptive price for sinful men, the only means of atonement for sin, and is appropriated by faith alone. (Lev. 17:11; Rom. 3:21-26; 5:6-8; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7, 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Heb. 9:22; 1 Pet. 1:18-19,23; 3:18)

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Section Six – Justification

WE BELIEVE that justification is a judicial act of God whereby He pardons the believer’s sin and declares the sinner righteous solely on the merits of Christ’s sacrificial death and shed blood. This is an act solely of God and is appropriated by faith in Jesus Christ alone. ( John 1:12; 3:7-8; Rom. 3:24,28; 4:4-5; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 2:8-10; Col. 1:13-15; Titus 3:5-6; 1 John 1:9)

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Section Seven – The New Birth (Regeneration)

WE BELIEVE the new birth, or regeneration, is the act of God which gives eternal life. He imparts to us a new nature that the Holy Spirit comes and abides in us and God puts/writes his laws on our hearts. We believe salvation is offered to all and all can partake in salvation regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. (John 1:12; 3:3-7; Rom 3:10,23; 2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 3:5; Heb. 10:16; 1 Peter 1:23)

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Section Eight – The Assurance of Salvation

WE BELIEVE God’s Word teaches the assurance of salvation and the keeping power of God for daily living to every born-again person and that this new life is eternal for the believer. (John 5:24; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:1, 28-39; 2 Cor. 5:1, 6-8; Phil. 1:6; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 John 5:13)

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Section Nine – The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

WE BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead; that He convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment; and that He regenerates, indwells, seals, enlightens, guides and empowers the believer. (John 3:6, 14:16-17, 16:7-15; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18)

 

Section Ten – The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

WE BELIEVE that each believer has sovereignly been given spiritual gift(s) by the Holy Spirit; that no believer is destitute of such a gift(s); that these gifts are for today and did not go away with the death of the Apostles. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to believers in order that they might minister to the rest of the body; reach out to the lost and that the Church has been given specific gifted believers whose purpose it is to equip the saints for their jobs of ministry and of building up the body of Christ. (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:7-12; 1 Peter 4:10)

 

Section Eleven – The Christian Walk

WE BELIEVE that all who are born again by the Holy Spirit are made partakers of the divine nature, and are called with a holy calling to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; and that they can be victorious over the flesh through the power of the Holy Spirit and thus not manifest the works of the flesh, which would dishonor Christ’s name, but manifest the fruit of the Spirit, which glorifies God. (Romans 6-8; Gal. 5:16-23; Eph. 1:3-14; 4:1-6:4; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Peter 1:3-4)

 

Section Twelve – Missions

WE BELIEVE that we should obey His command to carry out His commission to the whole world, carrying the message of the Gospel, by word and deed. (Matt. 28:18-19; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; Col. 4:5-6)

 

Section Thirteen – Ordinances

WE BELIEVE that there are two church ordinances, communion and baptism, which are the outward visible signs of inward spiritual reality and which were instituted and commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ for the Church.

 

Communion: The Church celebrates Communion with the use of bread and the cup (fruit of the vine), symbolizing the body and blood of Christ, in accordance with the accounts given in the Scriptures (Matt. 26:20-30; Mark 14:17-27; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Cor. 11:1-34). We believe that the Lord’s Supper should be an important part of the Church life and a priority for every believer. We observe communion frequently and regularly.

 

Baptism: Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is administered by immersion to born again believers (Matt. 28:18-19). Baptism is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ, a symbol of identification with Jesus Christ (Romans 6:4), and a public testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s inward work of regeneration (Matt. 10:32-33). Baptism does not impart salvation but follows salvation. (Acts 8:12; Ephesians 2:8-9) (Believer’s baptism by immersion is the official teaching position and practice in this church. We will consider accepting those who hold a different view of baptism, providing they agree not to make it a point of contention or division.)

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Section Fourteen – The Second Coming of Christ

WE BELIEVE in the personal, imminent, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ to this earth for His church, which is the blessed hope for which we should be constantly looking. (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14) We believe that Jesus Christ will fulfill Old Testament prophecy to the Nation of Israel by establishing His millennial kingdom on earth. We await the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, premillennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God’s Word, regular fellowship, and participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Communion. (Isa. 65:17-25; Zep. 3:11-13; Zech. 9:9-10; 14:16-21; Rev. 20:1-15) (While the official teaching position of this Church is pre-tribulational, those in fellowship need not necessarily subscribe to this aspect of prophetic interpretation. They must not, however, make their own view a point of contention or division of the body. We believe that the essential belief is the imminent bodily return of Christ, whereas the doctrine of the rapture has room for debate but not division.)

 

Section Fifteen – Heaven, Hell, and the Resurrection of the Saints

WE BELIEVE in the resurrection of the saints to eternal blessedness in heaven and the wicked to be raised to judgment, condemnation and eternal punishment in hell. (Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Luke 16:22-23; John 5:24,28-29; 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:16-23; 2 Cor. 5:6-8; Phil. 1:23; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 1 John 5:11-13; Rev. 20)

 

Section Sixteen – The Personality and Work of Satan

WE BELIEVE that Satan is a real and personal spiritual being and that, as the “prince of the power of the air”, he is now working in the children of disobedience. He uses demons and humans as agents in the execution of his ungodly purposes, and his final defeat is assured. (Isa. 14:12-27; Matt. 4:1-3; 2 Cor. 4:4; 11:3-4,13-15; Eph. 2:2; 2 Peter 2:4; Rev. 12:9; 20:10)