Statement of Faith
Northwest Bible Ministries, Inc.
The following statement of faith was adopted in January, 1985.
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the sole authority for faith and life, inerrant, infallible and God breathed in the original writing, and has been providentially preserved in its transmission to us today (2 Tim. 3:16 & 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Matt. 5:18).
The Godhead
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each one perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 6:3; 40:3-5, 28; 43:10; 63:16; 64:8; Matt.28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Rom. 11:33-36; 1 Cor. 1 :30; Eph. 3:20; 1 Peter 1:16).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that God the Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, who was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man, that He died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all that believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood, that He was resurrected in His crucified body and ascended into Heaven, that He is there for us as High Priest, Intercessor and Advocate. We believe in the personal, bodily, visible and premillennial advent of our Lord Jesus Christ in the glory of His Father to set up on the earth a kingdom in which He shall reign in righteousness and peace (John 1:1-18; 1 Cor. 15; Her. 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 7:25; Rev. 19:11-20:3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Phil. 3:20-21).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from God to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgement, to regenerate, to sanctify, to empower, and to comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ. He also baptizes all believers at the time of their conversion into the body of Christ, and seals each believer unto the day of redemption, indwelling Him and witnessing with the believer’s spirit that he is a child of God (John 16:4-15; Rom. 8:1-11, 16; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19-20; 12:12-24; 2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14).
The Sinful State of Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God but in Adam’s sin the human race fell, incurring not only physical death but also the death of the spirit, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. We further believe that all born-again believers still possess the fallen Adamic nature in this life, but that God has made full provision whereby His children may be more than conquerors through the Lord Jesus Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit who dwells in each one (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7, 17; chapter 3; 5:3; 9:3-6; Rom. 1:18-32; 3:10-23; 5:12-14; Eph. 2:1-3; Ps. 14:1-4; John 3:6; Rom. 8; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
Salvation
We believe that whosoever by faith, apart from works of any kind, receives the Lord Jesus Christ as his Savior, is saved from the penalty of sin and is at the moment of believing, born into God’s family by the Holy Spirit, that all true believers are kept eternally saved (John 1:12; 3:4-7; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 5:11-13; Rom. 6:11-13; 8:1-2, 12, 13, 38-39; Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Peter 1:14-16).
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12, 17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, and that separation from all religious apostasy, sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God. (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John verses 9-11; 2 Cor. 6:14; 7:1).
Evangelism
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. (Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19-20).
The Church
We believe that the church, which is called the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born again believers of this age, irrespective of organizational affiliation.We believe in the local church as a representation of the universal body of Christ. We also believe in the sovereignty of the local church as founded under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and under the leadership of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:2-33; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Matt. 16:18).
Eternal State
a. We believe in the sole bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26 Rev. 20:5, 6, 12-13).
b. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Rev. 2:4-6; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17).
c. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body re-united they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude verses 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).