The Scriptures

We believe that God gave us His Holy inspired Word through Holy men of God who penned the words that God spoke to them. The Bible is God’s inerrant Word to us, relevant in any age. Just as God never changes neither does His Word. God preserved His Word throughout the ages as it was being copied, recopied and eventually translated. The KJV is the only reliable, accurate and infallible Word of God in the English language.

The only True God

We believe that there is only one true God, the God of the Bible. This God is made up of three distinct but equal persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit). These three beings make up what we call the Trinity. God is known by many different names throughout the Bible each describing different aspects of His attributes. God created the world and everything in it. He is the Sustainer of the world and its inhabitants. As Creator and Sustainer God has the ultimate control over the world and is the one “with whom we have to do.” ( Heb. 4:13Heb. 4:13
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13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.  

WP-Bible plugin ). All of humanity will one day stand before God and account for themselves.

The Person of Jesus Christ

I believe Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, one of the members of the Triune Godhead. Jesus created all things including the universe, the earth and everything therein, and mankind. God foreknew that the inhabitants of the world would fall into sin and determined “before the foundation of the world” that Christ would be slain for the redemption of mankind. Christ was born of a virgin, lived a pure, sinless life, and died as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. He was crucified, buried, resurrected, ascended to the right hand of the Father and is coming again. Jesus is the only way to Heaven.

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the three members of the trinity, equal with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit was active in the creation of the world, moving “upon the face of the waters”. The Holy Spirit convicts the unbeliever of their lost and sinful state to bring them to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He regenerates, indwells, convicts of sin, leads in righteousness, sanctifies, empowers and emboldens every true Christian. I reject the cultic teaching that the Holy Spirit is just the “active force” of God the Father. We do not believe the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the church age but rather were exclusively for the apostolic age.

Satan

We believe Satan was created a beautiful cherub (Ezekiel 28:13-17Ezekiel 28:13-17
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13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. sardius: or, ruby beryl: or, chrysolite emerald: or, chrysoprase ¹⁴ Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁵ Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. ¹⁶ By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. ¹⁷ Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.  

WP-Bible plugin) and resided in Heaven prior to his sin against God in which he aspired to be greater than God. God then cast him out of Heaven along with the angels which sided with him. Satan and his fallen angels now inhabit this world, purposing to keep people from salvation, and attempting to cause the Christian to fall into sin (Matthew 4:1Matthew 4:1
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4 ¹ Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.  

WP-Bible plugin–3; Ephesians 6:11Ephesians 6:11
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11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  

WP-Bible plugin; I Peter 5:8r 5:8
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8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  

WP-Bible plugin). Some of his devises are to keep the Christian from being victorious and to give the Christian a poor testimony in the sight of the non-believers to try keep them from salvation. Satan can transform himself into “an angel of light” to seduce and keep non-believers in darkness (II Corinthians 11:13–15). At the end of the Millennial Kingdom Satan and his fallen angels will be cast into the Lake of Fire where they will be eternally punished (Revelation 20:10Revelation 20:10
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10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.  

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Creation

We believe that God created the heavens, the earth, and all its inhabitants with the Word of His mouth in six literal twenty-four hour days. He did not use a process of evolution (theistic or otherwise), but created the world according to the account recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. We believe that this account is historically, theologically, and scientifically true in every detail. We firmly reject any attempts of evolution to explain any part of the creation of the world and its inhabitants. God created the individual species which the Bible calls “kinds” and allowed for variations within these kinds. The Bible does not contradict true science but only the false theories of man which the Bible calls “science falsely so called” (I Tim. 6:20). Our beliefs on creation and evolution may appear uneducated but we belief they come from a faith in the written Word of God and an open mind towards the findings of science. We do not blindly believe all the conclusions of science as we believe they are often misread and bias often enters into the interpretations of these findings. We have seen so called evidence of evolution clearly repudiated. We are passionate about creation and welcome dialogue on the subject.

Mankind

We believe that God created mankind (Adam and Eve) in His image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-31Gen. 1:26-31
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26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. ²⁷ So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. ²⁸ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. moveth: Heb. creepeth ²⁹ And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. bearing...: Heb. seeding seed yielding...: Heb. seeding seed ³⁰ And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. life: Heb. a living soul ³¹ And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. And the evening...: Heb. And the evening was, and the morning was etc.  

WP-Bible plugin). They were created pure and sinless, but with a free will. Adam and Eve choose to disobey God’s commandment not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6Genesis 3:6
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6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. pleasant: Heb. a desire  

WP-Bible plugin–24) and as a result brought death upon themselves and all of their descendants (Romans 5:12, 19, 20Romans 5:12, 19, 20
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12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: for that: or, in whom ¹⁹ For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. ²⁰ Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:  

WP-Bible plugin). Because of this fall every person is a sinner by nature as well as a sinner by choice. Further, mankind is totally depraved – that is, sin has affected every part of his being. Each person carries a sin debt that he or she cannot pay. Man can either accept Christ’s atonement for his sin or spend eternity in Hell as a punishment for his sin. God has given sufficient spiritual light (John 1:7-9John 1:7-9
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7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. ⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.  

WP-Bible plugin) to man so that we are without defense or excuse (Romans 1:20Romans 1:20
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20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: so...: or, that they may be  

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Salvation

We believe that salvation is the divine rescue of individuals from the just penalty of sin, the power of sin, and ultimately the presence of sin. “Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver; in Whom we trust that He will yet deliver us” (II Corinthians 1:10). Salvation is by grace through faith alone, apart from any works that we can do; in God’s love and mercy He made a way of escape. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us…” (Titus 3:5Titus 3:5
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5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;  

WP-Bible plugin). To be saved is the same as being converted, born again, or redeemed. God wants all men to come to repentance and salvation (I Tim. 2:4, II Peter 3:9r 3:9
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9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; proved: Gr. charged  

WP-Bible plugin). We reject Calvinism and the belief that God has arbitrarily predetermined some people go to Hell. Jesus Christ willingly became the sacrifice for the sin of all mankind (I John 2:2John 2:2
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2 And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage.  

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The local church

The greek word for church is ekklesia, which means “a called out assembly”. We believe the New Testament church is a visible, called out, assembled, local body of baptized believers of which Christ is the head (Eph. 5:23Eph. 5:23
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23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.  

WP-Bible plugin), who regularly meet together to fulfill the purposes He has ordained for the church. Christ established the church (Matt. 16:18Matt. 16:18
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18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Peter: this name signifies a rock  

WP-Bible plugin), having bought it with his own blood (Acts 20:28Acts 20:28
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28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.  

WP-Bible plugin, Eph. 5:25Eph. 5:25
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25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;  

WP-Bible plugin). The duties of the local church are to evangelize the lost (Matt. 28:19-20Matt. 28:19-20
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19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teach...: or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.  

WP-Bible plugin, Acts 1:8Acts 1:8
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8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. power...: or, the power of the Holy Ghost coming upon you  

WP-Bible plugin), disciple (II Tim. 2:2), edify, and equip the believer. Each church should reproduce itself by planting new churches. Each local church is to be independent and autonomous and is to govern as they believe would honor and glorify the LORD. The church has two offices, pastor and deacon and two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s supper. Every member should submit to pastoral authority (Heb. 13:7, 17Heb. 13:7, 17
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7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. have the rule: or, are the guides ¹⁷ Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. have...: or, guide  

WP-Bible plugin), be subject one to another (I Peter 5:5r 5:5
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5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.  

WP-Bible plugin), financially support the church through tithes and offerings (Mal. 3:8-10Mal. 3:8-10
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8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. ⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. pour...: Heb. empty out  

WP-Bible plugin), and assist in the various ministries of the church (Eph. 4:12Eph. 4:12
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12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  

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Baptism & Communion

We believe Christ gave two ordinances for the local church: baptism and the Lord’s supper. Both ordinances can only be legitimately partaken of by believers in Christ. Baptism is the first step of obedience of the new Christian (Acts 2:41Acts 2:41
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41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.  

WP-Bible plugin) that publicly affirms that which has already taken place in his heart, namely, the dying to the old man, and being raised into newness of life (Rom.6:3-11). This action symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The believer is to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19
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19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teach...: or, make disciples, or, Christians of all nations  

WP-Bible plugin). Salvation does not accompany baptism, but baptism follows salvation (Acts 8:36-37, 18:8Acts 8:36-37, 18:8
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36 And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? ³⁷ And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. ³⁸ And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. ³⁹ And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. ^{9 1} And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, ² And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. of this way: Gr. of the way ³ And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴ And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶ And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ⁷ And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. ⁸ And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹ And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. ¹⁰ And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. ¹¹ And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, ¹² And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. ¹³ Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: ¹⁴ And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. ¹⁵ But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: ¹⁶ For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. ¹⁷ And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁸ And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. ¹⁹ And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. ²⁰ And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. ²¹ But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? ²² But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. ²³ And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: ²⁴ But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. ²⁵ Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. ²⁶ And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. ²⁹ And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. ³⁰ Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. ³¹ Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. ³² And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. ³³ And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. ³⁴ And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. ³⁵ And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. ³⁶ Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. Dorcas: or, Doe, or, Roe ³⁷ And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. ³⁸ And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. delay: or, be grieved ³⁹ Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. ⁴² And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner. ^{10 1} There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, ² A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. ³ He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. ⁴ And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. ⁵ And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: ⁶ He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do. ⁷ And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; ⁸ And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. ⁹ On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: ¹⁰ And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, ¹¹ And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: ¹² Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. ¹³ And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. ¹⁴ But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. ¹⁵ And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. ¹⁶ This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. ¹⁷ Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate, ¹⁸ And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. ¹⁹ While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. ²⁰ Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. ²¹ Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? ²² And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. ²³ Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and near friends. ²⁵ And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. ²⁶ But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man. ²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. ²⁸ And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean. ²⁹ Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me? ³⁰ And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ³¹ And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. ³² Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. ³³ Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. ³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: ³⁵ But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. ³⁶ The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: ³⁷ That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; ³⁸ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. ³⁹ And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: ⁴⁰ Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; ⁴¹ Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. ⁴² And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. ⁴³ To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. ⁴⁴ While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. ⁴⁵ And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. ⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, ⁴⁷ Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? ⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days. ^{11 1} And the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. ² And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him, ³ Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. ⁴ But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them, saying, ⁵ I was in the city of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: ⁶ Upon the which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. ⁷ And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat. ⁸ But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth. ⁹ But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. ¹⁰ And this was done three times: and all were drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ And, behold, immediately there were three men already come unto the house where I was, sent from Caesarea unto me. ¹² And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house: ¹³ And he shewed us how he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter; ¹⁴ Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. ¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. ¹⁷ Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? ¹⁸ When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. ¹⁹ Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. ²⁰ And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. ²¹ And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord. ²² Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch. ²³ Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. ²⁴ For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. ²⁵ Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: ²⁶ And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. with...: or, in the church ²⁷ And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. ²⁸ And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar. ²⁹ Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: ³⁰ Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. ^{12 1} Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. stretched...: or, began ² And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. ³ And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. ⁴ And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Easter: Gr. Passover quaternions: a file of four soldiers ⁵ Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. prayer...: or, instant and earnest prayer was made ⁶ And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. ⁷ And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison: and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. ⁸ And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. ⁹ And he went out, and followed him; and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city; which opened to them of his own accord: and they went out, and passed on through one street; and forthwith the angel departed from him. ¹¹ And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the Jews. ¹² And when he had considered the thing, he came to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark; where many were gathered together praying. ¹³ And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. to hearken: or, to ask who was there ¹⁴ And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. ¹⁵ And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. ¹⁶ But Peter continued knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished. ¹⁷ But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to the brethren. And he departed, and went into another place. ¹⁸ Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. ¹⁹ And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea, and there abode. ²⁰ And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon: but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired peace; because their country was nourished by the king's country. was highly...: or, bare an hostile mind, intending war the king's chamberlain: Gr. that was over the king's bedchamber ²¹ And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. ²² And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man. ²³ And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. ²⁴ But the word of God grew and multiplied. ²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark. ministry: or, charge ^{13 1} Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. which...: or, Herod's foster brother ² As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. ³ And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. ⁴ So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. ⁶ And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: ⁷ Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the sorcerer withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, ¹⁰ And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. ¹³ Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. ¹⁵ And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. ¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. ¹⁷ The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an high arm brought he them out of it. ¹⁸ And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. suffered...: or bore, or fed them as a nurse beareth, or feedeth, her child ¹⁹ And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Chanaan, he divided their land to them by lot. ²⁰ And after that he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. ²² And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. ²³ Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: ²⁴ When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose. ²⁶ Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. ²⁷ For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. ²⁸ And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. ²⁹ And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead: ³¹ And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. ³² And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, ³³ God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. ³⁴ And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. mercies: Gr. holy, or just things: which word the Septuagint in many places, uses for that which is in the Hebrew, mercies ³⁵ Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. ³⁶ For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: after...: or, after he had in his own age served the will of God ³⁷ But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. ³⁸ Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: ³⁹ And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; ⁴¹ Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. ⁴² And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath. the next...: Gr. in the week between, or, in the sabbath between ⁴³ Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. ⁴⁴ And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. ⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was published throughout all the region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost. ^{14 1} And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed. ² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren. ³ Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands. ⁴ But the multitude of the city was divided: and part held with the Jews, and part with the apostles. ⁵ And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them, ⁶ They were ware of it, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about: ⁷ And there they preached the gospel. ⁸ And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked: ⁹ The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, ¹⁰ Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked. ¹¹ And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. ¹² And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people. ¹⁴ Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, ¹⁵ And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein: ¹⁶ Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. ¹⁸ And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them. ¹⁹ And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. ²⁰ Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. ²¹ And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, had taught many: Gr. had made many disciples ²² Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed. ²⁴ And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia: ²⁶ And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. ²⁸ And there they abode long time with the disciples. ^{15 1} And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. ² When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. ³ And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. ⁴ And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. ⁵ But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. rose...: or, rose up, said they, certain ⁶ And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. ⁷ And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. ⁸ And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; ⁹ And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ¹¹ But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. ¹² Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them. ¹³ And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me: ¹⁴ Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. ¹⁵ And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, ¹⁶ After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: ¹⁷ That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. ¹⁸ Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. ¹⁹ Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: ²⁰ But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. ²¹ For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. ²² Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: ²³ And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia: ²⁴ Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: ²⁵ It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, ²⁶ Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. mouth: Gr. word ²⁸ For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; ²⁹ That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. ³⁰ So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: ³¹ Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation. consolation: or, exhortation ³² And Judas and Silas, being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed them. ³³ And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the apostles. ³⁴ Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still. ³⁵ Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also. ³⁶ And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. ³⁷ And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. ³⁸ But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. ³⁹ And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; ⁴⁰ And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. ⁴¹ And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. ^{16 1} Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek: ² Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. ³ Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek. ⁴ And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem. ⁵ And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. ⁶ Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, ⁷ After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. ⁸ And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. ⁹ And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. ¹⁰ And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them. ¹¹ Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis; ¹² And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days. the chief: or, the first ¹³ And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. sabbath: Gr. sabbath day ¹⁴ And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. ¹⁵ And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. ¹⁶ And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: of divination: or, of Python ¹⁷ The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. ¹⁸ And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. ¹⁹ And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers, marketplace: or, court ²⁰ And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, ²¹ And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. ²² And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. ²³ And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: ²⁴ Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. ²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. ²⁶ And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. ²⁷ And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. ²⁹ Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, ³⁰ And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? ³¹ And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. ³² And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. ³⁴ And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. ³⁵ And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go. ³⁶ And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace. ³⁷ But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. ³⁸ And the serjeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans. ³⁹ And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city. ⁴⁰ And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed. ^{17 1} Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: ² And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, ³ Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. whom...: or, whom, said he, I preach ⁴ And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. ⁵ But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. ⁶ And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; ⁷ Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus. ⁸ And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things. ⁹ And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go. ¹⁰ And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. ¹¹ These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. ¹² Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few. ¹³ But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people. ¹⁴ And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. ¹⁵ And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they departed. ¹⁶ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. wholly...: or, full of idols ¹⁷ Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him. ¹⁸ Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection. babbler: or, base fellow ¹⁹ And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? ²⁰ For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean. Areopagus: or, Mars' hill: it was the highest court in Athens ^{21 22} Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. Mars' hill: or, the court of the Areopagites ²³ For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. devotions: or, gods that ye worship ²⁴ God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; ²⁵ Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; ²⁶ And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; ²⁷ That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: ²⁸ For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. ²⁹ Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. ³⁰ And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: ³¹ Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. hath given...: or, offered faith ³² And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. ³³ So Paul departed from among them. ³⁴ Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others with them. ^{18 1} After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; ² And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; and came unto them. ³ And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. ⁴ And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. ⁵ And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. was Christ: or, is the Christ ⁶ And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. ⁷ And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. ⁸ And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. ⁹ Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: ¹⁰ For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. ¹¹ And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. continued there: Gr. sat there ¹² And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat, ¹³ Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. ¹⁴ And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: ¹⁵ But if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters. ¹⁶ And he drave them from the judgment seat. ¹⁷ Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things. ¹⁸ And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila; having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow. ¹⁹ And he came to Ephesus, and left them there: but he himself entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. ²⁰ When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; ²¹ But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. ²² And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up, and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. ²³ And after he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples. ²⁴ And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. ²⁶ And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. ²⁷ And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him: who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace: ²⁸ For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ. Christ: or, is the Christ ^{19 1} And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, ² He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. ³ And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. ⁴ Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. ⁵ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. ⁷ And all the men were about twelve. ⁸ And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. ⁹ But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. ¹⁰ And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. ¹¹ And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: ¹² So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. ¹³ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. ¹⁴ And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. ¹⁵ And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? ¹⁶ And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. ¹⁷ And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. ¹⁸ And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. ¹⁹ Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. ²⁰ So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed. ²¹ After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. ²² So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season. ²³ And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. ²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; ²⁵ Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. ²⁶ Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: ²⁷ So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. set at nought: or, brought into disrepute, or, contempt ²⁸ And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. ²⁹ And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. ³⁰ And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. ³¹ And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the theatre. ³² Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. ³³ And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people. ³⁴ But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. ³⁵ And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? a worshipper: Gr. the temple keeper ³⁶ Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. ³⁷ For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. ³⁸ Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. the law...: or, the court days are kept ³⁹ But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. lawful: or, ordinary ⁴⁰ For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. ⁴¹ And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. ^{20 1} And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. ² And when he had gone over those parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into Greece, ³ And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia. ⁴ And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus. ⁵ These going before tarried for us at Troas. ⁶ And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. ⁷ And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. ⁸ And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. ⁹ And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. ¹⁰ And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. ¹¹ When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed. ¹² And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. ¹³ And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. ¹⁴ And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. ¹⁵ And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios; and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at Trogyllium; and the next day we came to Miletus. ¹⁶ For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. ¹⁷ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. ¹⁸ And when they were come to him, he said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, ¹⁹ Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews: ²⁰ And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, ²¹ Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. ²² And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: ²³ Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. abide me: or, wait for me ²⁴ But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. ²⁵ And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. ²⁶ Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. ²⁷ For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. ²⁸ Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. ²⁹ For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. ³⁰ Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. ³² And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. ³³ I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. ³⁴ Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. ³⁵ I h

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The Lord’s supper is the second ordinance instituted by Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:26-30Matthew 26:26-30
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. blessed it: many Greek copies have gave thanks ²⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; ²⁸ For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹ But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. ³⁰ And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. hymn: or, psalm  

WP-Bible plugin) and was reinforced by the Apostle Paul (I Corinthians 11:23-43). Jesus Christ explained the bread to represent His body which was broken for us and the cup to represent the blood which He voluntarily shed for our sins. The “fruit of the vine” (Mark 14:22-26Mark 14:22-26
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
22 And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. ²³ And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. ²⁴ And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. ²⁵ Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. ²⁶ And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. hymn: or, psalm  

WP-Bible plugin) was non-alcoholic grape juice. The Lord’s table should be eagerly anticipated (Luke 22:13-20Luke 22:13-20
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
13 And they went, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. ¹⁴ And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: With desire...: or, I have heartily desired ¹⁶ For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. ¹⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: ¹⁸ For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. ¹⁹ And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. ²⁰ Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.  

WP-Bible plugin) and preceded by solemn self-examination (I Cor. 11:28r. 11:28
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
28 As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers' sakes.  

WP-Bible plugin). We believe in a “close” form of communion (as opposed to “open” or “closed” – Acts 20:7,11Acts 20:7,11
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. ¹¹ When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.  

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The eternal state of mankind

We believe there are two eternal states that await mankind, either Heaven or Hell. Those who have repented and trusted Christ as their Savior will be resurrected to life and enjoy the blessedness of Christ in Heaven (John 5:28-29John 5:28-29
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, ²⁹ And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.  

WP-Bible plugin). Those who have rejected Christ as their personal savior, dying in their sins, will be resurrected to damnation experiencing eternal, conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire (Luke 16:24Luke 16:24
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  

WP-Bible plugin; Rev. 14:10-11Rev. 14:10-11
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.  

WP-Bible plugin). The doctrine of purgatory is a man-made false teaching.

Sanctity of life

We believe that God is the Creator and Sustainer of all human life; therefore, all mankind has purpose. We believe that God has made us in His image; therefore, all mankind has intrinsic value. We believe that God is the Sovereign Lord of life; therefore, all mankind has the inherent right of life from conception to natural death. We believe that abortion, murder, suicide, and euthanasia are sinful.