Keith Pisani Doctrinal Statement
The Scriptures & Interpretation: The Holy Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is in its entirety verbally, plenarily inspired and without error in its original manuscripts. It is the final revelation of the will of God to man and is the final authority and only standard for all human conduct, creed, faith, practice, and fellowship. It is to be interpreted using a grammatical-historical-literal hermeneutic (see Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:18; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 2 Peter 3:15-16; Revelation 22:18-19).
God the Father: God the Father is the sovereign Creator of all things. He is worthy of worship, honor, devotion, and praise. He is deity. He is the author of redemption. He possesses all the attributes of the Godhead (see Isaiah 46:9; Acts 17:28-29; Romans 1:7; 2 Corinthians 1:1-2; Revelation 19:6).
God the Son & Virgin Birth & Death, Burial, and Resurrection: God the Son was virgin born and “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and He was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He is fully God and fully man. He is perfect and sinless in all His ways. He ascended into heaven and ever lives to intercede on behalf of believers. He possesses all the attributes of the Godhead (see Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; 16:16; Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14; John 10:30; John 20:28; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 1:16-18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 5:20; Revelation 4-5).God the Holy Spirit: God the Holy Spirit is a divine person equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; He was active in the creation; in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; He convicts of sin, righteousness, and of the judgment to come; He bears witness to the Truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony; He is the agent of the new birth; and He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer grow. He possesses all the attributes of the Godhead (see Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:8; Luke 1:35; 24:49; John 1:33; 3:5-6; 14:16-17, 26; 16:8-11; Acts 5:3-4, 30-32; 11:16; Romans 8:14, 26-28; Ephesians 1:13-14).
Man and Sin: I believe and accept the Genesis account of creation and believe that man came by direct creation of God and not by evolution. Man was created in innocence, but by deliberate transgression fell into sin. All men are totally depraved sinners by nature and conduct and are under condemnation, without excuse or defense (see Genesis 1:1-2:6; 3:1-6; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Romans 1:18-32; 3:10, 23; 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 11:7; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2).
Salvation, Atonement, Forgiveness, Heaven, & Hell: The sovereign God saves sinners through repentance, regeneration, justification, and glorification (see Romans 8:29-30). For a person to go to heaven, he/she must be born again through the work of the entire Godhead (see John 3:3, 7). Salvation is by grace, through faith in the finished work of Christ (see Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6). New Testament salvation is the result of spiritual cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ (see 1 John 1:7). Without the shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness] of sin (see Hebrews 9:22). Through the work of the Holy Spirit, God sets believers apart unto Himself (see 1 Corinthians 12:13). As a result, there is a radical difference between the righteous and the wicked and this distinction exists among men both before and after death, in the everlasting salvation of God’s redeemed in heaven and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in a literal hell (see Genesis 18:23; Proverbs 14:32; Isaiah 53:4-7; Malachi 3:18; Matthew 25:34-41; Luke 16:19-31; John 3:3, 7, 16; 8:21; Acts 16:31; Romans 6:17-18, 23; 7:6; 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 15:3-5; Ephesians 1:4; 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6; 1 Peter 1:1-5; 1 John 1:7; 5:19).
Eternal Security and Assurance: Genuine believers will never lose their salvation. Genuine believers are eternally secure through the power of God. This assurance comforts true believers (see John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 5:11-13).
The New Testament church: definition, mission, purpose, and relationship to Jesus Christ. All genuine believers from Acts 2 to the present are the universal church. The public manifestation of the universal church is the local church which is a called-out congregation of immersed believers, associated by covenant of faith and friendship in the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws, and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that her biblical offices are pastor (elder) and deacon whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. I believe the true mission and purpose of the church is the evangelizing of the lost, the discipling of the saved, worship, service, fellowship, edification, prayer, growth, and missions. I hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government and discipline, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the Lord and only superintendent of the church is Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches of like faith and practice to co-operate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel; that each local church reserves the right to practice biblical separation; and that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, government, discipline, and stewardship the will of the local church is final (see Acts 2:41-47; 15:13-18; 20:17-28; 1 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:4-6, 11-12; 5:23-24; Colossians 1:18).
New Testament Ordinances. God commanded genuine believers to observe two local church ordinances. Baptism by immersion following salvation is a public testimony of faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It does not save and is a prerequisite for church membership. The Lord’s Supper is an act of fellowship that remembers the work of Christ in salvation and looks forward to the coming of Christ for His church. It does not save, is preceded by solemn self-examination, and is observed regularly (see Matthew 26:26-29; 28:19; Acts 8:36-39; 10:48; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28; Colossians 2:12).
The End Times: I believe in the personal, visible, imminent, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial coming of Jesus Christ for all genuine church age believers. This is the rapture of the church. I believe further in the return of Jesus Christ with the saints, after the tribulation, to establish His millennial kingdom on the earth. During this time, Jesus Christ will rule from the throne of David. Following the 1,000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth, all genuine believers will be ushered into the eternal state (heaven) and all others will be judged at the Great White Throne judgment by God, be cast forever into eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire (Hell), and experience the second death (see Psalm 2:1-8; 72:8; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:4-5; 32:1; Ezekiel 38-39; Joel 3; Luke 1:32; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 3:10; 4:1; 20:1-14; 21-22).
Angels and Satan: I believe in the existence of the spirit world. The spirit world consists of good and evil angels. The good angels remain in a state of innocence, have and will serve as messengers for God, and they minister to the saints. Evil angels include Satan, demons, and all fallen angels. Satan is the unholy god of this age, the author of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire (see Job 1; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28; Matthew 4:1-3; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 1:6-7; 2:7; 13:2; 1 John 4:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:1-12; 20:10).
Spiritual Gifts: I believe that God is sovereign in bestowing His gifts upon all believers for ministries as members of the body of Jesus Christ and that the specific gifts of pastor, evangelist, and teacher are provided for the equipping of the saints unto the work of the ministry for the edifying of the body of Jesus Christ. I believe that revelatory gifts such as speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles ceased as the New Testament was completed and its authority established; and that these revelatory gifts were given as signs to the Jews but were not signs of spiritual superiority (see Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 13:1-10; Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Peter 4:10).
Home and Family: I believe that the home was the first institution God provided for man, and that marriage is a sacred relationship and honorable for all. “What God hath joined together let no man put asunder.” Marriage is used as an emblem of the union of Christ and His church (see Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:3-6; Mark 10:9; 1 Corinthians 7:1-5; Ephesians 5:21-33; Hebrews 13:4).
Other Matters: I understand that the above statements do not by any means exhaust the content of my beliefs which is the entire Word of God, and that they are not intended to set a limit beyond which faith cannot go within this Word. The Bible is the sole authority for all matters of faith and practice (Psalm 138:2).
Some key verses in my life: 1 Chronicles 29:11
Matthew 6:33
1 Corinthians 15:10