"We, the members of the THE SOVEREIGN GRACE BIBLE CHURCH OF CEBU, INC., a non-profit organization, do ordain and establish the following articles, to which we voluntarily submit ourselves."

CONTENTS:  1  Institution  2  Membership  3  Leadership  4  Commission  5  Order  6  Congregational Meetings  7  Affiliation

       Paragraph E.  A Godly Christian Life.

       All who come into the membership of this church are expected to walk worthily of the Lord, that His Name and Word be not blasphemed but rather His excellencies be displayed through us, and that the good name of the church be not damaged but rather enhanced (Col. 1:10; 1Pet. 2:9). Therefore every member is expected to practice and cultivate godliness in the following areas:

       1.  Personal Devotion to God.

       Each member is expected to walk personally with the Lord, making regular use of all the private means of grace available to him, including: daily prayer (Mat. 6:6,10; Ps. 55:17; 88:9; Dan. 6:10); daily reading and meditating on God’s word (Ps. 1:2; 119:11,97); continual maintenance of a good conscience with judgement day honesty (Acts 24:16; 1Tim. 1:19; Heb. 10:22; 13:18); periodic and wholesome self-examination, prayerfully conducted by the standard of God’s word (Ps. 139:23,24; 2Cor. 13:5; 2 Pet. 1:10,11; 1Jn. 5:13); and careful, spiritual observance of the Lord’s Day Sabbath (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Is. 58:13,14; Acts 20:7; 1Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10).

       2.  Family Life.

       The church expects its members to obey the teaching of the scriptures with respect to family life and government of the home. As the God-appointed head of the family, the husband must rule over the household with gentleness and love but also with wisdom and firmness (Eph. 5:25ff; 1Tim. 3:4-5). The wife must be in subjection to her husband in all things according to the rule of scriptures (Eph. 5:22-24; 1Pet. 3:1). The husband with the wife must nurture their children in the chastening and admonition of the Lord (Eph. 6:1-4), by setting a godly example before them, by leading them in family worship, by instructing them consistently in the scriptures (Gen. 18:19; Duet. 6:7,9), by praying for them ( 1Chron. 29:19), and by wise and firm discipline, including corporal punishment when it is needed (Prov. 13:24; 22:15; Heb. 12:7).

       2.  Personal Evangelism.

       It is the duty of every Christian individually and as a member of a local church to pray and labor according to his God-given ability and opportunity (Rom. 12:6) for the extension of the kingdom of God both at the home and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8 g.p.). Therefore, every member of this church is expected to seek to recognize and to seize every opportunity to bear witness to his faith in Christ both by consistent Christian conduct and by the testimony of his lips (Mt. 10:32,33; Rom. 1:16,17; 9:1-3; 10:1; Phil. 2:14-16; Col. 4:2-6; 1Pet. 3:14-16).

       4.  Christian Liberty.

       Each member of the church is required to render in his daily life loyal obedience to all the moral precepts established in the Word of God (Rom. 8:3,4). If God has not condemned or forbidden a practice in His Word, a Christian is at liberty to participate in it. The exercise of Christian liberty, however, must at all times be governed by an earnest desire to walk in the fear of God and to glorify Him in all things (1Pet. 1:17; 1Cor. 10:31), a loving regard for the consciences of weaker brethren (1Cor. 8:9; Rom. 15:1-3), a compassion for the lost (1Cor. 9:19-22), and a zealous regard for the health of one’s soul (Rom. 13:14; 1Pet. 2:16).

       5.  Separation from the World.

       God never intended the glorious blessing of Christian liberty which His people enjoy to become an excuse or covering for worldliness ( Gal. 5:13; 1Pet. 2:16). To the contrary, Christians have been liberated from the bondage of their former sins in order that they might be a people distinct from this wicked world and set apart unto God (Lev. 18:1-30; Tit. 2:11-14; 1Pet. 1:14,15). Accordingly, Christ’s disciples are commanded not to love the world (Ps. 139:19-22; Jas. 4:4; 1Jn. 2:15), to refrain from their former worldly attitudes and deeds (Eph. 4:17-22; 5:7- 12; Tit. 2:12; 3:3; 1Pet. 4:3,40), and to resist the wicked influence of godless society ( Prov. 1:10-19; Rom. 12:1,2; Jas. 1:27). Therefore, all members of this church are expected to separate from the attitudes, practices, and unwholesome influences of the world. Specially, members are expected to resist the worldly materialism that regards things of this life to be of primary importance (Mk. 8:36; Lk. 12:15; 1Jn. 2:15-17), and from participating in idolatrous rituals like the Roman Catholic mass (1Cor. 10:1-22; Rev. 2:14; 2:18). Members are also expected not to indulge in any of the world’s vices, such as drunkenness, drug abuse, gluttony, viewing pornographic materials, fornication, homosexuality, and other such sins (1Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 5:19-21). Members are also expected to refrain from all entangling relationships with the ungodly, such as intimate, frequent companionship with them ( 1Cor. 15:33; Jas. 4:4), pursuing romantic interest with them ( Judg. 16:4,5; 1Ki. 11:1- 4,9; Prov. 2:16,17; 6:20,23-25), and contracting marriages with them (2Cor. 6:14; 1Cor. 7:39). Similarly, members are expected to carefully seek to discern and resist any wicked influence of this godless society upon their souls and families by whatever means it is exerted ( Rom. 12:1,2).

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