Sheffield Chapel

Constitution of Sheffield Chapel
(As of January 27, 2008)
 
Article 1
Name

The name of this church is Sheffield Chapel of Sheffield, Massachusetts, incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, January 7, 1974.

Article 2
Doctrinal Statement

Section 1:  The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word Of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed.  (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12, 13)

Section 2: The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.  They are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfection. (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14)

Section 3:  The Person and Work of Christ

Paragraph 1:
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Sprit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man.  (John 1:1-2,14;  1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

Paragraph 2:
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross as a representative vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and our justification is made sure by his literal physical resurrection from the dead.
(Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:17; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

Paragraph 3:
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative  Intercessor, and Advocate.  (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 8:1; 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:12)

Section 4:  The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

Paragraph 1:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.  (John 16:8-11; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13, 14)

Paragraph 2:
We believe He is the Divine Teacher Who guides believers into all truth; and that it is the privilege and duty of all saved to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18)
Section 5: The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.  (Gen. 1:26, 27); Rom 3:22, 23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12)

Section 6:  Salvation

We believe that salvation is a gift of God brought to men by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed o Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.  (Eph. 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:17; 1 Peter 1:18, 19)

Section 7:  The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

Paragraph 1:
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.  (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8 1:38, 39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5)

Paragraph 2:
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion of the flesh.  (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

Section 8:  The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures with provision made for the victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling of Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Rom 6:13; 8:12-13; Gal 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-15; 1 John 3:5-9).

Section 9:  Fellowship

Paragraph 1:
We believe that all Christians should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God.  (2 Tim 31-5; Rom 12:1-2, 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; 2 Cor. 6:14 – 7:1)

Paragraph 2:
As a church, we want to balance the integrity of the church with the Lord’s desire for unity in His body.  Therefore, we will fellowship with any churches and organizations that hold to the authority of the Bible as God’s only Word and which proclaim the Gospel that personal salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Section 10:  Evangelism

We believe that it is the obligation of every Christian to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to see to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.  (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19, 20)

Section 11:  The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

Paragraph 1:
We believe that God does heal and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with Hs own will, for the sick and the afflicted.  (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15)

Paragraph 2
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts.  We believe that spiritual gifts are given for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7) and the edification of the Church (1 Cor. 12: 1-5, 12).  They are to be exercised in love (1 Cor. 13:1-7) and orderliness (1 Cor. 14:16ff).  We also believe that there is much teaching on spiritual gifts which is in error and which is detrimental to unity in the Body of Christ, as well as the spiritual health of individual believers. Therefore, we are in opposition to the following teachings:
(1)That there are any single gift(s) which are possessed by all believers. (1 Cor. 12:29-31)
(2)That any gift(s) should be more exulted or more celebrated that any other gift(s). (1 Cor. 12:4-11)
(3)That any person should be esteemed because of any spiritual gift he/she might possess. (1 Cor. 4:6)

Paragraph 3:
We hold that the 66 books of the Scriptures are our source of authority and that no one today speaks with apostolic authority, as one of the requirements for the office of apostle was that a person had to have seen Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 9:1; Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 15: 7-8).  We also believe that, while God may sovereignty give prophecies to anyone He chooses at anytime He desires, there is no prophetic office in the Church whereby a person speaks with “THUS – SAITH - THE - LORD” authority (1 Cor. 14:27, 37-38;  1 Thess. 5:19-21).  Such authority resides in the Scriptures.

Section 12:  The Church

Paragraph 1:
We believe that the Church, who is the Body and espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons in this present age.  (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2)

Paragraph 2:
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.  (Acts 14:27; 20:17; 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

Paragraph 3:
We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1-4; 1 Cor. 3:9,16; 5:4-7,13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

Paragraph 4:
We recognize the ordinances of water baptism by immersion subsequent to salvation and the Lord’s Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for the church. (Matt. 28: 19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; 18:8; 1 Cor. 11:23-36)

Section 13:  The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6, 7; Isa.14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)

Section 14:  The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that “blessed hope”, the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (1 Thess. 4:13-16; 2 Thess. 2:7, 8; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 3:10)

Section 15:  The Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and glorious immortality and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.  All men will appear before the throne of God to be judged by Christ.   Scripture teaches that through the death of Christ on the cross, the believer’s sins have been judged, and he has passed from death unto life.  Each saint will still be required to give an account before the judgment seat of Christ regarding his works and conduct, but in no case do the redeemed come again into judgment concerning their eternal destiny.  Unbelievers, however, will be condemned and banished to eternal punishment with all the enemies of God.
Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9-43-48; Luke 18:19-26; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Revelation 20:5, 6, 11-15

Article 3
Purpose

The purpose of Sheffield is to
Introduce people to Jesus and
Instruct them in His Word and
Include them in His family
In order that they may…
Involve themselves in His worship and
Invest themselves in His ministry.

Article 4
Ordinances

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances.  They are: (1) baptism by immersion and (2) The Lord’s Supper, which is also known as communion.

(1)Baptism:
A.We believe that the purpose of baptism by immersion is to publicly declare one’s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
B.We believe that baptism is an outward act that pictures an inward change.
C.We believe that a believer is symbolically raised from the water of baptism to newness of life in the Lord Jesus Christ.  (Matt. 28:18-20); Acts 2:38-41; Rom. 6:3, 4)

(2)The Lord’s Supper
A.We believe that the Lord’s Supper speaks of our communion or fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, hence the name communion.
B.We believe that the main purpose of the Lord’s Supper is to communicate the death of the Lord Jesus Christ until He comes again for His church.  The bread used in the Lord’s Supper symbolizes the body of the Lord Jesus Christ that was given for all believers.  The fruit of the vine symbolizes the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed for us.  (Matt. 26:26-28; Luke 22:19, 2; 1 Cor. 10:10)

Article 5
Membership

Paragraph 1:
To be accepted into membership of the Church, a person shall:
(1)Be a baptized believer in the Lord Jesus Chris.
(2)Give evidence by his confession of faith and conduct that he is desirous of living in real fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
(3)Make application for membership, indicating his agreements with the Chapel’s Doctrinal Statement (Art. 2) and philosophy of ministry.  The membership application along with a signed copy of the Church Covenant (Art. 6) will be filed as part of the church’s membership records.
NOTE:  Should there be any reservations or disagreements with the Doctrinal Statement, the Church Council shall:
(a)   Note it on the applicant’s records.
(b)   Determine the seriousness of these differences before making recommendation to the Church.

Paragraph 2:
For reception of members, see Sheffield Chapel By-Laws, Article 1, Section 1.

Article 6
Membership Covenant
(see attachment A)

Article 7
Government

Paragraph 1: 
The Lord Jesus Christ is recognized as the Head of the Church and the Holy Scriptures are the supreme guide.  The earthy government of this church is vested in its members and church council. 

Paragraph 2:
While voluntarily associating with other congregations of similar faith (as e.g., in denominations) in order to enlarge its ministry, each church is responsible to Christ for the governance of its affairs, including determination of its structure and the selection of its officers, within the framework of Scripture. A properly constituted local church must include the ministry of God’s Word, the observance of the ordinances, the oversight by officers, and the exercise of discipline.  The overseers of the Church are to be prayed for and honored.
(Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Peter 5:2, 3, 5; Matthew 18:17; Hebrews 13: 7, 17, 24a)

NOTE: See By-Laws, Art. 2, Section 6 Elder regarding “the spiritual interests of the church” as to its function in the community.  This will not infringe on any individual’s freedom to attend any such activity even though Sheffield Chapel does not sponsor or officially sanction that activity.

Article 8
Finances

All finances for the support of this work shall be raised only by free-will tithes and offerings.

Article 9
Amendments

Paragraph 1:
This Constitution may be amended at an annual or special business meeting and only by seventy-five percent affirmative vote of the active members present and voting.  No proxy or absentee votes will be honored.

Paragraph 2:
The proposed amendment shall be laid before the church in writing two weeks before the time of the proposed action, and announced from the pulpit during the worship service the two weeks immediately preceding such a meeting.

Article 10
Saving Clause

In the event that any section of the Constitution should be declared unlawful, or otherwise unenforceable, such a decision shall not affect any other provision of the Constitution.

Article 11
Property Dissolution Clause

Paragraph 1:
In the event of the dissolution of the church organization, incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as Sheffield Chapel, the property shall be assigned to a non-profit organization similar in purpose (an entity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)) to be specified at the time of dissolution.

Paragraph 2:
The church shall be considered dissolved when so decided by the members of the incorporated body, or when the church has not held an annual or regular meeting for three years, or when less than five members remain.

 

Original:  January 2002
Revised: January 27, 2008