Our Statement of Faith
What We Believe
The Essentials We Believe:
THE WORD OF GOD – We believe that the Bible is our sole authority. It is our intent to be wholly subject to God's Holy Word. The Bible is the love of God written in the language of the people that people of all generations might grasp its meaning and embrace its truth. The Scriptures are inerrant in their original writings. (Psalm 119:97-104; Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16) are infallible in their instruction (2 Peter 1:19), eternal in duration (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:23-25); the final authority and the standard for faith in practice (Matthew 4:4; Psalm 119); and sufficient for counsel in every issue of life (2 Timothy 3:16). We believe that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are verbally and plenary inspired. We further believe that the Scriptures are to be interpreted according to a grammatical-historical hermeneutic. (interpretation, context) This demands that we understand the Bible literally when it speaks, for example, of the creation of the world in six solar days, the existence of Adam and Eve as the progenitors of the human race, the global deluge of Noah’s day, the creation of nations at Babel by means of language diversification, and the personal existence of an evil being called Satan. (2 Timothy 3:15-4:2; 1 Peter 1:10; 2 Peter 1:15-21; Proverbs 30:5-6; John 10:35; Romans 2:12; Luke 24:25)
GOD, THE FATHER – (John 20:17) We believe that Almighty God is beyond human comprehension and understanding. We believe in the only true God (John 17:3), the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). God is spirit (John 4:24) God is holy (Revelation 4:8) God is love (1 John 4:8; John 3:16). He created all things (Revelation 4:11) and upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). He is a God of truth and without iniquity, He is just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4) and He shall judge the world (Psalm 9:8). We believe that Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4).
GOD, THE SON – We believe that Jesus Christ is God's Son. According to the Father's perfect plan He became a man—God in the flesh! (Philippians 2:6-11) We believe in the total deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe Him to be true God and true man (John 1:1, 1:4, 1:18; John 14:8-9; 1 Timothy 3:16). As such, Jesus “is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being . . . “ (Hebrews 1:3) He is our Savior (Acts 4:12) He is our Lord (Acts 10:36) He is the Head of our church! (Ephesians 4:15, 16). We believe in the resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven and His present life for us as High Priest and Advocate (Acts 1:3, Acts 1:9, Hebrews 7:25 &26). We believe He will come again in the appearing. (John 1:1; Matthew 1:18-25; Hebrews 9:26-28; Luke 24:5-7, 36-40; Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 5:1-10; 1 John 2:1-2; Hebrews 1:1-10)
HOLY SPIRIT – We believe that the Holy Spirit lives in the Christian upon belief in Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 2:38; Corinthians 3:16). He is active and involved in the life of a Christian (John 16:7, 8; 13, 14). Upon belief in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit provides the believer with all that is needed to love, guide, instruct, comfort, and empower the believer for godly living (Mark 13:11; John 14:26; John 16:13; Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, and God’s righteousness (John 16:8-11). The Holy Spirit is God at work in the world (Acts 5:1-4). He guides us into all truth, always bringing glory to God. He reveals to our hearts – the heart of God (John 16:13-15). We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person in the Godhead who restrains evil, convicts of sin, bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony, is the agent in the new birth, indwells the believer, baptizes into the Body of Christ, and fills believers for spiritual service. (John 15:26; John 16:7-11; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 3:16, Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18)
THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN - We believe that Satan is a being, 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; Is. 14:12-17;Matt. 4:2- 11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
MANKIND – The Fall of Man - We believe that Adam was created in innocence and by a voluntary transgression fell; that when Adam fell, mankind fell; that man is born with a sinful nature and spiritually dead; that he is totally depraved and unable to effect his own salvation. (Genesis 1:27-31; 2:16-17; 3:6-24; Romans 5:12; John 3:6; Psalms 51:5; Isaiah 53:6; Ephesians 2:1-3;
Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:19-32; 3:19; Galatians 3:22) We believe that we are all made in the image of God (Genesis 5:1, 3); that, every single person throughout history, since Adam and Eve, has made the same mistake. Consequently, all mankind is sinful (Romans 3:23), not only by inheritance, but by their own choice and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. We believe that without exception every man and every woman is totally depraved and needs a Savior (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 3:10-19; Romans 1:18 & 32; Romans 5:1-2). Without a savior, the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
SALVATION - We believe that there is one way to escape the consequence of death (Romans 6:23) and His name is Jesus. The Bible says three things of Jesus—He knew no sin . . . He had no sin . . . He committed no sin. Jesus never had the fatal flaw of living away from God. Thus, He qualified before God as the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He died on the cross. And by the gift of His life, whoever receives Christ as their personal Savior is justified on the basis of Christ’s shed blood on Calvary and is born again of the Holy Spirit and assured of salvation by being adopted into God’s family. (Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5) God’s Word explains the offer of love to save us from death through His Son. He clearly delineates the eternal benefits of accepting Jesus as Savior and acknowledging Him as Lord. And He vividly describes the consequences of rejecting Jesus, as His own dear Son. Then He allows us the freedom to make our own choice regarding Jesus. (Matthew 22:1-14, Luke 15:7, Luke 20:9-18, John 7:37, Romans 10:9-13). God’s Word also teaches that it is our sovereign God’s divine decision to save a person (John 6:44; John 6:65; Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:11-18; Acts 13:48; Acts 16:14; Ephesians 1:4-6; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:3), and it is God’s kindness, forbearance and patience that lead that person to repentance (Romans 2:4; Philippians 2:12). All glory for the salvation of every believer belongs to God alone (Romans 3:21-31; Ephesians 1:7-9 ; Ephesians 2:8-9; Jude 1:24-25). Both of these truths-God’s sovereignty in salvation and man’s decision to embrace Christ—are taught in the Scriptures. Their co-existence is a mystery and is completely understood only in the mind of our omniscient God. We believe that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone (demonstrated through repentance of sin), in Christ alone. This is based on the finished work of Christ, by which Christ fully satisfied the just demands of a holy and righteous God; and those believers are kept by the power of God and that the mark of genuine salvation is their preservation by the Holy Spirit in Faith, to the end. (Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; Titus 3:5; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9, 10-13; John 3:16; John 10:27-29; 1 John 5:1).
SANCTIFICATION - We believe that sanctification is positional in that one is established in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts Christ as Savior; that it is a process as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the believer; that it is practical through a progressive work and that it is future when in heaven we will be delivered from all sin. (1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 1:4-6; Proverbs 4:18; Hebrews 6:1; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 2:29; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 6:18)
ORDINANCES - We recognize two ordinances of the church for this age - The Lord’s Supper and Water Baptism. They are not to be regarded, however, as a means of salvation, nor as means of grace by which special merit is obtained.
COMMUNION - We believe in the ordinance of communion. It is a matter of obedience for the believer (Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:15-20). Jesus commanded: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (I Corinthians 11:17-33)
BAPTISM - We believe in the ordinance of Christian baptism by immersion in water is a public identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Although baptism is not required for salvation, it is commanded of all believers and is for believers only. (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42) Scriptures show that a person was baptized after personally receiving forgiveness of sin by accepting Jesus Christ.(Acts 8:36-38, 16:14-15, 31) The waters of baptism are a symbol of death, burial and resurrection to a newness in life that happens when a person becomes a new creature in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:1-4)
HEAVEN AND HELL - We believe that every human being has eternal life, because every human being has an eternal soul. According to Scripture, heaven is home for God (Deuteronomy 26:15) and His angels (Mark 13:32). And it is the ultimate destination of all who name Jesus as Lord and Savior (1 Peter 1:4). Hell is the destination for those who refuse to accept the loving gift of God’s Son. The consequence of that decision is to spend eternity agonizing outside the presence of God (Revelation 20:15). We believe in the “blessed hope”: the personal, return of the Lord Jesus Christ. His return has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in heaven (John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7) the lost are raised to eternal torment in hell in conscious separation from God (Matthew 8:11-12; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 24:49-51; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8).
RESURRECTION - We believe in the death, burial and resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven and His present life for us as High Priest and Advocate (John 19:30; John 19:42; John 20; Acts 1:3; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 7:25-26).
CHURCH - We believe that upon accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, a believer becomes part of His body, which is the church. This is the baptism of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:13) There is one church universal, composed of all those throughout the world who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (Baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers (Ephesians 5:23; Romans 12:1; Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Matthew 28:18-20; Hebrews 10:25). Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church—under the oversight of elders and other supportive leadership. The church’s members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Ephesians 4:16).
MISSIONS – The Great Commission - We believe that the Great Commission is a divine commandment for this age, and as such primarily involves evangelism and church planting at home and abroad. (Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24: 46-48; John 17:18; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 15:6) Realizing that the cause of Christ extends beyond any one local fellowship, we commit to ourselves to an ongoing ministry of extending the call of Christ to make disciples around the world (Matthew 28:19-20).
CREATION - We believe God created the universe in six days and that, before He created the universe, nothing except God existed (Genesis 1; Exodus 31:17;Psalm 33:6-9; Acts 17:24; Hebrews 11:3; Colossians 1:16). God chose to create the universe and all that is in it to reveal His glory, divine nature, eternal power, infinite wisdom and supreme authority (Isaiah 43:7; Psalm 19:1-2; Jeremiah 10:12; Romans 1:20; Revelation 4:11). God rules over His creation and cares about and is involved in the lives of individual people (Job 12:10; Acts 17:25; Colossians 1:17; Ephesians 4:6).
THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST - We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent 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 (I Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 3:10; I Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
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