 The Bible is the Word of God |
We believe that the Bible as originally written was verbally
inspired and the product of Spirit-controlled men, and
therefore, has truth without any admixture, true of error for
its matter. It is our rule for faith and practice and thus our
“manual” for living.
II Timothy 3:16-17; II
Peter 1:9-21
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The
True God |
We
believe there is only one living and true God, an infinite
Spirit, and the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. We
believe in the Triune God; God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and executing
distinct but harmonious offices. Exodus 20:23; Deuteronomy
6:4; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 44:6;
I
Corinthians 8:6; Isaiah 6:8-10; John 12:37; Acts 28:25-27
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The
Lord Jesus Christ |
We
believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of
the Godhead, and as such eternally existent; that without any
change in His Divine person, He became man by the virgin birth,
and thereby became the God-man; that He lived a sinless life;
that as the perfect Lamb of God He voluntarily gave Himself in
death upon the cross as our substitute; that He rose from the
dead on the third day and was glorified in the same body and
later ascended into heaven to the right hand of God the Father,
where He makes intercessions for the saints.
John 1:1;
Hebrews 13:8; Philippians 2:5-6; Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 53:7;
Luke 24:6; John 20:28; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 4:14-16;
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The
Holy Spirit
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We
believe that the Holy Spirit is God the Spirit, the third member
of the Godhead; that He was active in creation; that in His
relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one
until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of
righteousness, and of judgment. He bears witness to the truth
of the Gospel and is the agent of the new birth. He indwells,
seals, guides, teaches, and sanctifies the believer. The “sign
gifts” (speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing,
and miracles) were valid and evident at Pentecost and in the
early apostolic period, but they are no longer in existence
today.
Acts
5:3-4; John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19; John 14:26; Genesis 1:1-3;
John 3:5-6; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:14, 16, 26-27; II
Corinthians 12:2; Hebrews 2:4
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The
Fall of Man |
We
believe that sin entered the human race through the voluntary
transgression of Adam when he rebelled against God’s standard in
the garden; that all men sinned in him; that all are, therefore,
totally depraved and spiritually dead as the partakers of his
fallen nature and are sinners by nature and conduct, and are
therefore under God’s just condemnation. Genesis
3:1-16, 24; Romans 3:10-19, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1; Romans 1:18
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Salvation |
We
believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through
Jesus Christ, God the Son, who, without sin, freely took upon
Himself our nature, and fulfilled the Divine law by His personal
obedience, thus qualifying Himself to be our Savior; that by the
shedding of His blood in His death He fully satisfied the just
demands of a Holy God regarding sin; that His sacrifice was a
voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the
Just for the unjust; that having risen from the dead and
ascended into heaven, He is now qualified to be our
all-sufficient Savior. We believe that exclusive faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition for salvation.
Repentance is a manifestation of this faith and is a change of
mind and purpose toward God prompted by the Holy Spirit through
the hearing of the Word of God. Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts
15:11; Romans 3:24-25; II Corinthians 5:21;
John
3:16; Isaiah 53:4-7; Hebrews 2:14; I John 4:10; Romans 10:17
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New Birth |
We believe that in order to be
saved, a sinner must be born again, that in the new birth the
one dead in transgressions and sins is made a partaker of the
Divine nature and receives eternal life as a gift from God; that
the birth is brought about solely by the power of the Holy
Spirit in connection with the Word of God, so as to secure our
voluntary obedience to the Gospel, that all who are truly born
again are kept by the power of God until they are received into
heaven.
John 3:3; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23;
Ephesians 2:1; II Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 1:6; John 10:28
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The Local Church |
We believe the universal church or Body
of Christ consists of those who have believed in Jesus Christ as
their personal Savior. We believe that a local church is a
congregation of immersed believers associated by fellowship in
the Gospel and a covenant of faith, observing the ordinances of
Christ, governed by His law; that its offices are pastors
(elders) and deacons, whose qualifications are defined in the
New Testament; that the mission of the church is found in the
great commission; that the local church has absolute right of
self-government apart from the interference of any hierarchy of
individuals or organizations; and that Christ is its only
Superintendent. I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Ephesians
1:22-23; Matthew 16:18;
Acts
2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:2; I Timothy 3:1-3; Matthew 28:19-20;
Acts 11:22
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The Security of the Saints |
We believe that all who are truly
born again are eternally secure in God (“once saved, always
saved”), and that there is no way one can lose his salvation.
John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians
1:6
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Things to come |
We believe in:
1..The pre-tribulation return of Christ to raise His church to
be with Him. John
14:1-3; I Corinthians 15:51-53; I Thessalonians 4:13-18
2. The judgment seat of Christ at which time all
believers will be judged according to their faithfulness.
I Corinthians 3:11-15; II Corinthians 5:10
3. The seven-year tribulation and the rise of the
antichrist. Daniel 7:8, 24-25; 11:36-45; II
Thessalonians 2:3-4;
Revelation 13:1-10
4. The second coming of
Christ and the millennial reign on earth. Isaiah 9:6-7;
11:4; Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 19:11-14; 20:4-6
5. The Great White Throne judgment of the unsaved.
Revelation 20:11-15
The eternal state. Revelation 22
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