Statement of Faith
I. The Scriptures:
We believe that the Holy Bible is the absolute Word of God, written by men chosen of God, and verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit in every word. The Bible, in its original manuscripts, from Genesis to Revelation, is therefore without error, infallible and God-breathed. It is the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man and shall remain the sole and final authority and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried. (2 Tim.3:16-17; 2 Pet.1:20-21; Prov. 30:5-6)
II. The True God:
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. We believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; each of whom is fully and equally God, possessing every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Ex. 15:11; Ps. 83:18, 90:2, 147:5; Matt. 28:19; Jn 15:26)
III. The Lord Jesus Christ:
We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is the only begotten eternal Son of God who became man without ceasing to be God. He, having been miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, came to us in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. We believe that the Lord Jesus, having lived a sinless life, accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that He ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Matt. 17:5; Lk. 1:26-35; 1Cor. 15:4; Heb. 9:24, 10:12; 1 Tim 2:5)
IV. The Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father, and God the Son, and is of the same nature; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, baptizes, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer. (Matt. 28:19; Jn. 14:26, 16:8; Acts 5:30-32; Rom. 8:14, 16, 26-27; Eph. 1:13-14)
We believe that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church for the redemption of the lost and the building up of believers in the faith. We teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts, and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. We believe that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:11-2; Heb. 1:1-2)
V. Satan:
We believe that Satan is a created angel and the author of sin. He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator, by taking numerous angels with him in his fall, and by introducing sin into the human race through his temptation of Eve. We teach that Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man; that he has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 25:41; Gen.3:1-15; Isa. 14:13-14; Rev 12:9-10; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 20:10)
VI. The Creation:
We believe in the Genesis six-day account of creation; that it is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or figuratively. The Word testifies, that God created the heaven and the earth in six literal twenty-four hour days and that God rested on the seventh day: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.” (Ex. 20:11; Gen. 2:1)
VII. Man:
We believe man was created male and female by the direct act of God in His own image and after His own likeness. Man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or any evolutionary change of species, nor development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms. The Bible states that man was created in innocence, but by voluntary transgressions through personal disobedience to the revealed will of God, he fell from his sinless state, and as a result, all mankind is sinful in nature and practice, is unable to save himself, and thus faces eternal separation from God. (Gen 1:26-28; Rom 3:10; Rom 1:18; Rom 6:23)
VIII. Salvation:
We believe that the death of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins and salvation; that Jesus, as a substitutionary sacrifice, died in our place, that He arose from the dead in His glorified body, ascended into heaven as our great High Priest and Advocate, that He ever lives to make intercession for us; that all who receive Him by faith are justified on the basis of His shed blood and receive the gift of eternal life by the grace of God. We believe salvation to be by grace through faith, wholly apart from human works and merit, and that each individual must exercise personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His redeeming work in order to be saved. We believe that all who receive eternal life are regenerated (born again) by the Holy Spirit; that those who are saved are eternally secured, kept by the power of God, and will forever dwell with Him in heaven.
(2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 7:25; Ephesians 2:8-9; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10; John 10:28)
IX. The Church:
We believe that the New Testament Church has been instituted and founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. The church is a congregation of all born-again, baptized believers, associated by the covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel. The biblically designated officers are pastors or elders and deacons, whose qualifications, and duties are clearly defined in the New Testament. We believe that the mission of the church is to grow through the making of disciples by sharing the saving gospel of Christ and through the edifying and sanctifying of the saints through the ministry of teaching and instructing of the Word of God (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; 47; Acts 14:23; Heb 10:25).
It is our belief that the establishment of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies. We believe that the Local Church is to continue the perpetual observance of the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that the one and only Head of each church is Jesus Christ our Lord.
(1 Cor. 11:26; Acts 2:42; Acts 14:23; Philippians 1:1; Ephesians 1:22-23; Hebrews 10:25)
X. Future Events:
The blessed hope of the believer is the imminent, personal, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial appearance of Christ to rapture the church. His righteous judgments will then be poured out on an unbelieving world during the Tribulation. The climax of this fearful era will be the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth in great glory to introduce the Davidic kingdom. Israel will be saved and restored to national superiority. Satan will be bound and the curse will be lifted from the physical creation. Following the Millennium, the Great White Throne judgment will occur, at which time the bodies and souls of the wicked dead shall be reunited and cast into the Lake of Fire. Jesus Christ shall reign forever as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. (Matt. 24:29-30; Jn. 14:1-3; 1Thess. 4:13-18; 2Thess. 2:1-12; Rev. 11:15)