STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

The Bible

We believe the 66 books of the Bible are God’s written Word to man. The authors of the Bible describe it as “perfect,” “pure,” and “truth” (Psalm 19:7; 1 Peter 2:2; John 17:17). Therefore, we believe the Bible is nothing less than God’s Word (Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

God the Father

We believe in one God who eternally exists and reveals Himself in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) having each the same nature, attributes, and perfections that are worthy of the same worship and confidence (Deuteronomy 6:4; Ps 90:2; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 1:1-2, 14; 10:30; 14:15-17; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is fully God in the flesh and fully man, that He was born of a virgin, and that He lived a sinless life in which He taught and performed mighty works, wonders, and signs exactly as revealed in the four Gospels and Acts. We believe He was crucified, died to pay the penalty for our sins, and was raised bodily from the dead on the third day. Forty days later, He ascended to the Father’s right hand where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers. From there, He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly to this earth to set up His future kingdom (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Hebrews 1:1-2; 7:25; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-5, 10-14; 14:3; Colossians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts 1:3, 11; Rev 20:4).

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a person and is God, possessing all the divine attributes (Acts 5:3-4). He convicts of sin (John 16:7-11), regenerates (John 3:5), indwells (1 Corinthians 6:19), baptizes (1 Corinthians 12:13), and seals all believers at the moment of their salvation (Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). He fills yielded believers (Ephesians 5:18) with the goal of conforming them to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

Salvation

We believe the sole condition for receiving eternal salvation is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for man’s sin and rose from the dead (John 3:16-18; 6:47; Acts 16:31). This saving transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift (John 4:10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Revelation 22:17). We believe no act of Christian obedience, preceding or following faith in Christ may be added to, or considered as a part of, faith as a condition for receiving eternal salvation (Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5). The believer is eternally secure since salvation is based solely upon the finished work of Jesus Christ (John 10:28-29; Romans 8:31-39).

Christian Obedience

We believe the Scriptures present several motivations for Christian obedience: gratitude to God for saving us by His grace (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 5:14-15; Gal 2:20), love for God and His glory (Isaiah 42:8; Ephesians 1:5-6; 1 Peter 1:6-9), the knowledge that God both blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience in His children (Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:3-11; Revelation 3:19), and the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:11; 7:1). A final compelling motivation is the sobering reality that every Christian must stand before the judgment seat of Christ, not to determine his/her destiny in heaven or hell, but to assess the quality of his/her Christian life on earth (2 Cor 5:10; Rev 22:12). Anticipating either reward or loss of reward at the judgment seat also should motivate believers to perseverance and faithfulness to God’s revealed will (1 Corinthians 3:10-17; 9:24-27; James 5:8-9; 1 John 2:28).

The Second Coming

We believe Jesus Christ could return for the Church at any moment (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). The “blessed hope” of Christ’s imminent return has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer (Titus 2:11-14). We also believe Jesus will physically return to earth to set up His kingdom, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells (Isaiah 65:17; 66:22; Zechariah 14:2-4; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:4-6; 21:1).

Humankind

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam’s sin, mankind fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). We believe all men are totally depraved and, of themselves, are unable to remedy their lost condition (Romans 3:9-18, 23; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

Humankind was created to exist forever. People will exist eternally, either separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is to experience eternal conscious torment in Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is to experience eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and Hell are literal places of eternal existence. (Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:6a; Isaiah 59:1-2; John 3:16; Romans 3:9-18, 23; Romans 6:23;; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 John 2:25; 1 John 5:11-13; Revelation 20:15)

We believe that God created humans as male and female by nature and therefore any contrary expression of sexuality and gender is outside of His good design. We believe that He has ordained marriage as the joining of one man and one woman for life. He created intimate sexual activity for mutual satisfaction and procreation within the security and commitment of this exclusive one-flesh bond. (Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5-7,13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

The Church

We believe the Church is composed of all persons who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus Christ, are united together in the body of Christ of which He is Lord and Head, and are commissioned for the God-given tasks of worshiping, fellowshipping, teaching, evangelizing, and exercising spiritual gifts (Acts 2:42, 47; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23-24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).

The Ordinances

We believe the ordinances for the believer are water baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12, 35-38) and the Lord’s Supper as a memorial (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). They are, however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9), but both are an evidence of obedience and fellowship with the Lord (John 15:10-11, 14).