WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Bible. We believe that the books of the Old and New Testament, comprising the Holy Bible, are the inspired Word of God. We believe that the Holy Spirit supervised the writers of the Scriptures in what they wrote so that, using their own peculiar personalities, the very words recorded in the original manuscripts are the inerrant revelation of God. We believe the Bible not only contains the Word of God, but actually is God's Word and, therefore, is the complete and final authority for belief and behavior. We believe that this inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of Scripture: historically, poetically, doctrinally and prophetically (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor.2:13; John 17:17).

The Trinity. We believe that there is one and only one true and living God, an infinite Spirit who is the Maker and Supreme Ruler of the universe. We believe the Scriptures reveal Him to be holy, sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, immutable and full of love, justice, goodness, mercy and truth. Although there is only one God, we believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three eternal and coequal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe these members of the Trinity are the same in substance, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, but are distinct in subsistence, executing different but harmonious functions (Mark 12:29; John 4:24; Matt. 3:16-17; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).

Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is the pre-existent and eternal Son of God who became man in order to reveal God and redeem man. We believe He was supernaturally conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. In His person, we believe the Lord Jesus combined forever full and undiminished deity with true and perfect humanity to become the God-man. We believe Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinful man, was buried, arose bodily from the tomb, ascended into Heaven where He ministers on the behalf of saints, and someday will come again for His own (John 1:18, 8:58; Matt. 1:23; Col. 1:15-17; 1 Tim. 1:15, 3:16).

The Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, fully equal with God the Father and God the Son. Although He is of the exact same essence, we believe He is a personality distinct from the other members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit, we believe, has an active ministry to the world in general which includes the restraining of evil, convicting of the unsaved and bestowing of God's goodness on all mankind. We also believe He has a ministry to every Christian which consists of regenerating, sealing, indwelling, baptizing into the Body of Christ, and the giving of spiritual gifts. (Acts 5:3-4, 2; Thes. 2:3-9; John 16:7-11; Matt. 5:45; Tit. 3:5; Eph. 1:13; 1 Cor. 6:19, 12:13; Eph. 3:20; 1 Cor. 14; James 5:14; Eph. 5:18; Rom. 8:16, 14; John 16:13, 7).

Angelic Beings. We believe that God created an order of spirit beings known as angels before the formation of the world for the purpose of worshipping and serving Him. We believe angels possess individual personalities and are intelligent, powerful, and inferior to God but superior to man. Lucifer, we believe, was one of the highest in rank of all the angelic beings in eternity past, but he sinned through pride and rebelled against God, thereby becoming Satan. We believe the Devil's proclaimed purpose is to oppose the plan of God and to promote his own evil program by deceiving and attacking men. In carrying out his work, we believe Satan is aided by other fallen angels known as demons or evil spirits. We believe these demons can influence, tempt, and control all men and even "possess" unbelievers. We believe there are unfallen angels, known as elect or holy angels, who carry out the will of God by ministering to men (Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:6; 2 Pet. 2:11; Isa. 14:12-15; 1 Pet. 5:8; Eph 6:12; Heb. 1:14).

Creation. We believe that the Triune God, according to His sovereign will and for His own glory, created the heavens and the earth without the use of pre-existent material. All living things, we believe, came into being by a direct creative act of God and not by an evolutionary or random process, and thus have an existence distinct from Him and yet always dependent on Him (Gen. 2:4; Prov. 16:4; Acts 17:24; Col. 1:16-17).

Man. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God in a state of innocence. Through deliberate disobedience, we believe man fell from his sinless state and as a consequence lost his fellowship with God and became subject to spiritual and physical death. We believe that through Adam's transgressions the entire human race has inherited a corrupt nature which is essentially evil and unable to please God (Gen. 1:26-27, 3:24; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3).

Sin. We believe that sin is anything contrary to the character of God. Every man, we believe, is alienated from God because of his depraved nature as well as personal acts of sin. We believe that each person born into the world is separated from God and completely incapable of meriting salvation and avoiding the judgment of God. The sin nature, we believe, is never eradicated, even for those who are born into the family of God, but it remains until the end of life. However, we believe God has made provision for forgiveness of sin through the blood of Jesus Christ and victory over sin through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom. 3:10, 23, 6:23; Eph. 4:18; 1 John 1:8-10; Gal. 5:16-17).

Marriage and Sexuality. We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman and that all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matt. 19:4-6, 9; Rom. 1:18-31; I Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; I Tim. 1:8-11; Jude 7). We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 1:27; Deut. 22:5).

Salvation. We believe that salvation from the penalty and power of sin is provided only through the blood of Jesus Christ which He shed on the cross when He was made sin for us and died in our place. There is nothing man can do, we believe, to attain this salvation through good works, moral achievements, or religious status. We believe the one and only condition for salvation is personal faith in Jesus Christ as one's own substitute for and Savior from sin. At the time of salvation, we believe a person is spiritually regenerated, his sins are forgiven, God's righteousness is imputed to him, and he is declared righteous in the sight of God (1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; Eph. 4:32; Rom. 5:1; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Jn. 2:19).

The Church. We believe that the Church is a unique organism composed of individuals who have placed their faith in Christ as Savior. The Church began, we believe, on the day of Pentecost and will continue its distinct purpose until the Rapture. We believe that the Church exists in both a universal aspect, as the Body of Christ, and in a local assembly of believers. The local church, we believe, has the twofold purpose of the edification of believers and the evangelization of the lost. The two ordinances of the church are water baptism, which we practice by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, which we believe to be a memorial of Christ's death and is open to all believers (1 Cor. 12:13; Acts 2:1-4; 1 Thes. 4:13-17; Col. 4:16; Eph. 4:7; Heb. 13:17; Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-28.)

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of outward obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; death to sin; burial of the old life; and resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to a believer’s faith in an ultimate bodily resurrection to eternal life with Christ in His Kingdom. The Lord’s Supper is an act of worship and obedience whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are significant expressions of salvation, worship, and submission to God for the believer (Matt. 3:13-17, 26:26-30, 28:19-20; Mk. 1:9-11, 14:22-26; Lk. 3:21-22, 22:19-20; Jn. 3:23; Act. 2:41-42, 8:35- 39, 16:30-33, 20:7; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 10:16, 21, 11:23-29; Col. 2:12).

Spiritual Gifts. We believe the Holy Spirit empowers spiritual gifts as God wills to His children. These gifts are designed to testify to the presence of the Kingdom and distributed to equip the saints for worship and ministry to build up the body of Jesus Christ (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:8-11; Eph. 4:11-12). The miracles and revelatory gifts dispensed to the apostles and prophets of the early church are active today. The use of spiritual gifts is for the purpose of edification within the body that it would be built up in Christ (1 Cor. 14:12). We believe that God uses these spiritual gifts to display His glory and anointing in individual saints for the work of His ministry established in the timeless message of the Bible (Act. 2:1-4).

Evangelism and Missions. The call and holy privilege of every child of God and of all churches of Jesus Christ is to go and make disciples of the nations (Matthew 9:37-38). God creates transformed lives evidenced by purity, holiness, and growth in Christ-like character by means of new birth. The Holy Spirit imputes the love of Christ into the hearts of believers, thus transforming their love toward others, for His Name’s sake. This results in children of God who actively seek to take the Gospel to sinners and who share in carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:13-15; 2 Timothy 4:5). The highest purpose for evangelism and missions is that the name of Jesus Christ and the glory of His kingdom be taken to the ends of the earth until He returns (Matthew 24:14; Romans 1:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 22:17).

Future Things. We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal felicity of the righteous, and the eternal punishment of the unredeemed (Mat. 16:27; Mk. 14:62; Jn. 14:3; Act. 1:11; Phil. 3:20; I Thess. 4:15; II Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13; I Cor. 15: II Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-15).