What We Believe (Full Version)
The Bible
We believe that the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, is the inspired, inerrant and infallible Word of God. The Bible is the only essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to mankind. It reveals man’s fallen state and presents the only means of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide for all of the Christian life, practice and doctrine. The Scriptures are totally sufficient and must not be added to, superseded or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation, personal experience or worldly wisdom.
- Isaiah 55:8-11; Mark 13:31; John 20:31; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18-19
The Godhead
We believe there is one living and true God: infinite, eternal, almighty and perfect in holiness, truth and love. In His perfection, God is unchangeable in every aspect of His being. He is the Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal and co-eternal. In their divine perfection, they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.
- Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 5:48; Matthew 28:19; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6; 1 Timothy 1:17
The Father
We believe God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth. By His Word and for His glory, He freely and supernaturally created the world from nothing. Through the same Word He daily sustains all His creation. He rules over all and is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be changed or thwarted. He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love Him, and in His super-abounding grace gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind’s redemption.
- Genesis 1:1; 1 Chronicles 29:10-11; Romans 5:15; Romans 8:28-30; Romans 11:36; 1 Peter 1:3-4
Jesus Christ
We believe that in the fullness of time Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the eternal Word made flesh, was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary. He was perfect in nature, teaching and obedience. He is fully God and fully man. Through Him all things came into being and were created. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation, and in Him dwells the fullness of the godhead bodily. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death on Calvary’s cross. By His death in our place, He revealed the divine love and upheld the divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having provided redemption for sin, the third day He rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death and the powers of darkness. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all. He is the head of His body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served and obeyed by all.
- John 1:1-2,14; Romans 5:6-8; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:16
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, equal in all aspects with the Father and the Son. He is the active, divine agent in convicting the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Through the proclamation of the Gospel, He persuades people to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth and dwells within the regenerate. The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son, who in turn glorifies the Father. He guides the Church into all truth and the application of that truth in living for Christ. He is to be respected, honored and worshipped as God, the third Person of the Trinity.
- Psalm 139:7-10; Matthew 28:19; John 16:8-11; Acts 5:30-32; Romans 8:2; Galatians 5:22-26
Man
We believe that man was created by an immediate act of God and not by a process of evolution, that man was created in the image and likeness of God, that man was endowed with power of rational and responsible choice between good and evil, and that the purpose of his creation was to glorify God. Man, tempted by Satan, rebelled against God and is now estranged from his maker, subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly lost and incapable of returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive, extending to the body, mind, will and affections. In consequence of this disobedience, the entire human race became involved in sin, so that every person has sinned and is under just condemnation. Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.
- Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:1-6; Acts 17:24-28; Romans 3:10-12; Romans 3:23; 1 Peter 3:18
The Gospel
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news revealed in the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the Gospel, His resurrection is the power of the Gospel, and His ascension is the glory of the Gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It alone satisfies the demand of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other Name by which man must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what He has accomplished.
- John 14:6; Romans 1:16-17; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:14-17; 1 Timothy 2:5-6
Salvation, Regeneration, Justification and Repentance
We believe that salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The resulting regeneration makes the believer a new creature in Jesus Christ, being liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Spirit. Justification is a judicial act of God whereby the believer is declared righteous on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service and works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot become His disciple.
- Matthew 16:24-25; Acts 5:31; Acts 26:20; Romans 8:1-2; Romans 8:29-30; Ephesians 2:8-9
Sanctification
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification and seeks to produce His fruit in us as we are set apart for God’s purposes and are conformed to the image of Christ. Every believer at regeneration receives the Holy Spirit, is sealed by the Holy Spirit, is baptized by the Holy Spirit and is sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, we are sanctified by the Spirit as we expose ourselves to the truth of His Word and grow in the knowledge of the Lord and in the desire to keep His commandments. While all genuine believers are baptized by the Holy Spirit at conversion, the New Testament indicates the importance of an ongoing filling of the Spirit subsequent to conversion as well. The importance of the filling of the Holy Spirit is behind the exhortations for believers not to grieve, quench or resist the work of the Holy Spirit.
- John 17:17 & 19; Romans 6:11-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:13
The Church
We believe that the Church is a living organism, known as the Body of Christ, of which Christ is its Head. It consists of all regenerated persons as members and exists as both a worldwide fellowship of the family of God, as well as in specific local congregations made up of followers of Christ who are committed to obedience to Him. The church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Believers in a local church are called by God to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word of God, observance of baptism and communion as ordinances established by Jesus Christ, fellowship and ministry to one another through the development and use of spiritual gifts and God-given talents. God has given the Church the privilege and responsibility of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world and making disciples, beginning in their own community and extending to the ends of the earth.
- Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:19-22; Ephesians 3:20-21; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7,11-12
Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has instituted two ordinances for obedient observance by the local church: 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. Baptism does not constitute salvation, but is a public profession of faith that a person has already experienced salvation. The Scriptures teach that the elements of Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, have no mystical or supernatural power, but are symbols of the sacrifice of His body and blood through His death on the cross for the remission of our sins and our continued dependence on Him for our spiritual sustenance. The Lord’s Table is open to all believers who are living in right relationship with Jesus Christ, regardless of denomination.
- Matthew 26:26-30; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38-41; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Attitude Toward Civil Government
We believe that civil government is ordained of God for the punishment of those who do evil and for the promotion and protection of that which is good. We, therefore, consider it our duty to pray for those in authority and to be submissive and obedient to their authority, except in matters directly contrary to the Word of God.
- Acts 4:18-19; Acts 5:27-29; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; Titus 3:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-14
Eternal Security
We believe that a person who has truly been born again by the Spirit of God through the imperishable seed is kept by God’s power and is thus secure in Christ forever. The person is given everlasting life, is sealed for the day of redemption, possesses a life that is now hidden with Christ in God, has been given the knowledge and assurance of eternal life and has the assurance that there is no longer any condemnation or separation from God.
- John 5:24; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 4:30; 1 Peter 1:5
Resurrection & Immortality
We believe that at the return of the Lord, the righteous dead will be raised, and living believers will be changed so that both will have literal, spiritual and immortal bodies like unto Christ’s own glorious, resurrected body.
- Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
We believe in the personal, visible, pre-millennial and imminent return of Christ. This will be accomplished in two stages. The Rapture is Christ coming for His saints. Christ will descend to take away His waiting Bride, the Church, to be with Him in the place He has prepared for her.
The Revelation is Christ descending to establish His kingdom and reign upon the earth for 1,000 years. Between these two stages is the Great Tribulation, when God’s righteous and holy judgments will come upon the earth, punishing those who have rejected Christ and the offer of God’s salvation.
- John 14:1-3; Acts 1:10-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; Revelation 6:1-19:21; Revelation 20:1-6
Judgments
We believe that the believer’s sins are judged in Christ on the cross, and that the believer’s works will be judged for rewards at the judgment seat of Christ at the time of His second coming. We believe that the unrepentant will appear before God for judgment at the Great White Throne after the millennium to be consigned to the Lake of Fire. There they will suffer eternal torment together with the devil and his angels.
- Ecclesiastes 12:14; 1 Corinthians 3:8-15; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:10-15
The Consummation
We believe that the Consummation of all things includes the visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s Kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the Consummation, Satan with his hosts and all those outside Christ are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment; but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with Him forever. As the Bride of Christ, all believers will be in the presence of God forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new.
- Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21:1-22:7
Sanctity of Human Life
We believe in the sanctity of human life traceable to the “breath of life” breathed into Adam in the Garden of Eden. We believe that life begins at conception, and that abortion and euthanasia are the unscrupulous ending of human life forbidden by God in the Scriptures. We further believe there is a significant distinction to be made between the sacredness of human life created in the “image of God” and animal life instituted by God for man’s welfare.
- Job 1:21, 12:10, & 27:3; Genesis 1:26-28 & 2:7; Ruth 4:13; Proverbs 6:17b; 2 Kings 8:12
We believe in the sacredness of marriage, which is the basic institution of God created as a picture of Christ and the Church for the welfare of mankind and the procreation of the human race. It is a permanent relationship between one man and one woman (as defined by one’s gender at birth), equally yoked as believers, and intended to be severed only by death. Homosexuality is not an alternative lifestyle, nor an expression of Christian love.
- Ephesians 5:32; Hebrews 13:4; Genesis 1:28 & 2:18; Matthew 19:1-6; Romans 1:26-28; 2 Corinthians 6:14