BELIEFS

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were written by men under the inspiration of God. It is God’s revelation of Himself to man. Therefore, all Scripture is authoritative, infallible and inerrant. It is altogether sufficient as the only rule for faith and practice.

(Ps. 19:7; Ps. 119:160; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)

We believe there is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, sovereign, and personal Being, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all. To Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. 

(Gen. 1:1; Ex. 15:11; Deut. 6:4; Ps. 145:3; John 1:3; Rom. 1:20; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 1:17)

We believe God reveals Himself as eternally existing in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person has distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

(Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 1:3-14)

We believe God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any way to be the author of evil or approver of sin nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of man.

(Isa. 46:9-11; Prov. 16:33; Acts 2:23; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Jas 1:13-15)

We believe election is the gracious choice of God according to his purpose in which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It encompasses all the means in connection with the ends. Election is consistent with the free agency of man. It is the glorious display of His sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

(Rom. 8:28-30; 9:1-29; 1 Cor. 1:27-29; Eph. 1:3-14)

We believe mankind is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. Through the temptation of Satan, Adam transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence whereby his descendants inherit a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law. As a result, they are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors. Only by the grace of God can mankind fulfill the creative purposes of God, and only by His special grace of salvation can mankind be brought into holy fellowship with Him. Because God created mankind in His own image, every person possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

(Gen. 1:26-30; 2:7, 18-22; 3:1-19; Ps. 32:1-5; 51:5; Rom. 1:18-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:12-20; 7:14-25; Eph. 2:1-3)

We believe Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of God, is fully God and fully man. He took upon Himself a human nature, yet without any change in His divine Person. He is one Person with two natures. He is the divinely appointed mediator between God and man. He is perfectly sinless. He suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners, bearing the sin of the world, and suffering the full penalty of divine wrath in sinners’ place. He was buried, rose again on the third day, and ascended to His Father, at whose right hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He will return again visibly and bodily. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the Universe.

(Isa. 53:10-12; John 1:1, 14; Acts 1:9-11; Rom. 3:21-26; 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Gal. 3:13; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:1-3)

We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He brings glory to the Father and the Son. He calls people to the Savior, and applies the work of Christ to the believer distributing spiritual gifts to every believer according to His sovereign good pleasure for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. At the moment of regeneration, He unites every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, convicts, empowers, comforts, guides, teaches, sanctifies and indwells every believer. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

(John 14:16-17; 16:7-14; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9, 14-17; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14)

We believe regeneration, or new birth, is a work of the Holy Spirit, giving life to those dead in trespasses and sins, enlightening their minds spiritually to understand the Word of God, and renewing their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.

(Eph. 2:1-6; Titus 3:5; 1 John 5:1)

We believe repentance and faith are inseparable experiences and graces from God. A sinner is made aware of their sin, is deeply convicted of their guilt, danger, and helplessness, and through faith in the work of Christ as their only sufficient Lord and Savior, turns to God in genuine contrition, confession and supplication for mercy.

(Acts 2:37-38; Rom. 3:27-28; 4:1-5; 4:17-25; 10:14, 17; 2 Cor. 7:10-11; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29)

We believe justification is God’s gracious and full pardon of sinners, who repent and believe in Christ, through the propitiation that Christ has made. Justification is not of human works or effort, but is accomplished solely based on the obedience of Christ and His righteousness, which He freely imputes to the believer through faith in Him. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

(Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:21-26; 10:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9)

We believe sanctification is the setting apart for God’s purpose those who have been united to Christ, regenerated, and have a new heart. Believers are further sanctified through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, whereby they progress in their moral and spiritual maturity, grow in grace, and press on in joyful obedience and conformity to all of Christ’s commands.

(Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:26-27; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:13-24; 2 Pet. 1:3-11)

We believe all true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally or finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end, kept by the power of God. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 

(John 6:37-40; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:28-39; 1 Cor. 1:8-9; Phil. 1:6)

We believe the Lord Jesus is the head of the church, which is composed of all His true disciples. It is a spiritual organism made up of all believers everywhere for all time. Christians are to join together in a local covenanted body of baptized believers, gathered under the preaching of God’s Word, observing the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as taught by Christ in Scripture, submitting to the authority of God’s Word and to the accountability of fellow believers. The church works to carry out the mission of Christ to redeem people from all the peoples of the world. The two offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon as qualified by Scripture.

(Matt. 28:18-20; John 10:16; Acts 20:17, 28; Eph. 1:22; 5:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 5:17-18; Tit. 1:5-9)

We believe baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ. It 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 obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith and union with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to their faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being an ordinance, it is prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper. 

(Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 2:12)

We believe the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and fruit of the vine, and to be observed by His church until the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate His death and anticipate His second coming, to nourish and confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge and renewal of their communion with Him, and of their church fellowship.

(Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:23-34)

We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. Because the husband and wife are both created in God’s image, they are of equal worth before God. 

 Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them in fear and admonition of the Lord through consistent lifestyle examples and loving discipline. Children are to honor and obey their parents. 

(Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-25; Prov. 5:15-20, 22:6; Matt. 5:31-32; 19:3-9; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4)

We believe God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all people in righteousness according to their deeds. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting and conscious punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever with the Lord. 

(Matt. 25:46; John 5:22-29; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:12-28; 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil. 1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 7:13-17; 14:9-11; 20:11-15; 21:3-4)