Statement of Faith
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the
Bible, as it is in truth, the Word of God... (I
Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal,
plenary inspiration in the original writings,
and God's preservation of His pure words to
every generation (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms
12:6-8).
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing
in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature,
co-equal in power and glory, and having the same
attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II
Corinthians 13:14).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the
eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing
to be God, having been conceived by the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order
that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men
(John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14;
Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).
The Person and Work of the Holy
Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person
who reproves the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural
Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers
into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing
them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11;
II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14;
Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).
We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing (II Corinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22, 14:21-22).
Man
We believe that man was created in the image and
likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race
fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became
alienated from God; and that man is totally
depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to
remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27;
Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).
The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11).
The Way of Salvation
We believe that the clear message of salvation
is repentance toward God and faith toward our
Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). We believe that
salvation is "by grace" plus nothing minus
nothing. We believe that men are justified by
faith alone and are accounted righteous before
God only through the merit of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John
1:12; I Peter 1:18-19)
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).
The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body
and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual
organism made up of all born-again persons of
this present age which began with Christ and the
Apostles, was empowered at Pentecost, and will
be caught up to be with Christ at the Rapture
(Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; I Corinthians
12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2).
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).
The Ordinances of the Church
We recognize the ordinances of baptism by
immersion in water and the Lord's Supper as a
Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in
this age (Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42,
18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26).
Biblical Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in
such a manner as not to bring reproach upon
their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from
all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful
pleasures, practices and associations is
commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1,
2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II
Corinthians 6:14-7:1).
The Return of Christ
We believe the "Blessed Hope" of our Lord's
return is literal, personal, visible, imminent,
premillennial, and pretribulational. He will
rapture His Church prior to the seven years of
tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation
Christ will return with His saints to establish
His thousand-year reign on the earth. (I
Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; I
Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah
14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; Psalm
89:3-4)
Our Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all
men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved
to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew
25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26; Revelation
20:5-6, 12-13).
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).
