WHAT WE BELIEVE
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GOD We believe in the only true God – John 17.3. We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same honor, confidence, and obedience – Mark 12.29, John 1.1-4, Matthew 28.19-20, Acts 4.3-4. He created all things – Revelation 4.11 and upholds all things by the Word of His power – Hebrews 1.3. In Him we live and move and have our being – Acts 17.28. He is a God of truth and without iniquity, He is just and right – Deuteronomy 32.4, and He shall judge the world – Psalm 9.8.
JESUS CHRIST We believe in the total deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His eternal Son-ship. We believe He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe Him to be true God and true man, sinless and perfect and Savior of the world – John 1.1,14,18, 14.8-9, 1 Timothy 3.16.
HOLY SPIRIT We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ – John 16.14. The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner upon belief in Christ, baptizing the believer into one body of which Christ is the head. The Holy Spirit indwells, seals, guides, instructs, fills, comforts and empowers the believer for godly living – Mark 13.11, John 14.26, 16.13, Romans 5.5, 1 Corinthians 3.16. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of God’s righteousness and of coming judgment – John 16.8-11 and He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony.
SCRIPTURES We believe the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings. We believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are God’s complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God’s authority for the total well-being of mankind – Psalm 119.97-104, 160, Matthew 5.18, John 5.46-47, 10.35, 2 Timothy 3.15-16.
CREATION We believe in the biblical account of creation of the physical universe, angels and man by God in six literal days. We believe the biblical account is a literal, historical account of the direct creative acts of God. We believe that man was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life. We believe all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race – Genesis chapters 1-2, Colossians 1.16-17, John 1.3
MAN We believe man was created in innocence under the law of his Creator but, by voluntarily transgressing, fell from his sinless state. Consequently, all mankind is sinful – Romans 5.12. All people are born with a sin nature. As sinners they are under just condemnation without defense or excuse – Romans 3.23, 6.23. We believe that every man and every woman is totally depraved and needs a Savior – Genesis 3.1-6, Romans 3.10-19, 1.18, 1.32.
SALVATION We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice – 2 Corinthians 5.21. We believe that the salvation of sinners is initiated by God – Ephesians 1.4. We believe that each person who by faith receives Jesus Christ as personal Savior is justified on the basis of Jesus Christ’s shed blood on Calvary. Each person who receives Christ as personal Savior is born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby becomes eternally secure as a child of God – John 3. We believe the Holy Spirit places each believing person into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation – Romans 8.37-39, 2 Corinthians 5.21, 1 Corinthians 12.13.
THE GOSPEL We believe the Gospel (The Good News) is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures – 1 Corinthians 15.3-4. After His resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and He is presently the believers High Priest and Advocate – Acts 1.3, 1.9, Hebrews 7.25-26.
SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER We believe that all who are truly “born again” – John 3, are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ. They are sealed by the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 1.13-14 and are secure in their salvation, having been given eternal life – John 3.16, 10.28-29, Romans 8.35-39. We also believe that God does a purifying work in each believer until the Day of Jesus Christ – Philippians 1.6.
CHURCH Upon accepting Jesus as Savior, a believer becomes part of His body, which is the church. There is one church universal, composed of all those throughout the world who acknowledge and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers – Ephesians 5.23, Romans 12.1, Acts 2.42-46, 1 Corinthians 14.26, Matthew 28.18-20. Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church (local church) under the oversight of elders. The church’s membership (baptized believers) are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ – Ephesians 4.16.
SATAN We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, the Devil; and that he was created by God as an angel but through pride and rebellion, became the enemy of his Creator. At his fall, he became the unholy god of this age and the ruler of all powers of darkness and is destined to the judgement of an eternal justice in the lake of fire – Matthew 4.1-11, John 8.44, 2 Corinthians 4.4, Revelation 20.10
HEAVEN, HELL & THE RETURN OF CHRIST We believe in the blessed hope: the bodily, pre-millenial, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in Heaven – Matthew 25.34, John 14.2, 2 Corinthians 5.1, Revelation 2.7. The lost are raised to eternal torment in Hell in conscious separation from God – Matthew 8.12, 10.28, 13.49-50, Mark 9.47-48, Luke 12.5, Revelation 21.8.