The Bible
We
believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible--meaning
God divinely influenced the human authors of the Scriptures in
such a way that what they wrote was the very Word of God. That
means the inspiration extends to the very words themselves (verbal
inspiration), not just concepts or ideas, and that the inspiration
extends to all parts of Scripture and all subject matters of
Scripture (plenary inspiration). We believe the Bible is the
product of God, given through Spirit-controlled men and thus
it is inerrant, infallible, authoritative and complete. We believe
the Bible to be the true center of Christian union and the final
authority for all human conduct, creeds, and opinions. 2 Timothy
3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21
The True and Living God
We believe there is only one true and living God. He is an infinite Spirit,
the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, infinite in every excellence.
We believe that in the unity of the God-head there are three persons--Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. Yet, they are one in substance and equal in every divine
perfection. Exodus 20:2-3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 4:11
We
believe in the absolute deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ;
that He is divine as no other man can be, being very God of very
God. He is eternal, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit.
He never ceased to be God. When He became a man, He did not lay
aside His deity; but voluntarily laid aside the independent use
of His Godly attributes, such as all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere
present at the same time. In His humanity is the product of the
Holy Spirit, conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary. In this,
He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Genesis 3:15; Isaiah
7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2; John 5:20
We believe that the Holy Spirit
is a divine person, co-equal with God the Father and God
the Son and of the same substance and nature. In times past He
was
active in the creation and in bestowing power upon man for
service to God. Today His ministry is to convict the world of
sin, righteousness
and judgment; He restrains the evil one until God’s
purpose is fulfilled; He bears witness to the truth of the
gospel; He
is the agent of new birth in Christ. His ministry in the
believer is to seal, endue with power, guide, teach, and
sanctify. He
indwells (lives within) every true child of God. John 14:16-17;
Romans 8:14-27; Hebrews 9:14; John 14:26; Genesis 1:1-3;
John 16:8-11; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5-6; Ephesians 1:13-14
The Devil or Satan
We believe in the distinct personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god
of this age and the author of all the power of darkness and sin. He is destined
to the judgment and eternal justice in the lake of fire. Matthew 4:1-3; 2 Corinthians
4:4; Revelation 20:10
Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation--that man came by direct creation
of God and not by any means of evolution. Genesis 1-2; John 1:3; Colossians
1:16-17
The Fall of Man
We believe that mankind, in the person of Adam, was created
in innocence, but Adam willingly chose to disobey God and
became a sinner. We are not only created
in the image and likeness of God as Adam and Eve were, but as their descendents,
we are also in the image and likeness of Adam. We believe that when Adam
fell into sin, that resulted in every one of his descendants
also being “infected” with
sin. Simply, we inherited Adam’s sin nature. Every person from that
moment incurred spiritual death, which is separation from God, and physical
death
as a consequence. Therefore, all of mankind are sinners by nature and practice
under just condemnation without defense or excuse before God. Genesis 1:26-27;
Genesis 3; Genesis 5:3; Genesis 9:6; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:10-19
Redemption From Sin
We
believe that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is
through the redemption bought by Jesus Christ. He voluntarily
took upon Himself a human body and nature, yet without sin.
It is through His sacrificial death on our behalf, substitutionary
atonement, that God and man are reconciled. We believe that
the blessings of this salvation are given on the grounds of
grace to all who believe and confess. Hebrews 10:4-14; Acts
16:30-33; Romans 3:21-24; Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 10:9,10,13
Salvation By Grace
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the
new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not
a process; that in the new birth a person who is dead in trespasses and sins
is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free
gift of God. Faith in the finished work of Christ
and
confession of Him as Lord is God’s requirement on man to receive salvation.
This belief and confession is the product of faith, given by God. Salvation
is by grace and only grace and is not in any way related to the works of
man to earn it. We believe that all who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord
and Savior
are eternally secure in Christ. Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9,10,13; Ephesians
2:8,9; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:35-39; Philippians 1:6
The Church
We
believe that the Church Universal is a New Testament institution
unknown to the Old Testament prophets, established by Jesus
Christ, who is its sole Head; revealed through the holy Apostles;
empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; His “body” for
service and His “bride” for glory. It began with
the New Testament saints and will be completed at the coming
of the Christ in the Rapture. Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:8, 2:1-13;
1 Corinthians 12:12-28; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-33; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18
We believe that the Church Universal
is manifest through the Local Church which is a congregation
of immersion-baptized believers, associated by covenant faith
and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ;
governed by His Laws; exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges
invested in it by His Word; that its officers are pastors and
deacons; that it has the absolute right of self-government directed
by the Holy Spirit and is answerable only to Christ and that
in all matters of membership, policy, government, discipleship,
and benevolence the will of the Local Church is final. Matthew
18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 6:4-5, 7:17, 11:16; 1 Timothy 3:1-15
The Ordinances
We
believe that there are two church ordinances; Baptism and
the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion of the believer
in water to show in a beautiful and solemn way our faith in
a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with the effects of
that faith in our lives as it produces death to sin and resurrection
to a new life. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges
of church membership. The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration
of our Lord’s death until He comes and should always
be preceded by careful self examination. Acts 8:36-39; Romans
6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
The Righteous and The Wicked
We believe there is a radical and essential difference
between the righteous and the wicked. The wicked can only
become truly righteous by God’s standards
when they through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and sanctified by the Spirit of God. All people who continue to be unrepentant
and unbelieving are in His sight wicked and under the curse. The distinction
between the righteous and the wicked apply to man during life and after
death, in the everlasting conscious happiness of the saved
and the everlasting conscious
suffering of the lost. Matthew 3:18, 25:34-41; John 8:21
The Return of Christ
We
believe in the bodily, personal, pre-millennial return of Jesus;
that He will come before the seven year tribulation period
to take away His church, coming only into the air, and that
He will come with His church at the close of the tribulation
to judge the living nations and set up His kingdom on the earth.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21
The Resurrection
We
believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead; that
believers who die in Jesus will be raised at the coming of
Christ for His church and be caught up with the transformed
living saints to meet the Lord in the air, and that the wicked
dead will be raised at the Great White Throne judgment to receive
their final doom. John 5:21-30; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Revelation
7:9-17, 20:11-15
