What We Believe

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 5:20We 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 Ordinance

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