Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith

Article 1. – The Bible.

We believe that the Bible, composed of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the breathed out word of God. We believe that this word is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice, inerrant in the original writings, and designed to transform our lives by showing us Christ. We believe the words of the Bible should be interpreted in their normal, natural, and usual sense (Matthew 5:17; John 10:35; Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 10:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; James 1:21; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:16).

Article 2. – The Godhead.

We believe there is one God, existing eternally in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three persons are coequal in nature, attributes and in every perfection (Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 110:1-4; Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:18-20; John 1:1-18; 6:37; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6; Hebrews 1:8).

Article 3. – The Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe that the eternal Son of God became incarnate through the virgin birth, and received a human body and a sinless human nature. He became and remained a perfect man, and yet He retained His absolute deity, and is at the same time very God and very man (Luke 1:30-35; 2:40; John 1:1-18; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:15).

We believe that, in fulfillment of prophecy and according to the eternal counsels of God, He gave His life as a ransom for many. Jesus Christ died on the cross in our place, for our sins, as our substitute (John 1:11, 29; Acts 2:22-24; Romans 3:23-26; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 21; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 10:5-14; 1 Peter 3:18).

We believe that Jesus Christ literally arose from the dead. His resurrection confirmed the truth of all He said, and it guarantees the redemption and resurrection of all who believe in Him (John 20 & 21; Romans 1:4; 5:8; 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:5-6; 15:20-22; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Ephesians 1:19-22; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

We believe that Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as Head of the Church and as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-11; John 14:2; Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 4:14-16; 6:20; 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).

Article 4. – The Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, omnipresent from all eternity, took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost. He dwells in every believer, and by His baptism unites all believers into the body of Christ. He is the source of power for all acceptable service and worship (John 14:16-17; 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:22; 1 Thessalonians 2:7).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is involved in various ministries. He restrains evil; convicts the world; regenerates, indwells, and anoints all who are saved, sealing believers unto the day of redemption. We also believe that the Holy Spirit will teach, guide, and enable those believers who are yielded to Him and walking in obedience to the Word (John 3:6; 16:7-16; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 John 2:20-27).

We believe that divine enabling gifts for service are bestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all who are saved. These gifts are given to every believer for the building up of the body of Christ (Romans 8:23; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-13:13; Ephesians 4:4-16; Hebrews 2:3-4; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

Article 5. – Angels.

We believe that God created a company of sinless, spiritual beings, known as angels. These angels are involved in various ministries. (Genesis 3:22-24; Daniel 12:1; Isaiah 6:1-3; Matthew 4:11; 18:10; 26:53; 28:2,6; Luke 15:10; 16:22; Acts 8:26; 1 Corinthians 4:9; 1 Timothy 5:21; Hebrews 1:14; Jude 9).

We believe that Satan sinned through pride and that a great number of angels rebelled against God with him in his fall, thereby becoming demons. Some demons are active as Satan’s agents and associated with him in the execution of his unholy purposes, while others are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 1 Timothy 3:6; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).

Article 6. – Man.

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God. We believe that because of this, each human life is of immeasurable value and worth. We also believe that in Adam’s sin the race fell, became alienated from God, and became subject to the power of the devil. As a result of this, every human being inherits a sinful nature, and is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:53; Romans 3:10-19; 5:12; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6).

Article 7. – Sin.

We believe that all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. To sin is to stray from God’s standard, to miss the mark of God’s holiness. It is fundamentally a rebellion against God Himself. The penalty for such rebellion is death.

The Good News is that Christ died for sinners. We must either accept Christ’s payment or personally experience the eternal conscious torment of death in hell and the Lake of Fire. When a Christian sins he has an advocate in Jesus Christ, and he is commanded to confess and forsake his sin (Isaiah 53:6; 64:6; Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 1 John 1:1-9; 2:1-2).

Article 8. – Salvation.

We believe that, owing to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again; and that no degree of improvement however great, no attainments in morality however high, no culture however attractive, no baptism or other ordinance however administered, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. What is absolutely essential to salvation is a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, and only those thus saved are sons of God. We believe that our redemption has been accomplished by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. He was made to be sin for us, dying in our place; and nothing can add in the very least degree to the value of His blood, or to the merit of His finished work.

We believe that salvation is received only through faith in Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift of God brought to man by grace, and is received by faith. All who so believe are regenerated and are sealed by the Holy Spirit and are therefore eternally secure in Christ. (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 26:28; John 1:12; 3:5, 16, 18, 36; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Romans 5:5-9; 3:22-26; 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13,22; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:18-23; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:31-39; 1 John 5:10-13).

Article 9. – 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 on the day of Pentecost (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 1:5; 11:15; 1 Corinthians 12;13; Ephesians 1:21-23; 5:25-32).

We believe the Scripture teaches that this spiritual body is made manifest locally in congregations of believers, and that each local church should be governed by elders (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-7).

We believe there are two ordinances which were prescribed by Christ to be performed by His Church:

Baptism: We believe that baptism into water pictures our identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 8:36-39; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

The Lord’s Supper: We believe that the Lord’s Supper exists to remind us of the death of Christ on our behalf, to testify to our fellowship with Christ in this life, and to anticipate the coming of Christ in the future (Matt 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11;23-28; Jude 1:12).

Article 10. – The Future.

We believe in the personal and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in Christ pass immediately into His presence at the moment physical death occurs, and remain in conscious spiritual joy until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for His own, whereupon soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever. The souls of unbelievers who have died physically remain conscious of condemnation and in misery until the final judgment, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to be punished with everlasting destruction (Luke 16:19-26; 23:42; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 1:6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).