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WE BELIEVE -
BIBLE:
A.
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New
Testaments, is the Word of God. In
recording the Bible, God supernaturally directed the human authors so that,
using their individual personalities, they composed without error His message to
man. All of the words of Scripture
in the original writings were fully and equally inspired and without any error,
and God has preserved His word for us today.
For these reasons, we are committed to the Bible as the final authority
in all matters of doctrine (faith) and practice.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17)
GOD:
B.
We believe that only one God exists, but that He exists in three persons:
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each
of these Persons has the same divine nature, attributes and perfection.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; 4:35; Matthew 28:19;
John 10:30; Acts 5:3-4)
JESUS:
C.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man
having been miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin
Mary. In becoming fully
man Jesus did not cease to be fully God.
He lived a sinless life and voluntarily died on Calvary’s cross, the Just
dying for the unjust, making it possible for man to be saved.
We believe He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, and after He
had showed Himself to numerous groups of people for approximately forty days,
ascended back into Heaven to the right hand of the Father.
Presently, He is our Intercessor and Advocate, the only true Mediator
between God and man. (John 1:1,14;
Luke 1:35; Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 10:17-18; 1
Peter 3:18; 2:24; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Hebrews 1:3; 7:25; 1 Timothy 2:5)
HOLY
SPIRIT:
D.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God.
He is truly a Divine Person and is equal with the Father and the Son.
He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.
He regenerates, baptizes, seals, indwells, fills, enlightens, guides and
empowers the believer for godly living and service.
He is ever present to testify of Christ, seeking to occupy us with Him
and not with ourselves or our experiences.
We believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to every believer
at the moment of salvation in order that they may serve God and edify (build up)
the body of Christ. We believe that
the sign gifts (such as tongues, interpretation of tongues, and apostleship)
were given to the first-century church, but that they ceased at the conclusion
of the apostolic age and are no longer in operation today.
(Acts 5:3-4; John 16:8,13,14: Acts 1:8; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians
12-14; Ephesians 2:19-20; 4:7-16; Hebrews 2:3-4; 6:5)
MAN:
E.
We believe that God created man from the dust of the ground and that man
was created in the image and likeness of God.
When the first man (Adam) sinned all humanity fell, inheriting a sinful
nature and becoming totally alienated from God.
Since Adam, every human--the sole exception being Jesus Christ--is born
with a sinful nature and is under
the curse of both physical and spiritual death.
In this fallen condition, man is left totally depraved and unable to
remedy his own sinful situation.
(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7; Romans 3:10-12,23; 5:12; 6:16-20; 8:7; Ephesians
2:1-3,12)
SALVATION:
F.
We believe that salvation is received only by grace through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and that redemption has been accomplished solely and
completely by the shed blood of Christ who was made to be sin and a curse for
us. Salvation is a gift received
through faith, not a merit earned by works.
We believe that salvation involves deliverance from the penalty of sin at
the moment of justification, victory over the power of sin during the Christian
life, and deliverance from the presence of sin at glorification.
When a person truly believes in and receives the Lord Jesus Christ as
Savior--and God is the One who knows this--that person is born into the family
of God and will, without any exceptions, be with Christ forever.
(Romans 3:24; 6:23; John 3:7-18; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Acts 16:30-31; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians
3:20-21; John 6:38-40; 10:27-29; Romans 8:38-39)
CHURCH:
G.
We believe that the Church, the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual
organism made up of all born-again persons.
We believe that every believer, at the moment of salvation, is baptized
into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit.
We believe that there are to be local churches as the visible
representation of the body of Christ in the local community.
These local churches are to observe the ordinances of water baptism and
the Lord’s supper and to seek to do the will of God.
We believe that the local church should be totally committed to the
edifying of believers and should have an active outreach in evangelism.
(Ephesians 1:20-23; 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18; Acts 2:1-4; 11:15; John
14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Acts 20:28, Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11-16)
SEPARATION:
H.
We believe that all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ should live in
such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord.
We believe that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and
sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God.
(2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1-2; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; 2
Corinthians 6:14-7:1)
MISSIONS:
I.
We believe it is the responsibility of every believer to be involved in
the proclamation of the Gospel to every creature.
We believe that the church should be careful not to neglect the
evangelism and discipleship of people during their childhood.
(Mark 16:15; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20; Acts 1:8; Mark 10:13-16; Matthew
18:1-14)
THE
SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST:
J.
We believe that the return of Jesus Christ in the air for His bride
(the Church) is imminent. It could
happen at any moment. Following the
rapture of the Church, the seven-year Tribulation period (Daniel’s 70th Week)
will take place. Following the
Tribulation the Millennium will begin.
This will come about when our Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth
literally, visibly and bodily at the end of the Tribulation to rule and reign
for 1,000 years. (John 14:1-3; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18; Daniel 9:24-27; Zechariah 14:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:10;
5:9; Revelation 3:10; Revelation 19; 20)
THE
ETERNAL STATE:
K.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal
life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
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. We believe that the
souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second
resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they will be cast into the lake
of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.
(Matthew 25:41-46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20; 1 Thessalonians
4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 16:19-31; 2 Thessalonians
1:7-9; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; Hebrews 9:27)
THE
PERSONALITY OF SATAN:
L.
We believe that Satan is an angelic person, the author of sin and the
cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and,
that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.
(Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-15; Matthew 4:2-11;
Revelation 20:10)