OUR BELIEFS
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe the Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments only, to be the Word of God; that it was written by men who were moved by the Holy Spirit so that their writings, in the original, were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be. They are the complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, and so are the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
(Psalm 19:7-11; 119:89; Proverbs 30:5-6; John 17:17; Romans 15:4; Ephesians 6:17; II Timothy 3:16-17; I Hebrews 4:12; Peter 1:23; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
THE TRUE GOD
We believe in the existence of the one, and only, living, personal, triune God, as revealed in the Bible; Creator of the universe and man in six literal days, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – who are eternal in being, identical in essence, equal in power and glory and having the same divine attributes and perfections, though exercising them in their distinct offices.
a. God the Father - We believe in God the Father perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son.
b. God the Son - We believe in Jesus Christ, God the Son, pre-existent with the Father, begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary: sinless in nature and life, infallible in His teaching, making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, and His perpetual intercession for His people.
c. God the Holy Spirit - We believe in the deity and personality of God the Holy Spirit. We believe that He came from God to convince and convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and to regenerate, seal, sanctify, indwell, teach, guide, comfort and empower those who believe in Jesus Christ.
(Genesis 1:1-3; Exodus 15:11; 20:2-3; Psalm 83:18; 90:2; 147:5; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 4:24; 10:30; 14:16-17; 14:26; 15:26-27; 16:8-11; 16:13; Acts 5:30-32; Romans 8:14-16; 8:26-27; 11:33; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:18; 4:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 9:14; Revelation 4:11)
THE CHURCH
We believe that a New Testament local church is a congregation of baptized believers in Jesus Christ who are united in covenant for worship, instruction and fellowship. We believe that Christ is the head of this church. We believe in the offices of pastor and deacon as defined in the Scriptures. We believe that the true mission of the church is to develop followers of Christ who love, serve and obey Him. We believe it is the responsibility of church members to discover, improve and use their spiritual gifts to assist in the work of the church. We believe God has committed to the church for perpetual observance, two ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We hold that the local church is independent and autonomous and must be free from any interference by ecclesiastical or political authority. Therefore, we believe that the church and state must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation and patronage of the other.
BAPTISM AND THE LORDS SUPPER
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer; in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church, to stand as a representation of their faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, with its effect in their death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is a pre-requisite to the privileges of church membership and the Lord’s Supper; in which the members of the church, by the symbolic use of bread and grape juice are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
(Matthew 28:19-20; 3:16; Acts 2:41-42; 6:5-6; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-32; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-12; 5:23-24; Colossians 1:18; 2:12; I Timothy 3:1-13; I Peter 5:1-4)
MAN
We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he willfully sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners in thought and deed by choice.
(Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 5:19; 7:9; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:1-3)
SALVATION
We believe that God has not abandoned mankind to sin, but in love provided salvation through the blood which Christ shed on the cross as the substitute sacrifice for lost sinners. We believe salvation is offered as a free gift that may be obtained by any man who will repent of sin and trust Christ to save him apart from any human merit or sacrament. This salvation is secured eternally for the believer.
(Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 20:28; John 3:16; 10:28; Romans 5:8; 6:23; 8:30-39; 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 9:22,26; II Peter 3:9; I John 2:2)
ASSURANCE OF SALVATION
We believe in the eternal security of the believer; that once a person has genuinely trusted Christ as Savior, it is impossible for that person to be saved again.
(John 10:27-29; Romans 8:30-39; Hebrews 5:11-6:6; I John 5:11-13)
CHRISTIAN LIVING
We believe that every saved person should manifest a Christ-like lifestyle, consistently walking with and yielding to the indwelling Spirit. We believe that a Christian should live a distinctly separated life from the world.
(Romans 12:1-2; I Corinthians 6:14-20; Colossians 3:1-17)
MISSIONS
We believe the command to give the gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable and this Commission was given to the churches. Therefore, we believe it is our responsibility as a church body to be obedient to this command, both at a local and global level, and support missionary efforts through our prayers, financial giving and the sending of our own into the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-15; Ephesians 6:19; Philippians 4:10-19; II Thessalonians 3:1)
GRACE OF GIVING
We believe that Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith. We believe that God has commanded His people to help fund His work by their faithful, willing, and cheerful sacrificial giving of their financial resources.
(Leviticus 27:30; Malachi 3:8-10; Matthew 23:23; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 8:7; 9:6-7; Hebrews 7:2,4)
SATAN
We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels. We believe that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy; the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all the powers of darkness. We believe that Satan is destined, however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.
(Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Matthew 4:1-3; Mark 13:21-22; John 14:30; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2; I Thessalonians 3:5; II Thessalonians 2:8-12; I Peter 5:8; II Peter 2:4; I John 3:8; 4:3; Revelation 12:7-10; 13:13-14; 19:11, 16, 20; 20:1-3; 20:10)
LAST THINGS
We believe that the next event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the Rapture, or catching away, of the church, which is made up of all believers of this dispensation, both alive and dead, to meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the clouds; that this involves the bodily resurrection of the believing dead and the bodily translation of living believers; and that this event is imminent and therefore will take place before the Tribulation. (I Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:15-18; 5:1-10; Titus 2:13)
B. We believe that church saints will be in heaven during the seven years following the Rapture. They will all stand before Bema (or Judgment) Seat of Christ to receive rewards in accordance with their works as believers in this life, and will then be gathered to the marriage supper of the Lamb. (I Corinthians 3:12-15; II Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 19:7)
C. We believe that the Rapture of the church will signal the beginning of the seventieth "week" of Daniel’s prophecy, the Tribulation. This will be a period of seven years during which God will pour out unprecedented judgment upon the ungodly, both Jew and Gentile, in order to punish Gentile nations, and to prepare Israel for the revelation of Christ.
(Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 7:25-27; 9:2, 4-27; Revelation 6:17)
D. We believe that the Tribulation will end with the personal, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth, at which time the times of the Gentiles will end as Christ defeats and judges the Gentile nations, Israel will experience national salvation, and Christ will establish His kingdom; that this kingdom will last 1,000 years, and will fulfill the promise given to Abraham and others that Israel would have a land to dwell in peace; and that while Jesus Christ reigns in righteousness; Satan will be bound for the 1,000 years.
(Isaiah 11:1-14; Zechariah 14:4; Revelation 19:11; 20:1-6)
E. We believe that at the end of the Millennium (1,000 year reign of Christ on earth) Satan will be loosed from his bonds for a short season; will gather together the rebellious from all parts of the earth to do battle against the righteous, but will be defeated by the power of God and will be cast into the lake of fire prepared for him to be tormented day and night forever. (Revelation 20:7-10)
F. We believe that following the final defeat of Satan, all unbelievers of all ages will face the Great White Throne Judgment, will be judged for their wickedness and will be cast into the lake of fire to suffer eternal torment; and that believers of all ages will enjoy eternal blessings in a new heaven and new earth, according to the Scriptures. (Revelation 21-22)