Beliefs
Doctrinal Statement
The Scriptures
The Holy Bible is supernaturally inspired so that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and preserved by God in its verbal and plenary inspiration and is a perfect treasure of God’s divine instruction. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy so that it is a divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Matthew 5:18; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12
Man
Man is the masterpiece of creation fashioned in God’s own image. By his own free will, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. We believe that all men are morally corrupt and of themselves utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. The grace of God alone is sufficient to bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5; Psalm 1; 8:3; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26; Romans 1:18; Ephesians 2:1
God's Purpose of Grace
The grace of God is the means by which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the volitional will of man and empowers him to persevere to the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable.
Genesis 12:1-3; 1 Samuel 8:4-7, 19-22; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; Luke 1:68-79; John 1:12-14; 3:16; Acts 20:32; Romans 8:28-39; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; Hebrews 11:39
God
We believe in one God who eternally exists and reveals Himself in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - having each the same nature, essence, attributes in holiness and all other perfections, worthy of the same worship and confidence.
God as Father reigns over His creation, His creatures, and the progress of human history according to His purposes. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Psalm 19:1-3; Matthew 6:9ff.; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 8; Acts 1:7; Romans; Galatians 4:6; John 1:1-2, 14; 10:30; 14:15-17; Acts 17:24-25; John 3:16
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the free gift of God received by man solely through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin. Salvation involves the complete redemption and restoration of the whole man, which includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
Genesis 3:15; Matthew 1:21; 27:22-28; Luke 1:68-69; John 1:11-14, 29; 3:3-21, 36; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 1:16-18; 5:8-10; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:8-22; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift of companionship and the means for procreation of the human race. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God's image. A husband/father has the God-given responsibility of loving his family by providing for, protecting, and serving them in humility and gratitude. A wife/mother is to graciously support and encourage the servant leadership of her husband in the same manner as the church willingly follows the headship of Christ. Working and living together, they have the God-given responsibility to honor and respect one another while serving alongside each other through their support and encouragement in managing and nurturing the next generation.
Children are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are the primary educators of their children and are responsible to teach their children spiritual and moral values, to train them in obedience and respect for authority through a consistent godly example and loving discipline, and to make choices based on biblical truth.
Genesis 1:26-28; 3:1-20; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:28; Psalm 128; 139:13; Proverbs 1:8; 6:22; 12:4; 14:1; 17:6; 24:3; 29:15, 17; Matthew 5:31; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21; 6:1; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8, 14, 16; 1 Peter 3:1-7
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. We believe that Jesus is fully God in the flesh and fully man, that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin Mary, and that He lived a sinless life in which He taught and performed mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as revealed in the New Testament. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross made provision for the redemption of man from sin. He was raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God
Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalm 2:7ff.; Matthew 1:18-23; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6, 19; Luke 1:35; John 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9; Acts 1:3; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; Revelation 20:4
The Church
We believe that the New Testament church is composed of all persons who are redeemed by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ; that they are united together by the Holy Spirit into one body of Christ of which He is Lord ; and are appointed by Him for the tasks of worship, fellowship, teaching, discipleship, evangelizing, and exercising of spiritual gifts for the explicit purposes of spiritual growth and extending the Gospel to the world.
Matthew 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42, 47; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; Ephesians 1:22-23; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3
Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth, the dead will be raised, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. We believe that every Christian will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to have his life evaluated according to his deeds while a believer in Christ and as a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven. The righteous will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 18:8-9; 25; Luke 12:40; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 2:13; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; Revelation 20:1-22:13
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity possessing all the divine attributes of God. Through illumination, He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior and effects regeneration. He bestows the spiritual gifts by which believers are empowered and enabled to serve God through His church.
Psalm 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Matthew 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; John 4:24; Acts 1:8; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17
Baptism and the Lord's Supper
We believe the ordinances for the believer are water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as a memorial. They are, however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation but as evidence of obedience and fellowship with the Lord. It is testimony to his faith in the substitutionary atoning work of Christ on the cross and to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience and worship by which members of the church memorialize the redemptive act of Christ’s death on the cross and anticipate His second coming.
Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12
