Our Beliefs

In general terms our beliefs can be summed up in the following statements:

 

(A) THE WORD OF GOD

We believe that the Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testaments, alone is the written Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and life.

 

2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31-32; John 20:31; Acts 1:16; 20:32; 2 Samuel 23:2

 

(B)  THE TRINITY

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices including the work of creation, providence and redemption.

 

Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 4:24; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6

 

(C)  GOD THE FATHER

We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and eternal death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

 

Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6

 

(D) JESUS CHRIST

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth. We believe that Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all, is the only mediator between God the Father and humanity.

 

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; John 14:6; Romans 8:34, 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30-31; Matthew 20:28; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9-10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Timothy 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:5-6

 

(E)  THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. The Holy Spirit endows each believer with spiritual gifts for ministry to the family of God and the world.

 

John 14:16-17,26; 15:26-27; John 16:8-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:12; Galatians 5:22-26; John 3:5-6; 1 Corinthians 6:11

 

(F)   SALVATION

We believe that man was created by God in His own image; that he sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God.  All people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under the judgment of a just God. Those who call on the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness, believe in His resurrection and receive Him as their Savior are granted salvation, forgiveness of their sin and are regenerated by God into eternal life in Christ.  This act of salvation is based solely on the grace and mercy of God and through faith in Christ, and is not the result of human deeds or goodness.

 

Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3; 2:17; John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5-6, 8, 16; 5:24, 29-30; 17:3; Romans 1:18; 3:9-12, 23; 6:23; 5:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Rev. 19:2; Psalm 51:7; Jeremiah 17:9; James 1:14; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:3

 

(G) THE CHURCH

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a community of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a testimonial profession of faith in obedience to Him.

Believers in a local church are called by God to gather together, to devote themselves to prayer, worship, the teaching of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances established by Jesus Christ, to have Christian fellowship, and to minister to one another in the love of Christ.

We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.

 

Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-21; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25

 

(H) THE ORDINANCES

The Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord's Supper.  Christian baptism by water immersion is a testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life.  Christian Baptism does not constitute salvation but is a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

The Scriptures teach that the elements of the Lord's Supper, or Communion, were given by Jesus as symbols of the sacrifice of His body and blood as an atonement for the sins of the world. These two ordinances are to be observed and administered by God's family until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; Acts 10:47-48; Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 2:41-42

 

(I)    THE LAST THINGS

The Lord Jesus Christ will come again to earth, personally and visibly, to establish His kingdom and fulfill God's eternal plan for creation. Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. For each person, there will be a resurrection of the body, the final judgment before God, the endless suffering in hell for those who have not received salvation, and the eternal bliss in heaven for those who are in Christ Jesus.

 

Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:1-58; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6,11-15

 

Our Distinctives

 

(A)             SPIRITUAL GIFTS

We believe that a spiritual gift is an ability given to an individual supernaturally by God through the Holy Spirit so that the recipient may utilize that ability to minister to the needs of the church, the body of Christ. Further, we recognize some of the spiritual gifts ceased with the close of Apostolic era.

We believe God can and does perform supernatural activities today but He is no longer granting individuals special powers to perform such activities at will today.

 

 

Eph 4:11-14; 1 Cor 12:7,11; Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor 9:1-2; 1 Cor 15:8; 2 Cor 12:12; Eph 2:2

(B)              HUMAN SEXUALITY

(1)   We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.

 

Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29;
1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4

 

(2)   We believe that God ordained marriage as the only union for life of one man and one woman.

Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23