God: We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; the sovereign Creator and Ruler of all things and worthy alone of worship. Each Person of the Trinity is fully God, sharing the same attributes and perfections. (Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19)
God the Father: We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal Spirit, perfect in wisdom, holiness, power, and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully with the concerns of people, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (John 16:23-27; Galatians 4:4-6; Ephesians 1:3, 17-23).
God the Son: We believe that Jesus Christ is God's eternal Son. He is true God and true man, possessing the attributes and nature of both God and man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe that He lived a sinless life on earth and died a substitutionary death on the cross, that His atonement for the sins of all people satisfied God's justice, and that all who believe, trust, and hope in Him as Lord are freed from the penalty of sin and made acceptable before God on the grounds of His shed blood. We also believe in His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on the behalf of His people, and His personal, visible return from heaven. (Matthew 1: 18-25; Luke 24: 1-8, 36-43; John 1:1, 14; 20:26-31; Acts 1:11; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 John 2:1; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 3:5; Revelation 5:8-14). God the Holy Spirit: We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, and is fully God, having both the essence and all the divine attributes of God. We believe that the Holy Spirit was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to mankind the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the mind of people, awakens in them the need of a Savior and regenerates them. He permanently indwells every believer to become a source of assurance, strength, and wisdom, and uniquely endows each believer with gifts for building up the body. (Matthew 28:19; John 3:5; 16:13; Acts 1:8; 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 6:11, 19; 12:4-13; Ephesians 3:16; 4:11-16). The Bible: We believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as a revelation of God's will for salvation, the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak, and unique in their dual authorship, in which the Holy Spirit guided their writing through human authors without loss of personal styles. We also believe that it is necessary for every Christian to regularly study and meditate on the Word of God in order to mature as a follower of Jesus Christ. (Psalm 119:9, 105; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:21-25; 2 Peter 1:19-21). Man: We believe God created human beings, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We further believe that man, because of his fall in Adam, is a sinner by nature and choice and is therefore spiritually dead and in the need of salvation, having nothing whereby he might justify himself before God. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7-13, 19; Romans 3:23; 5:12-21; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3). Salvation: We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that this salvation from sin and death is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is freely received by persons through faith, apart from any human merit; that God was manifest in the flesh in the Person of Jesus Christ to rescue mankind from eternal separation from God by dying on a cross for the sins of the world. (Isaiah 53:4-12; John 1:12; 3:3-7, 14-18; 5:24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:19-20; 1 Timothy 1:15; 2:5). The Church: We believe that the church is the spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the head. The true church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. The church expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been baptized upon a credible confession of faith, and who associate themselves for worship, instruction, outreach, and service. The ordinances of the local church are believer's baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. The primary mission of the church is to make disciples for Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2:41-47; Romans 13:1; Ephesians 4:11-15; 5:21; Colossians 1:18, 28-29; Hebrews 10:24-25). Christian Conduct: We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in his life.The believer should live blamelessly before the world, be a faithful steward of possessions, and seek to personally realize the full stature of maturity in Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 1:28; 1 Timothy 6:6-9; 1 Peter 1:14-15). Last Things: We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and the lost, the eternal conscious existence of all people either in heaven or hell; and in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments. (Daniel 12:1-2; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 John 8; Revelation 19-20) |