Statement of FaithIn subscribing to these Articles of Faith, we by no means set aside or undervalue any of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, but we deem the knowledge, belief, and acceptance of the truth as set forth in the Statement of Faith to be essential to sound and fruitful practice. Each of the statements that follow are upheld by Bible based references as presented in the first article.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed.
We believe in One God, eternally existing in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person (with intellect, emotion, and will) who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all believers to be filled with the Spirit.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but with Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is now totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; which however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit; and that all claims to eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.
We believe that all saved persons should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy and worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God.
We believe that it is the obligation of every saved person to witness by life and word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. We believe that the local church is the New Testament institution Divinely ordained for the corporate execution of the Great Commission.
We believe that the universal Church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age. We believe that the church in its local sense is an assembly of believers gathered together by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of carrying out the principles and precepts of God's Word.
We believe in the dispensational view of Bible interpretation but reject the extreme teaching known as “hyperdispensationalism,” which opposes the observance of the Lord's Supper and water baptism in this age.
We believe that Satan is a created angel, 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.
We believe in “That Blessed Hope:” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation, coming in the air of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent pre-millennial return to earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom.
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 the soul and body are reunited. They shall appear at the great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated but to suffer everlasting punishment.
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman for life.
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander.
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon.
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life.
We believe that the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment.