Statement of Faith
The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God, and that it is His revelation to man, inerrant in the original writings. We believe, therefore, that the Bible is the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life. (II Timothy 3:16-17).
The Trinity Of The God-Head
We believe in one God, forever existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three have the same nature, attributes, and perfection, and are worthy of the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Matthew28:19; John 1:14; Acts 5 :3-4; II Corinthians 13-14; Heb. 1:1-3).
God The Father
We believe in God the Father, who is supreme over all! As Creator and Sustainer of all, it is in Him that we live and move, and have our being. His holiness is absolute, His sovereign dealings and choices are just, and His character is immutable. He is the God of love, mercy, grace, and goodness. He is self-existent and self-sufficient in His eternal being. He is the God of wrath, justice, and perfect wisdom, He is omni-present, omniscient, and omnipotent. To every covenant He made in the Scriptures, He abides faithful, and is worthy of all honor, worship and glory. (Isaiah 6:3; Lamentations 3:22-23; Malachi 3:6; Acts 17:24-28; Romans 1:18; Romans 11:33-36; II Corinthians 1:3; Hebrews 12:29; I John 1:5; I John 4:8).
God The Son
We believe that the eternal Son of God came into this world that He might make God known to men, fulfill prophecy, and become the Redeemer of a lost world. To this end He was born of the virgin Mary, and received a human body and sinless human nature. (I Timothy 3:16; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-19; Hebrews 4:15).
We believe that He was the perfect God-Man living sinless throughout His life on earth. He retained His absolute deity, being at the same time very God and very Man, and that He functioned in both of these spheres during His life on earth. (Luke 2:40; John 1:1-2; Philippians 2:5-8).
We believe that, in unlimited love for the lost, He voluntarily accepted His Father’s will and became the divinely provided sacrificial Lamb and took away the sin of the world bearing the holy judgments against sin, which the righteousness of God must impose. His death was therefore in the sinners place in the most complete sense — the just for the unjust — and by His death he became the Savior of the lost. (John 1:29; Romans 3:25-26; II Corinthians 5:14; Hebrews 10: 5-14; I Peter 3:18).
We believe that He arose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died, and that His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which ultimately will be given to all believers. (John 20:20; Philippians 3:20-21).
We believe that, on departing from the earth, He was accepted of His Father and that His acceptance is a final assurance to us that His redeeming work was perfectly accomplished. (Hebrews 1:3).
We believe that He became Head over all things to the Church which is His body, and in this ministry He serves as our Mediator, Intercessor, and Divine Advocate. (Ephesians 1:22-23; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:1).
God The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. Although referred to as such, it does not imply in any way that He is not equal in His deity with the Father and Son. We believe that the Holy Spirit, though always present from all eternity, took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost, and now indwells every believer. By His baptism He unites all believers to Christ in one body. (John 14:16-17; 16:7-15; I Corinthians 6:11-19; Ephesians 4:30; II Thessalonians 2:7).
We believe that, in this age, certain well-defined ministries are committed to the Holy Spirit by the Father and that it is the duty of every Christian to understand them and to adapt to them in their own life and experience. These ministries are the restraining of evil in the world to the measure of the divine will; the convicting of the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; the regenerating of all believers; the indwelling of all who are saved, thereby sealing them unto the day of redemption; the baptizing of all who are saved into the body of Christ; and the continued filling for power, teaching, and service of those among the saved who are yielded to Him and who are subject to His will. (John 3:16, 16:7-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18; II Thessalonians 2:7; I John 2:20-27; Ephesians 1:13-14).
We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism of the Spirit nor the filling of the Spirit, and that the ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection. (Acts 4:8, 31; Romans 8:23; I Corinthians 13:8).
The Creation And Fall Of Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and are totally depraved (i.e. There is nothing in fallen man which God can find pleasure in or accept). And hence that every person of Adam is born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is essentially and unchangeably bad apart from divine grace. (Romans 5:12, 3:10-23; John 3:1-21).
Salvation
We believe that, owing to the universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God apart from being born again (saved). There is no work of man whatsoever that can accomplish salvation, no church, no baptism, no ordinance, however administered, can in any way help a sinner take even one step toward heaven.
We believe that the sinner’s redemption (purchase from sin) was accomplished solely by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin, and was made a curse for us, dying in our behalf on the cross.
We believe that the new birth (being born again) of the believer comes only through faith in Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit, and that repentance is a vital part of believing; and is in no way, in itself, a separate and independent condition of salvation; nor are any other acts such as confession, baptism, prayer, or faithful service, to be added to believing as a condition of salvation. (Matthew 26-28; John 3:7-36; Romans 5:6-9; II Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12; Acts 13:39, 16:31; Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-28, 10:8-10; I Corinthians 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:3-14; Colossians 2:10; I John 4:17, 5:11-12 Ephesians 2:8-9).
Security And Assurance
We believe that all born again believers, regenerated (God’s imparting Eternal Life) by the Holy Spirit, are secure in Christ forever, and shall never come into condemnation for sin. This assurance is taught as a present knowledge and certain confidence of every one in Christ. We further believe that while it is the believer’s privilege to rejoice in the assurance of his salvation, God’s Word clearly forbids the use of this security as license or liberty to indulge the sinful nature. (Romans 8:1-39; I Peter 1:5; John 5:24, 10:27-29; I John 5:11-13; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13).
The Church
We believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the Church which is the body and bride of Christ, which began at the day of Pentecost and is completely distinct from the Nation of Israel. We believe that by the same Spirit all believers in this age are baptized into, and thus become, one body that is Christ’s whether Jews or Gentiles, and having become members of one another are under solemn duty to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, loving one another with a pure heart.
We also believe that the established and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scripture, and that the local church should be autonomous, free of any external authority or control.
We further believe that it is the obligation of every born again believer to bear witness by life and word to the truths of the Scriptures, and to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. (Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:5; I Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23, 4:3-10; Colossians 3:14-15; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:9-20; Hebrews 10:25).
Ordinances Of The Church
We believe that there are two ordinances (special divine orders) to be observed by the Church during this present age, namely, water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. While recognizing that water baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer’s union with Christ. It is our conviction that the Scriptural method of water baptism is immersion, is to be observed but once after the individual is saved, and is a sign of identification with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to commemorate (remember) His death until He comes. It is not a means of salvation, but is commemorative and is to be observed again and again as a memorial of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 18:8; I Corinthians 11:23-33).
Satan And Angels: Fallen And Unfallen
We believe that Satan (Lucifer — “Son of the Morning”) was created as the highest being above all the moral creatures of God, and was originally one of an innumerable company of sinless, spiritual beings known as angels; and that he was originally given great privileges, but fell through pride (his desire to be greater than God).
A great company of angels followed him in his moral fall, some of whom became demons, while other are “reserved in everlasting chains under darkness” awaiting the judgment of God.
We believe that Satan is the originator of sin, and is presently in the world as the deceiver, blinding the eyes of the unbelievers, and opposing the work of God. He was judged at the cross, and although at present is the “god of this age” will, at the second coming of Christ, be bound in the abyss for one thousand years. Then he will be loosed for a time, but finally will be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where he shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
We believe that a great company of angels did not fall with Satan, and are before the throne of God. From the throne they are sent back and forth as ministering spirits, to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation (Matthew 13:39, Ezekiel 28:11-18; Revelation 12:30, 20:2-10; II Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 2:5; Revelation 20:1-3, 10; Ephesians 6:11-12; Revelation 16:13-14; Luke 15:10; Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 1:14; Revelation 7:12; Isaiah 14:12-17).
The Dispensations
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations and rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in that dispensation. These are not ways of salvation, but rather, divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. (I Corinthians 9:17; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 3:1-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6).
Separation And Sanctification
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon our Savior and Lord and, that separation from sinful practices and associations is commanded by God. We believe that POSITIONAL SANCTIFICATION (being set apart to God) occurs at the moment of regeneration, and that the believer retains the sin nature throughout this life. We further believe that PRACTICAL SANCTIFICATION (moment by moment victory over sin) is to be progressive throughout the entire life-span of a believer here on earth. God’s provision for holy living is in the believer’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension; the indwelling person and power of the Holy Spirit, and the believer’s yieldedness to Him; and by the powerful Word of God. (Romans 12:12; I John 2:15-17: II Timothy 3:1-5; II Corinthians 6:14-17; Colossians 3:1-4; I Peter 1:14-16; II Corinthians 7:1; I Corinthians 6:19-20; John 17:17; Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 5:25-27).
Future Things
The Blessed Hope
We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the imminent, personal, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is known as the Rapture of the Church. At this time, Christ will receive to Himself into heaven all His own, whether they are living on earth or are “asleep in Jesus.” (John 14:1-3; I Corinthians 15:51-52; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14.
The Tribulation
We believe that the rapture of the church will be followed by a time of judgment on the whole earth. During this time the Church, will be in heaven. The entire period of seven years (known as Daniel’s 70th week) will be a time of judgment on the whole earth. The latter 3 1/2 years of this period will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), which our Lord called the great tribulation. (Matthew 24:15-21). We believe that universal righteousness will not be realized previous to the second coming of Christ, but that the world is day by day ripening for judgment and that the age will end with a fearful apostasy. (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:1-19; Revelation 21; Matthew 24; Daniel 7:23; Revelation 7:9-17).
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of Jesus Christ to earth with power and great glory to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land and give to her the realization of God’s covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. (Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:9; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Matthew 24:15-25; Acts 15:16-17; Romans 8:19-23, 11:25-27; I Timothy 4:1-3; II Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 20:1-3).
The Eternal State
We believe that at death the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for his own, whereupon soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain after death conscious of condemnation, and in misery, until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power. (Luke 16:19-26, 23:42; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6:7; Revelation 20:11-15).