What We Believe
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God; that the Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, God-breathed, and without error or omission in the whole and in the part; that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine direct revelation of God to man; that the Scriptures are to be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning; and that the Bible is our only and final authority in all matters of belief and practice (John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
God the Son - Jesus Christ
The Second Person of the Trinity is God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin named Mary and is therefore completely divine and completely human (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14, 20:28). This He did in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8). He accomplished the redemption of mankind through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24). He then 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, and we look for and wait for His promised, imminent return (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 22:20).
Humanity
God created man in His own image, both male and female, in the persons of Adam and Eve, and they were sinless and innocent (Genesis 1:27: 2:21-25). Upon their disobedience by eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree, they were cursed and expelled from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1:16-17; 3:1-24). This sin brought death upon the whole race and cursed all mankind to be born with a sinful nature. All men are therefore born spiritually dead and will each suffer physical death (Romans 3:10, 23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; Hebrews 9:27). As a result of this sinfulness, every man is born in condemnation, and if a man dies in his sins he will be cast into Hell and eventually the Lake of Fire (John 3:18; Revelation 20:14). The only hope man or woman has to be redeemed from sin and to escape this eternal torment is to place his or her faith in Christ for salvation (John 3:3; 14:6; Hebrew 2:3).
Angels, Satan, and Demons
We believe that God has created spiritual beings. Angels faithfully serve and glorify God; demons, former angels, were cast out of Heaven with their leader Satan (Hebrews 1:13-14; Revelation 12:9).
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are subject to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically-assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14).
Human Life
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God and that human life is therefore sacred and precious (Genesis 1:26-27; Exodus 20:13).
Missions and Church Planting
We believe that God has given the church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all people and every nation so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. We furthermore believe that it is the obligation of this local church to reproduce itself, as God provides the means and opportunity, into other communities of our own nation which are lacking a sound, Bible-believing church (Isaiah 49:6; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 2:32; 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Philippians 4:15-18; Revelation 5:9; 14:6).
Biblical Holiness
We believe that God is holy and that He has commanded that the church and the Christian strive to practice and maintain a standard of biblical holiness corporately, individually and in the home (1 Peter 1:15-16).
The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Jude 14-15; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
God: The Trinity
We believe in one Triune God (also called the Trinity), eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:22, John 14:10, 2 Corinthians 13:14).
God the Father
The First Person of the Trinity is God the Father. Though the three persons of the Godhead are One, the Son and the Holy Spirit willingly submit to the Father’s directives (Matthew 26:42). He is the Father of Jesus (Luke 3:22) and of all the redeemed in Christ (Hebrews 2:11).
God the Holy Spirit
The Third Person of the Trinity is the Holy Spirit. He is sent to abide with us and dwell in us (John 14:16-17), convince the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8), and testify of Jesus (John 15:26). He is dwelling in everyone who is born again (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Without His power we are incapable of doing God's work effectively (Zechariah 4:6). We are commanded to be filled with Him (Ephesians 5:18) and walk in Him (Galatians 5:16, 25). He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures (John 14:26; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Ephesians 1:17-18; 1 John 2:20, 27). He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ, and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God offered freely to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Whose precious blood was shed when He was crucified on the cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9).
The Church
We believe that a New Testament Church is an organized body of baptized believers practicing two scriptural ordinances (baptism and the Lord's Supper), recognizing the headship of Christ, the supremacy of exalting Him and obeying His commands, and actively engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission (Luke 22:17-20; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14;15; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 2:4-5).
The Eternal State
We believe that every human has an eternal soul and will reside forever in either Heaven or Hell. Those who believe on Christ for salvation will spend eternity in Heaven and those who do not believe will spend eternity in Hell (Matthew 25:46; John 3:16-18; 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-14).
Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods and that He created man as a fully developed being in His own image and likeness. We reject evolution, theistic evolution, and the day-age theory as unscriptural theories of origins (Genesis 1:1-2:3; Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 4:11).
Family Relationships
We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society and that the family consists of one man married to one woman and, if they have been so blessed, their children (Genesis 1:27-28).
Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman (Hebrews 13:4).
Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. Any behaviors or attitudes which are hateful and harassing toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with the Holy Scriptures or the doctrines of the church (Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Romans 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Galatians 6:1-2;Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 Peter 4:1-11; 1 John 3:17-18).
Sign Gifts
We believe that sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. We believe that every believer immediately upon being saved receives the baptism of the Holy Spirit; that God still works miracles today, but that “sign gifts” such as speaking in tongues (known, spoken languages), predictive prophecy, healing and miracles are not operational in this age (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22; 2 Corinthians 12:7-9; 2 Timothy 4:20).