Statement of Faith
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. As a special means of God revealing Himself to mankind, we affirm the infallibility, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture. (See 2 Timothy 3:16; Psalm 119:160; 2 Peter 1:21 and Psalm 19:7-14We believe that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — that they are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption. Each member of this Trinity equally deserves worship and obedience. (See Deuteronomy 6:4 and 2 Corinthians 13:14)
We believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He foreknows infallibly 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 death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (See John 4:24; 1 John 1:5; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Psalm 116:5-6; Isaiah 58:9 and Psalm 37:39)
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son. We believe in His deity, His virgin birth by conception of the Holy Spirit; and in His sinless life, miracles and teachings as recorded in the Scriptures. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the Father, in His intercession for His people and His personal visible return in power and glory to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. (See John 3:16; Matthew 1:20; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 20:26-28; Hebrews 7:25 and Acts 1:11)
We believe in the Holy Spirit sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all the elect. We believe that as the sovereign agent in regeneration, the Spirit baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation; that He indwells, sanctifies, instructs and empowers them for service; and that He seals them unto the day of redemption. We believe He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide for every redeemed person. (See John 16:7-11; Titus 3:5; Romans 16:16; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11 and 1 Corinthians 6:19)
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice and are, therefore, under God’s just condemnation. This condition is described as being “spiritually dead” and means that mankind is totally depraved, thus utterly helpless to make himself right before a holy God. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. (See Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3 and Titus 3:5)
We believe that the salvation of sinners is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the declaration of God’s Word when the repentant person — enabled by the Holy Spirit—responds in faith. This salvation is wholly by God’s grace on the basis of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of any human merit or works. All the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. Believers demonstrate this security as they persevere in the faith. (See Romans 3:23-25; 10:9-17 and Ephesians 2:4-10)
We believe that all who put their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the head. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by building its members through instruction of the Word, by fellowship, by keeping the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and by declaring the gospel to the world. We believe the local church, consisting of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for the above purposes, is the visible expression of this spiritual body. (See Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 2:47; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 11:23-2; Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8)
We believe that every person has direct responsibility to God, and is responsible to Him alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent under Christ, and must be free from any ecclesiastical or political authority; therefore, Church and State are separate in having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other. Christians are to live for the glory of God with blameless conduct before the world as they seek to realize for themselves and others the stature of maturity in Christ. (See 1 Timothy 2:5; Luke 20:25; Romans 13:1-7; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Galatians 6:9-10; 1 Peter 3:13-17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 and 2 Peter 1:3-10)
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind; those who are redeemed will enjoy the resurrection of life eternal, and those outside of Christ will suffer the resurrection of damnation. (See Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46 and Revelation 20:13-15)