The Word of God – We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is verbally and plenary inspired, without error in the original manuscripts (2 Tim. 3:16) It is written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19; 2 Peter 1:20-21) It has been preserved in its doctrinal purity to the present (Mark 13:31) It is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
The Trinity – We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 28:19; 2 Cor.13:14) These three are one in nature, equal in divine perfection (Romans 1:7; Heb.1:8; Acts 5:3-4) They execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, redemption, and guidance (John 1:14-18; 1 Cor. 2:9-10)
God the Father – We believe God, the Father, an infinite personal Spirit (John 4:24), perfect in holiness (I Peter 1:16), wisdom (Rom. 16:27), power (Gen. 17:1), and love (I John 4:8). We believe that He mercifully concerns Himself in the affairs of men (John 3:16), and that He hears and answers prayers (Jeremiah 33:3), and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (John 13:16)
Jesus Christ – We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16), conceived by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:20). We believe in His virgin birth (Mt. 1:20), sinless life (I John 3:5), miracles (John 14:11, 20:30-31), and teachings (Mt.7:29). We believe in His substitutionary atoning death (I John 4:10), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:6-7), ascension into heaven (Acts 1:9), perpetual intercession for His people (Heb. 7:25), and personal, visible return to earth (Acts 1:11; Rev.1:27).
The Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son and of the same essence and nature (II Cor. 13 – 14), that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16: 8-11), bears witness to the truth (I John 2:27), is the agent of the new birth (I Peter 1:2; John 3:5) and that He seals (Eph. 1:13), endures (Acts 1:8), guides (John 16:13), teaches (John 14:16), indwelling every true child of God and baptizing him into the Body of Christ from the moment of his trusting in Christ as personal Savior (Rom.8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13)
Satan – We believe in the personality of Satan. We believe that he is a liar and deceiver and that he is the accuser of the brethren (Job 1: 9-11; Rev. 12:10), and opposes all truth (John 8:44), and is destined to the judgment of eternal justice in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:10)
Salvation – We believe that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned thereby incurring physical as well as spiritual death which is separation from God (Gen. 1:27; 3: 1-7) We believe that human beings are born with a sinful nature (Psalms 51:5; Rom. 5: 10-20), and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, become sinners also in thought, word, and deed, condemned to everlasting conscious punishment. We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, and the atonement of His shed blood, are born again, and thereby become the children of God, possessing divine eternal life (Rom. 3:23-28; John 1:12, 3:16)
The Church – We believe that the True Church, called in the Scriptures the body of Jesus Christ, is a spiritual organism (Col. 1:18), into which every person, who has trusted in Christ for salvation in this present age, has been baptized by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13) We believe in the local Church consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a profession of faith (Acts 2: 41-42), and associated for worship (Acts 2:47), work (Acts 2: 23-31), and fellowship (Acts 2:42). We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local Church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world (Mt. 28:19-20)
Christian Conduct – We believe that a Christian ought to live for the glory of God (1 Cor.10:31) and for the well-being of his fellowman (Gal.5:13), that his conduct should be blameless before the world (I Peter 2:12), that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions (2 Cor. 8 & 9), and he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ (Eph. 4:13)
The Ordinances – We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local Church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Mt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11: 23-26) We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Triune God (Mt.3: 13-17, 28:19; Acts 8:37-39) We believe that the Christian’s Baptism is that outward re-enactment of the inward change that took place when the person placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:1-10) We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for the commemoration of His death (1 Cor. 11:25-26) We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ ( 1 Cor. 11:26)
Religious Liberty – We believe that every human being has direct relations with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith and conscience (1 Cor.4:1-4; Rom. 14) and that each Church must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation of the other. (Rom. 13:1-7; Acts 5:29, 40-42)
Church Cooperation – We believe that local churches can best promote the cause of Christ by cooperating with an organization of like faith and practice. Cooperation in such organization is voluntary and may be terminated at any time.
The Last Things – We believe in the personal, visible, premillennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the Church shall meet the Lord in the air according to His promise and so shall we ever be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) We believe in the final judgment, the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost with the Devil and his angels (Rev. 20)
Sanctity of Human Life -We believe that all human life is sacred from fertilization throughout the entire natural human life; we believe that humans are created in God’s image and, as such, are to be valued and protected; that the aged, weak, vulnerable, infirm, handicapped, pre-born and needy deserve our respect and our care. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Gen. 1:26; 9:6; Psalm 51:5, 82:3–4, 139:13–16; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41)
Marriage and the Family – We believe that family is important to God because He is the one who created the family. God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The first family was created by God as He brought together Adam and Eve and told them to be fruitful and multiply. Marriage is therefore a sacred relationship between one man and one woman for life; and any deviation from that is a perversion of God’s natural order.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ.
Children are a heritage from the Lord. God’s command to parents is to raise their children to know Him, love Him and walk after Him. Parents have been given by God the authority to watch over, guide, teach, instruct, and make decisions on behalf of their children. The government or any man-made institution does not have the authority to over-ride the authority given to parents from God. (This would include but is not limited to: educational choices, medical and health decisions, and social functions)
Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:18–24; Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Deuteronomy 23:17–18; Mark 10:9; Romans 1:18–27; I Corinthians 6:9–11; 7:2; Ephesians 5:22–33; Ephesians 6:4; Jude 7
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