Statement of Faith

What we believe

We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and inerrant in the original manuscripts, and that they are the supreme and trustworthy rule for faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Acts 17:11; and Isaiah 8:20) The Bible is to be taken as literally as possible except where obviously figurative.

What we believe about God

We believe in one God, three eternal, distinct persons eternally existing: The FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT. (Isaiah 44:6,8; 45:5; Gen. 1:26-27; 3:22; Matt. 3:17; 28:19; Luke 10:35; 2 Cor. 13:14)

 GOD THE FATHER

God is the only Supreme Being with no gods created before or after Him in all of existence, in all places, in all time (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6; 44:8; 1 Tim. 1:17). He has always been God and was never anything else (Psalm 90:2). He is Holy (Rev. 4:8), Eternal (Isaiah 57:15), Omnipotent (Jer. 32:17,27), Omnipresent (Psalm 137-12), Omniscient (1 John 3:20); etc. He is Love (1 John 4:8, 16); Light (1 John 1:5); Spirit (John 4:24); Truth (Psalm 117:2); Creator (Isaiah 40:12,22,26), etc. He is to be worshiped (Gen. 24:26; Ex. 4:31; 2 Chron. 29:28; 1 Cor. 14:25; Rev. 7:11). He is to be served (Matt. 4:10;1 Cor. 6:19; Phil. 3:7; 1 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 9:14). He is to be proclaimed (Matt. 28:19f.; John 14:15f.; Acts 1:8). We rejoice 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.

 THE SON

We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary(Luke 1:42), sinless in His life, and making atonement for the sin of the world by His shed blood and death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and His high priestly intercession for His people. We believe in His personal, visible and triumphant return to the world according to His promise. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Hebrews 10:9; John 1:29; 1 John 2:1-2; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; and Acts 1:11) When he came to Earth He added human nature to His divine nature. He is both human and divine, and, therefore, has two natures. Yet, He is one person, not two. He is not part God and part man. He is presently a man, one person, with two natures where one is wholly God and the other wholly man.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convict the world of sin, to convince the world of righteousness, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ. (John 15:26; John 16:8-11; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:1-3)

 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 sinners by nature and by choice. (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:15-17; and Romans 3:10-12, 23) Man can only believe in God by God's grace through faith (John 6:28-29; 15:5; Phil. 1:29), man is unable to come close to God through his own efforts (John 6:44; Rom. 3:10-12), nor can he understand the spiritual things of God on his own (1 Cor. 2:14; Rom. 8:7), nor can he earn salvation by his attempt at good deeds (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:1-6), nor once saved does he maintain his salvation by his deeds (Gal. 3:1-3). Eternal punishment in hell and separation from the blessed presence of God are the consequences of any person who has not trusted in the redemptive sacrificial work of Christ on the cross (Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 6:23).

 SALVATION

We believe that, God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NIV) We believe that all who receive, by faith, Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are born again of the Holy Spirit and, therefore, become children of God. We believe that justification means that a person is declared righteous in the sight of God by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. (John 1:12; Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:13; 2:8-10)

 STATUS IN ETERNITY

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the lost. (Matthew 25:46) Christ has done all that is needed for our salvation and he says that those who have eternal life will never perish. Those who appeared to be Christian but fell away never were Christians to begin with (1 John 2:19). Eternal security does not mean that we have a license to sin (Rom. 5:21-6:2)

 HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY

We believe that every human being has responsibility to God alone in all matters of faith. (Romans 14:11-12)

 THE CHURCH

We believe in the Church -- a living, spiritual body in which Christ is the Head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that a visible church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, buried with Him in baptism and associated for the purpose of leading believers toward maturity through worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism. We believe that Christ has committed to the local church, the ordinances of Baptism and The Lord's Supper (Communion)to be observed until He comes, and that Christ has committed to the church the responsibility to proclaim to a lost world their need to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and to recognize Him has Lord. We believe that human betterment and social improvement are essential products of the Gospel. (Ephesians 1:22-23; Romans 6:3-5; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; and John 8:31-32)

 ATTITUDE TOWARD CIVIL GOVERNMENT

We believe that each church is independent and autonomous, and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; therefore, Church and State must be kept separate, as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other. We also believe that it is the responsibility of the church (individually and corporately) to live in submission to the government, as long as that does not violate Scripture or conscience and to pray for those who are in authority over us. (1 Timothy 2:1-3; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13-14; Acts 5:29; Matthew 23:10;

Living

Where possible, Christians are to live in peace with all men, suffering wrongs, false accusations, and misrepresentations with charity. However, Christians are free to defend themselves (Luke 22:36) and promote the truth of Christianity by correcting false teachings and refuting error (2 Tim. 2:25; 1 Pet. 3:15). They are free to use the political system and its laws in order to promote a more godly and moral society. Christians are to live in the world as examples of godliness and are not to participate in the sinful passions of the world.