We believe the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God; God’s revelation to man, inerrant in its original writings, infallible, God-breathed and supernaturally preserved; the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life.
II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; Mark 13:31
We believe in the Triune God, the one and only true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfections.
Matthew 28:19; 3:16-17; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:16-17; Hebrews 9:14; Deuteronomy 6:4
We believe in God the Father, an infinite spirit, inexpressibly glorious, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power; 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.
Hebrews 7:25; John 14:6; Revelation 6:10; Psalm 145; Isaiah 6:3; John 11:25-26
We believe that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, eternally existed with the Father, became man without ceasing to be God— being miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, without natural father, was sinless in His life that He might reveal God and redeem mankind.
John 1:1-19; I Timothy 3:16; Luke 1:27-35; Matthew 1:23; Hebrews 1:1-3
That He accomplished our redemption by His death on the cross, shedding His blood as a vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, according to the Scriptures; that He arose from the dead on the third day in the same body in which He suffered and died.
Hebrews 1:1-3; Titus 2:14; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Corinthians 15:3; Romans 3:23-25, 5:8-9; John 20:27
That He ascended bodily into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God where, as our exalted High Priest, He ever lives to carry on a ministry of perpetual intercession for His people. As such He is our Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
Mark 16:19; Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 8:1, 9:24; I John 2:1-2
We believe in the “blessed hope”—His personal, imminent, pre-tribulational, pre-millenial coming for His redeemed ones, also known as the rapture, at which time the saints will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. After the great tribulation He will visibly and gloriously return to the earth with His saints and establish His kingdom and rule for 1,000 years.
I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-17; Titus 2:13; John 14:3; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1
We believe the Holy Spirit is a person; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He regenerates believing sinners by the Word of God, baptizing them into the body of Christ; that He permanently indwells the body of the believer, sealing him unto the day of redemption; and that He enlightens, instructs and guides every born again person who makes himself available to His direction. Therefore, it is the privilege and responsibility of each believer to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit, who is efficient power for godly living, Christian service, and spiritual worship.
John 3:5-7, 14:16,17,26, 16:7-15; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:23; I Thessalonians 5:19; I Corinthians 12:13
We believe that man by nature and by choice is a sinner; that he was created in the image and likeness of God but he voluntarily sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but spiritual death which is separation from God; that in Adam the entire race fell and became alienated from God so that all human beings are born in sin, totally depraved and utterly unable to remedy their lost condition; that he is under just condemnation without defense or excuse and must be born again in order to be accepted of God.
Romans 3:10,23, 5:12; John 3:1-21; Genesis 1:26-27, 3:1-24; Ephesians 2:1
Since man was created in the image and likeness of God and human life, which begins at conception, is a sacred gift from God to be used for the glory of God, therefore abortion and euthanasia (mercy killing) are grievous sins against God and humanity.
Exodus 20:13, 21:22-23; Psalm 139:13-16; Genesis 2:7; I Samuel 2:6; Job 1:21
Since God, in creation, made them male and female, a distinction which should be very clear, homosexuality is a violation of that distinction and is an abomination to God and a blight upon mankind.
Genesis 1:27; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Timothy 1:9-11
We believe that salvation is the free gift of God brought to man by infinite grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sin and that nothing which man could do of works or righteous deeds can make any contribution to his salvation.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9; Hebrews 9:22
That the new birth is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and sins is made alive, a new creation in Christ Jesus, and becomes a partaker of the divine nature; that it is brought about in a manner completely beyond our comprehension by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
John 3:5-8; II Corinthians 5:17; II Peter 1:4; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; I Peter 1:23
That all who are truly born again are kept by the power of God, sealed by the Holy Spirit and are thus secure in Christ forever.
John 6:37-47, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 30-39; Ephesians 4:30; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 5:9, 7:25, 9:12; I Peter 1:5
It is the privilege of all believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
I Corinthians 8:9; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:1, 13
That having become a new creature in Christ Jesus the believer now has two natures: the old sinful nature and the new spiritual nature, which are in conflict one with the other; that teachings concerning eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural; and that victory over the old nature has been provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit and the Word of God.
Romans 6-8; Galatians 5:17-26; Ephesians 4:22-24
We believe the Scriptures clearly teach non-cooperation with religious apostasy and non-conformity to the world for every believer; that born again people should be separated from the world unto Christ; that it is clearly commanded of God for all believers to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices and to be holy as He is Holy; that positional sanctification occurs at the moment of regeneration and that practical sanctification is to be progressive throughout the earthly life of the believer.
Romans 6:1-14, 12:1-2, 14:13; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-7:1; Ephesians 5:11; II Timothy 3:1-5; I Peter 1:14-16; II Peter 3:18; Galatians 5:16-23; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11
Universal Church: We believe that the true, spiritual, invisible church is a New Testament organism unknown to the Old Testament prophets; it began at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended to indwell believers and unite them with Christ; it is composed of all born again people called out from among both Jews and Gentiles to become the “body” (for service) and “bride” (for glory) of the Lord. The one body unites believers to each other and all to Christ who is its head. Its purpose is to glorify God through the fulfillment of its ministry and completion of itself by winning the lost to Christ; it will be consummated at the return of Christ in the rapture.
Matthew 16:18; Acts 2, 15:14; Romans 1:16, 15:16; I Corinthians 12:12-28; Ephesians 1:22-23, 3:2-6,21, 5:23, 24; I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Local Church: We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught in the New Testament; that they are an embodiment and expression of the true, invisible church; that they are composed of baptized believers affiliated by the covenant of faith and practice for worship, service and fellowship, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by Christ through His Word and the Holy Spirit; that primarily the Epistles of the New Testament set forth the instructions for its functioning.
Acts 2:41¬42, 14:27, 20:17; Ephesians 4:11-15; I Timothy 3:1-1
We believe that two ordinances were given to the Church for believers to observe, namely Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Water baptism, also known as Believers’ Baptism, has no saving merit but is seen as a step of obedience whereby the saved individual portrays to the world his union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection. It is a testimony to the newness of life received through faith in Jesus Christ—the outward expression of an inward condition—therefore it is to be observed but once. The Scriptural method of baptism is total immersion.
Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:36, 9:18, 18:8; Romans 6:4
The Lord’s Supper was instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ with His assembled disciples prior to His death and is to be observed by the assembled church as a memorial or reminder of His broken body and shed blood. It should be observed frequently “till He comes.” Only those who are truly born again should participate and only after solemn self-examination and cleansing.
I Corinthians 11:23-33
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts through the Holy Spirit and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are God’s provision for the edification of the saints today.
Ephesians 4:7-13
That speaking in tongues and other supernatural sign gifts gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.
I Corinthians 12, 13:8-11; Hebrews 2:3-4
That casting out of demons, prophesying, and doing wonderful works are unreliable as signs by themselves, being performed even by the ungodly.
Matthew 7:21-23; Acts 8:9-23
That God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted.
James 5:13-16
We believe that “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,” and therefore His covenant people, Israel, now blind and scattered, shall be redeemed and regathered to the land of promise, commonly known as Palestine; and under the personal, millennial reign of Christ upon David’s throne in Jerusalem, shall become the head of the nations, “and the Gentiles shall come to their light and Kings to the brightness of their rising.” We believe that Israel and the church must always be viewed as separate and distinct programs in God’s divine plan.
Romans 11:25-29; Psalm 72; Isaiah 60:3
We believe that God created the heavens and the earth and all things therein, including all life, by the Word of His mouth in six (6) literal days and that each reproduced “after its kind” and did not involve any form of evolution.
Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17
We believe that Satan is a created personal being, a fallen angel, the author of sin and cause of the fall, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, who shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 2541; II Corinthians 4:24; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10, 20:10
We believe in the resurrection of the saved at the rapture and of the unsaved at the end of time.
Daniel 12:2; II Thessalonians 4:16; I Corinthians 15:51-57; Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:28-29
We believe that Heaven is the place of eternal conscious joy for all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and that Hell is the place of eternal conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire for all who reject Jesus Christ, and die in their sin.
John 8:24, 14:1-6; Psalm 16:11, 9:17; Philippians 1:21,23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-13
We believe that the home was the first institution of God provided for man; that marriage is a sacred and permanent covenant relationship between one man and one woman, honorable among all; that it is a symbol or type of the union of Christ and His Church; that what God has joined together, man should not put asunder; that mixed marriages of believer and unbeliever are forbidden.
Genesis 2:18-24; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Hebrews 13:4; Ephesians 5:22-32; Mark 10:9; 2 Corinthians 6:14
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense, reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three dispensations—law, church (grace), and millennial Kingdom— are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. Care must be exercised in applying truth from one dispensation to another. However, recognizing that “all Scripture is…profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” We reject any tendency toward hyper-dispensationalism.
2 Timothy 3:16
We believe that Civil government is ordained of God for the interest and good of human society; that those in authority should be prayed for, appreciated, honored and obeyed, except in those things where they oppose the will of God as revealed in Scripture.
Romans 13:1-7; I Timothy 2:1-2; Acts 5:29
The systematic giving of money for the support of the Lord’s work in worship as well as duty. It must be kept on the level of voluntary, free-will offerings untarnished by any hope of material gain. We believe that a bare minimum of one-tenth (1/10) of one’s income should be faithfully and cheerfully given by everyone who names the name of Christ. Many can and should give more than the tithe for all we have belongs to God.
I Chronicles 29:14-16; Malachi 3:10; Acts 4:32-35; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-8; Proverbs 3:9
We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity is to be engaged outside of the marriage of a man and a woman. Any form of child molestation, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality, bisexuality, incest, pedophilia, or pornography is a sinful perversion of God’s gift of sex. We believe God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.
Genesis 2:22-24; 19:5, 13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:26-29; 7:2; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4