Our Beliefs
The Bible
We believe the Bible – both the Old and New Testaments – to be the verbally inspired Word of God, infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. God superintended the human authors, so that while accommodating their own individual personalities and writing styles, God communicated His very word to us. We practice the grammatical-historical interpretation of the Scriptures, and accept the historical record of the Bible as accurate. Furthermore, God has overseen the preservation of His original Word, so that what we have today is reliable and trustworthy. Therefore, the Bible is the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and life, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. We also believe that the Scriptures were designed to be applied by the Holy Spirit to result in the transformation of our lives to be more like Christ. (Psalm 19:7-14; 119:9, 105, 160; Matthew 5:17-18; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 3:15-16; Jude 3)
The Godhead
We believe in one God who is infinitely perfect, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who are identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and possess precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection, but who are distinct in office and activity.
(Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Isaiah 45:5; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29-32; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Peter 1:2)
God the Father
We believe the Father, the first person of the Trinity, decreed for His glory all things that come to pass. He providentially upholds and governs all creatures and events according to His own purpose. Through His plan and in His wisdom He has graciously provided salvation for mankind through Jesus Christ. (Psalm 33:6; 103:19; 135:6; Daniel 4:34-35; Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:4-14; 1 Peter 1:1-3)
God the Son
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God; that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that He might redeem sinful humanity. He lived a perfect life of obedience and accomplished redemption by voluntarily giving Himself as a sinless substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, thereby satisfying God’s righteous judgment against sin. He gave proof that He accomplished that redemption by His bodily resurrection from the grave.
He then ascended to the right hand of His Father where He intercedes on behalf of His people. He is the only mediator between God and man. He will come again to earth, personally and visibly, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. (Matthew 1:21-23; Luke 1:26-37; 24:44; John 1:1-18; 8:58; 10:15; 14:1-6; Acts 1:11; Romans 1:3-4; 3:24-25; 5:8; 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:1-4; 4:14-16; 1 Peter 2:2-4)
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person who restrains evil in the world and convicts the world of sin; that He brings new life to those who are spiritually dead; that He places all believers into the one true Church, which is the Body of Christ; that He indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon them, fills those yielded to Him thus enabling them to live a fruitful Christ-like life. (John 3:3-8; 14:16-17; 16:5-11; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:4-11; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 5:1)
The Condition of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, in innocence and without sin. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man defied God, choosing to go his independent way, and thus was alienated from God and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God. The Fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered the consequences of inheriting the guilt of sin, a sinful nature, becoming spiritually dead and alienated from God. Therefore, man is a sinner both by nature and by choice and deserving of God’s wrath. Man, by his own works, is incapable of remedying his lost and depraved condition and thus is in need of God’s saving grace.
(Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-24; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2; Romans 3:10-24; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-10)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God’s grace and cannot be gained by good works, but is a free gift for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. All who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are forgiven, saved from their sins, made righteous before God, and are born into the family of God. (Isaiah 53:4-9; John 1:12; 3:16; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9; Philippians 1:6; Titus 2:11-14; 3:5)
Sanctification
We believe that sanctification, which is a setting apart unto God, is positional, progressive, and ultimate. Positionally, it is already complete since the believer is in Christ and is set apart unto God as Christ is set apart unto God. However, there is need for progressive sanctification in which the Christian grows in grace by the transforming work of the Spirit. Growth is demonstrated by an increase in the fruit of the Spirit and by obedience to the will of God, motivated by love for God and others. Believers who walk in the Spirit in obedience to Him will receive eternal rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. God disciplines believers who disobey Him with temporal consequences and the loss of eternal rewards. The child of God who is now set apart from sin in his position in Christ will ultimately be set apart from sin completely when he is taken to be with Christ and shall be like Him. (John 3:16-21; 11:25-26; 17:17,24; Romans 6:1-23; 8:1-39; 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:10; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 2:1-10; 3:16-19; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:1-25; 12:4-13; 1 Peter 2:1-3; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 1 John 3:1-3)
The Church
We believe that the true Church, called in Scripture the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism that is the creation of God Himself and not of man. Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church which is God’s chosen instrument for bringing the message of salvation by faith in Jesus to the entire world. Every person who has trusted Jesus Christ for salvation is a part of the church having been placed into it by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. The local church, as established in Scripture, is made up of redeemed individuals who have joined together for worship, teaching, fellowship, service and outreach. They are instructed to maintain the unity of the Holy Spirit in the bond of peace. (Matthew 16:17-19; Acts 1:5; 2:42-47; 8:1; 11:15; 13:1-2; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:20-22; 3:1-10; 4:3, 11-13; Colossians 1:18; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-2; Hebrews 3:13; 10:25; 1 Peter 2:9)
The Eternal State
We believe that for all mankind, there will be a resurrection of the body into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the destiny of each individual. At the death of those who have trusted Christ for salvation their souls pass immediately into His presence and remain there in conscious joy and delight until the resurrection of the body at Christ’s coming for the Church, when soul and body will be reunited. We then shall be with Him forever in glory. We also believe that at death the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery until the final judgment. God’s judgment will reveal His justice in consigning them to eternal retribution and conscious punishment, separated from God because of their own rejection of God.
(Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:50-53; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-4; 22:5)
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