THE
BIBLE
We believe that the Bible, both Old
and New Testaments, is supernaturally inspired, so that it is
inerrant in the original manuscripts and preserved by God in its
verbal and plenary inspiration, so that it is a divinely
authoritative standard for every age and every life. (Matthew
5:18; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21)
GOD
We believe in one God that eternally exists
and reveals Himself in three persons - Father, Son, Holy Spirit -
having each the same nature, attributes and perfections, worthy of
the same worship and confidence. (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John
1:1-2, 14, 10:30, 14:15-17; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians
13:14)
We believe in God as absolute and sole
Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and that creation was by
divine command, from nothing and not through an evolutionary
process. (John 1:3, 10; Acts 17:24-25; Genesis 1:1)
We believe that God, by His sovereign
choice and out of love for men, sent Christ into the world to save
sinners. (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 John 4:14)
GOD
THE SON
We believe that Jesus Christ was
fully God in the flesh and fully man, that He was born of a virgin
and that He lived a sinless life, in which He taught and performed
mighty works and wonders and signs exactly as revealed in the four
gospels. We believe that He was crucified, shed His blood, died to
pay the penalty for our sins and was raised bodily from the dead
on the third day. Forty days later He ascended to the Father's
right hand where He is Head of the Church and intercedes for
believers. From there He is coming again personally, bodily and
visibly to this earth to set up His millennial kingdom. (Isaiah
7:14, 9:6; Hebrews 1:1-2, 7:25; Luke 1:30-35; Ephesians 4:8; John
1:1-5, 10-14, 14:3; Colossians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Acts
1:3,11; Revelation 20:4)
GOD
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person and is God,
possessing all the divine attributes. He convicts of sin,
regenerates, indwells, baptizes and seals all believers at the
moment of their salvation, filling them in response to yieldedness
with the goal of conforming them to the image of Christ. (John
3:5, 16:7-11; Acts 5:3-4; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, 5:18; 1
Corinthians 6:19, 12:13)
MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of
God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful
nature and became alienated from God. We believe that all men are
morally corrupt, and of themselves utterly unable to remedy their
lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 1:18, 3:23, 5:12;
Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a gift
of God and is received by man through personal faith in Jesus
Christ and His sacrifice for sin. We believe that man is justified
by grace through faith apart from works and that all true
believers, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever. (Acts
13:38-39; Romans 4:5, 6:23, 8:1, 38-39; John 10:27-29; Ephesians
2:8-9)
THE
CHURCH
We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who
are regenerated by the Holy Spirit through saving faith in Jesus
Christ; that they are united together in the body of Christ of
which He is Lord and Head; and are commissioned for the God-given
tasks of worshiping, fellowshipping, teaching, evangelizing and
exercising the spiritual gifts. (Acts 2:42,47; Romans 12:5;
Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23-24; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians
11:2)
We believe that the establishment and
continuance of the local church is clearly taught in the New
Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13;
Titus 1:5-11)
We believe that the local church is
autonomous and free of any external authority or control. (Acts
13:1-4, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1
Peter 5:1-4)
THE
ORDINANCES
We believe the ordinances for the believer are water baptism
by immersion and the Lord's supper as a memorial. They are,
however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation. But both of
which are an evidence of obedience and fellowship with the Lord.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12, 35-38; Luke 22:19-20; 1
Corinthians 11:23-29)
THE
CHRISTIAN LIFE
We believe that a Christian should walk in holiness and not
after the flesh, with the goal of being conformed to the image of
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As a new creation, walking in
the Spirit, the Christian learns to grow in faith, in obedience to
Scripture, in prayer, in fellowship with the saints and in a life
of service. We believe that the Christian will stand before the
judgment seat of Christ to have his life evaluated according to
his deeds. (Galatians 5:16-26; Hebrews 10:25; Ephesians 4:20-24;
Hebrews 11:6, 12:1-2; John 17:17; Ephesians 6:18; Romans 8:29; 2
Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)
THE
SECOND COMING
We believe in the personal, premillennial
and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the
bodily resurrection of the dead, of the believer to everlasting
glory and the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious
punishment. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52;
Titus 2:11-13; John 14:1-6; Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:11-15; 2
Peter 3:10)