Statement of Faith

The Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is the source of our statement of faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final authority of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the following statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members.

(A) The Holy Scriptures

We accept the Holy Scriptures as the revealed will of God, the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. The Holy Bible, as given by God, both Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, inspired and infallible. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

(B) The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing as – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19: 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10. 26).

(C) The Person and Work of Christ

  1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).

  2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

  3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).

(D) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

  1. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Car. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).

  2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).

  3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12).

  4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, are for the church today. We believe that speaking in tongues is an evident sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; Acts 2:1-4, 10:44-48).

(E) The Fallen State of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19).

(F) Salvation

  1. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe salvation comes through confession of our sins, repentance for our sins, confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believing in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead. We believe that salvation results in a changed life (John 1:12; Acts 2:38; Rom. 10:9; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 Jn. 1:9; 2 Cor. 5:17).

  2. Faith and Works. Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ and not by human works; however, our works will determine the rewards in eternity (Romans 10:9‑1 and II Cor. 5:10).

(G) The Church

  1. We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).

  2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).

  3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1 -4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1,4; 1 Cor. 3:9,16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).

  4. We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Cor. 11:23-26).

  5. Baptism in Water: The ordinance of baptism by a burial with Christ should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have really repented and in their hearts have truly believed on Christ as Savior and Lord. In so doing, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4).

  6. The Lord’s Supper: “And when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:24; 25, 28).

  7. Separation: We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and asso­ciations is commanded of God (Rom.12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).

(H) The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. At which time he will personally establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom.

(I) The Millennial Reign of Jesus

The return of our Lord Jesus Christ with His Saints from Heaven to rule and reign for one thousand years on earth as the Scriptures promised ((Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; Romans 11:25, 27; I Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4;13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 2 Thess. 1:7; Rev. 19:11‑16; 20:1‑7). After this, there shall be a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21).

(J) The Eternal State

  1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).

  2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:2 1; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6).

  3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body re-united they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark. 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).

(K) The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a spiritual being, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14: 12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 20:10).

(L) Creation

We believe that God created the universe and all that is therein (Genesis 1-2; Ex. 20:11).

(M) Civil Government

We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institu­tion has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2: 13-14).

(N) Human Sexuality

We believe that God made humanity male and female and has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestial­ity, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thes. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4). Involvement in any of the for mentioned sins would disqualify that person from any form of leadership, ministry or ordination.

(O) Divorce and Remarriage

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. However, after restoration, divorced and remarried persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).

(P) Abortion

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abor­tion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder, but is not an unpardonable sin. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or popula­tion control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16: Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).

(Q) The Great Commission

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).

(R) Lawsuits Between Believers

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve per­sonal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32).

(S) Giving

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17).