Statement of faith

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 We believe that the Holy Scriptures (the Bible), consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, are the very words of God, having been given through verbal plenary inspiration by the Holy Spirit and recorded by Godly men without bypassing their mind or personality (1 Thes 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:19-21). They are, therefore, completely without error in all parts as given by God in the original autographs. These Scriptures are the only infal­lible source of truth (Jn 16:13; 17:17) and are the supreme and final authority on Christian faith and life, doctrine and practice (Rom 15:4; Jas 1:21-25). 

 We believe there is only one living and true God (Is. 44:6-8; 45:5-6; 1 Cor 8:4; 1 Tim 2:5) who is one God yet self exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Mt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14), each of whom is to be honored and worshipped equally as God (Jn 5:23; Acts 5:3-4; Eph 4:30; 1 Thes 5:19). He is eternal (Ps 90:2; 1 Tim 1:17), perfect (Mt 5:48), just (Ps 19:9), holy (Is 6:3), righteous (Ps 145:17), loving (1 Jn 4:16) merciful (Deut 4:31), and never changing (Ps 102:27; Heb 13:8). He is the Creator (Gen 1:1), Preserver (Ps 104), and Sovereign Ruler of all things, whether past, present, or fu­ture (Ps 103:19).

We believe in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 15:6; 2Co 1:3; 2Jo 1:3), who is the first person of the Triune God, the spiritual Father of the nation Israel (Isa 63:16; Jer 31:9), and all believ­ers in Christ (Rom 1:7; Eph 1:2).

We believe in God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Jn 5:20; Mt 3:17), who is the second person of the Triune God, the eternal Word (Jn 1:1) and only begot­ten Son of God (John 3:16; Col 1:3). He is both truly God (Jn 10:30; Col 2:9; Tit 2:13) and truly man (Mk 15:39; 1 Tim 2:5; Rev 22:16). As the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Mt 1:18-35), emptying Himself by tak­ing on the form of a bond servant and coming in the likeness of men (Phil 2:5-8). Having lived a life fully human, yet apart from sin (Heb 4:15), He was cru­cified on our behalf (2 Cor 5:21), raised bodily from the dead (Lk 24:36-43; 1 Cor 15:1-20; 1 Pet 1:21), ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), and is at present exalted and seated at the right hand of God the Father (Eph 1:20). He is the High Priest (Heb 4:14-15) and Advocate of every believer (1 Jn 2:1) and the only mediator between God and man (Acts 4:12;1 Tim 2:5).

We believe in God the Holy Spirit (Act 5:3-4; 10:38; 1 Cor 3:16), the third per­son of the triune God, who proceeds from the Father (Jn 15:26) and con­victs the world of sin, righteousness, and judg­ment (Jn 16:8-11). He is the divine Agent in regeneration (Jn 3:5; Tit 3:5) and redemption (2 Cor 2:10-13). All be­lievers are baptized in Him and placed into the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13). They are indwelt by Him (1 Cor 6:19-20; Acts 8:14-17), and He is their seal until the day of final redemption (Eph 1:12-14, 4:30). He is the great Helper (Jn 16:7), the revealer and teacher of all truth (Jn 14:26, 16:13), who em­powers (Gal 5:22-26; Eph 3:16), guides (Rom 8:14), sanc­tifies (1 Cor 6:11), and grants assurance of sal­vation to every child of God (Rom 8:16).

We believe that man was created on the literal sixth day of creation, having been made in the likeness of God (Gen 1:26-28; Jas 3:9) as an immediate act of God rather than by any proc­ess of evolution.  We believe that man was literally tempted by the Serpent, the Devil, in the Garden of Eden, sinned against God, and became the progenitor of the fallen human race (Gen 3:1-24). As a result of this one act of disobedi­ence, all human beings are born with a sin nature (Rom 5:12-14) and are under the wrath of God (Rom 1:18), being sinners in word, thought, and deed (Rom 3:10-20), spiri­tually dead and separated from God (Rom 3:23, 6:23; Eph 4:18), with no means of gaining salvation in and of themselves (Mt 19:25-26). All un­regenerate men are confined under sin (Rom 3:10-12) and pos­sess a darkened mind (Eph 4:18) which is blinded by the god of this world, Satan (2 Cor 4:4). 

We believe that God, not wishing that any should perish (2 Pet 3:9), has made salva­tion possible for all men through the mediatorial work of Christ (Jn 3:17; 1 Cor 5:21), who volun­tarily offered Himself as the per­fect sacrifice for sin (Phil 2:5-8; Heb 9:11-14; 1 Pet 3:18), being made a sin offer­ing for mankind (2 Cor 5:21), bearing sin's curse (Gal 3:13), and tasting death for every man (Heb 2:9).

 We believe in the existence of Satan. Though he was originally created by God as a perfect angelic being, he became proud and desired to receive worship and obedience on an equal level with God (Mt 4:9). As a result, he rebelled against God, and became a being of total depravity and absolute corrup­tion (Jn 8:44). He is the prince of demons and is known as the Devil (lit. the "slanderer" Mt 25:41), Satan (lit. the "adversary, opponent" Job 1:6); the great enticer and deceiver (Rev 12:9); the god of this age (2 Cor 4:3-4), and the ac­cuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10). Though he is extremely powerful (Jude 9), he is limited as a created being (Job 1:7; 1 Pet 5:8-9; 1 Jn 4:4), and, while he is still allowed to exert pres­sure on all men in an attempt to bring them into obedience to him (Rom 12:2; Jas 1:13-16), his ultimate defeat, final doom, and eternal condemnation was es­tablished at the cross (Jn 12:31-32, 16:11), his final destiny being the Lake of Fire (Rev 20:10). 

We believe that salvation is the free gift of God (Rom 3:24, 6:23) which is given to men purely on the basis of grace through faith (Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5), being neither merited nor secured in any way by the work of the believer (Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9). Salvation is received solely on the basis of personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31). It is through His name alone that men are saved (John 14:6; Acts 4:12) and there is no con­demnation for those who are found in Him (Rom 8:1). As a result of this faith in Christ, every true believer is born of the Spirit by the Word of God (Jn 3:3-5; 1 Pet 1:23) and receives at this new birth the gift of eternal life, not merely as a future condition but as a present reality and cur­rent possession (1 Jn 5:13). He is made righteous in the eyes of God (Rom 3:22), receives sonship in God's family (Gal 3:26), and is given every spiritual resource and bless­ing he needs to live a life of godliness (Eph 1:3; 2Pe 1:3). It seems evident in Scripture that this salvation is one of permanence. Having been chosen be­fore the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4-5), the be­liever has been sealed until the day of redemption (Eph 4:30), his life now hid­den with Christ in God (Col 3:3). He has been given the divine promise that he will never perish (Rom 8:38-39) and his life is kept by Jesus Christ Himself (John 6:37-40; 17:12; Jud 1:1).

 We believe in a literal, personal, visible, premillennial and future second coming of Jesus Christ (Jn 14:1-3; Acts 1:10-11; Mk 13:24-37; Tit 2:11-13; Rev 1:7; Rev 19, 20). We believe Jesus Christ will return to rapture the Church prior to the Day of the Lord, first by resurrecting the dead in Christ and second by changing the bodies of those saints who are still alive into spiritual bodies (1 Cor 15:50-52; 1 Thes 4:14-18). After the rapture of the Church, the Day of the Lord will begin and will be a time of God’s wrath and final earthly judgment on a rebellious and unrepentant world (Jer 30:7; Mt 24:21; 2 Thes 1:3-10; Rev 6-19). This will be followed by Jesus Christ establishing His long-prom­ised kingdom (Mt 13:41-43) where He will reign on the Earth for 1000 years (Dan 7:13-14; Lk 1:32-33; Rev 20:1-6). Following this reign, Christ will resurrect and judge the unsaved dead (Rev 20:11-15) and deliver His Messianic Kingdom up to God (1 Cor 15:24-28) so He may reign forever with the Father in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Lk 1:32-33; Rev 21:1-22:26). 

We believe in a future life for both the believer and the unbeliever. The be­liever, at death, goes im­mediately to be with Christ (2 Cor 5:8), his sins hav­ing already been judged in Christ on the cross (Jn 5:24; Gal 3:13). Then, at Christ's second coming, his body will be resurrected (1 Cor 15:35-49) and changed into the likeness of Christ's own body (Phil 3:20-21). Finally, he must come before the Judg­ment Seat of Christ, where his works, whether good or bad, will be judged for the determination of re­wards (1 Cor 3:8-15; 2 Cor 5:10) after which he will forever dwell with Christ (Rev 22:1-5). The unbeliever, on the other hand, descends immediately into Hell af­ter death (Lk 16:19-31) where he is kept under punishment until the final day of judgment, at which time he will stand before the throne of God and be judged according to his words and cast into the Lake of fire (Rev 20:11-15; 21:8).

We believe in one true universal Church which is the body (Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:18) and Bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2). It is a spiritual organism, composed of all born again believers from Pentecost (Mt 16:18; Acts 2:47) until the Rapture (1 Thes 4:16-17), whose head is Christ the Lord (Eph 1:22, 4:15). The local church is an organization made up of professing Christians (Acts 14:23; Phil 2) who vol­untarily gather together for instruction in the Word (Acts 20:7), to administer discipline (Mt 18:15-17; 1 Cor 5:12), to praise God and fellowship with one another (Acts 2:46-47), to attend to the needs of the body (Acts 6:1-6; Gal 6:2), and to observe the ordinances (Acts 2:46-47), which are the Baptism of be­lievers by trine immersion (Mt 28:20) and the Lord's Supper, which consists of the Love Feast, Foot Washing, and the Breaking of the Bread and the Cup (Mt 26:26-30, esp. 26-27; Jn 13:1-20; 1 Cor 11:23-24).

 As members of the Body of Christ, each individual is given gifts by the Holy Spirit which are to be exercised for the common good (1 Cor 12:7). Therefore, it is expected that each member is to put into practice his gifts and abilities to serve Christ and that body, whether universal or local (1 Cor 12:14-30). Because these gifts are given for the common good, and given as the Spirit wills (1 Cor 12:11), each one has a valuable and useful purpose. There is, then, no place for comparing or seeking out the showier gifts (1 Cor 12:28-13:21). 

  We believe in righteous living and good works, not as a way of gaining or keeping salvation, but as evidence of a life that has been united with Christ (Mt 7:15-20; Tit 2:14; 1 Jn 3:9, 4:19). The Christian should keep the Word of the Lord (Jn 14:23), seek the things that are above rather than the things of the world (Col 3:1-4:6), and walk as Jesus walked (Eph 4:1-6:20; 1 Jn 2:6), remem­bering that he is not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14).

  We believe that civil government is ordained by God for the punishment of evil doers and the pro­tection of the good (Rom 13:1-7). The Christian has the obligation, and is commanded, to pray for the rulers and leaders of the gov­ernment, both local and national, on a regular basis (1 Tim 2:1-3). In ad­di­tion, he is to be submissive and obedient to their authority (Tit 3:1; 1 Pet 2:13-14) except in those things that are obviously contrary to the will of God (Acts 4:19-20, 5:29).