Section 1 - The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12-13)
Section 2 - The Godhead
We believe in one Triune 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 perfectness (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14).
Section 3 - God The Father
His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. He is the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Ps. 145:8-9; I Cor. 8:6).
He is sovereign – As the only absolute and Omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. (Ps. 103:19; Romans 11:36). He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (I Chron. 29:11). In His Sovereignty He is neither the author nor approver of sin (Habakkuk 1:13; Jn 8:38-47), nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures (I Peter 1:17).
He is Creator – Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31; Eph. 3:9). As Creator He is Father to all men (Eph 4:6), but His is spiritual Father only to believers (Rom. 8:14; II Cor. 6:18). He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass (Eph. 1:11).
He is Redeemer – He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own (Eph. 1:3-6); He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Heb. 12:5-9).
Section 4 - God The Son
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 (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).
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 (Rom. 3:24-25; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:3-5).
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; I John 2:1-2).
Section 5 - God The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who 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; II Cor.3:6; I Cor. 12:1-15; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14).
We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; I John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18).
Section 6 - The Total Depravity of 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, 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; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).
Section 7 - Salvation
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 (Eph. 2:8-10, 13; John 1:12; Eph.1:7; I Pet. 1:18-19).
Section 8 - The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1:5).
We believe that it is the privilege of 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 (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
Section 9 - The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Rom. 6:13; 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; I Pet. 1:14-16; I Jn. 1:8-10, 3:5-9).
Section 10 - Separation
We believe that all 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 (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; I Jn. 2:15-17; II Jn. 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1).
Section 11 - Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19-20).
Section 12 - The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are given to the church for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Cor. 12:4-11, 13:8-13; Eph. 4:7, 11-13; Rom. 12:6-8)
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (Jn. 15:7; I Jn. 5:14-15).
Section 13 - The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Eph.1:22-23; 5:25-27; I Cor.12:12-14; II Cor. 11:2).
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; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11), and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies (Hebrews 10:23-25).
We believe that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ (I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18) and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor/teachers; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; I Peter 5:1-5). The elders should determine all matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government (Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; I Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4). We believe that these leaders lead or rule as servants of Christ (I Timothy 5:17-22) and have His authority in directing the church. The membership is to submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
We believe in the importance of discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20; II Timothy 2:2), mutual accountability of all believers to each other (Matthew 18:5-14), as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the membership in accord with the standards of Scripture (Matthew 18:15-22; Acts 5:1-11; I Corinthians 5:1-13; II Thessalonians 3:6-15; I Timothy 1:19-20; Titus 1:10-16).
Section 14 - Dispensationalism
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 dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these—the age of law, the age of the Church, and the age of the millennial kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in scripture (John 1:17; I Cor. 9:17; II Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25; Heb. 7:19; Rev. 20: 2-6).
Section 15 - Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he is the prince of this world, who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. God is sovereign over Satan (Genesis 3:1-15; Job 1:6-12; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 20:10).
Section 16 - The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “Blessed Hope”, the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom (I Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).
Section 17 - The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men. The saved are resurrected 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).
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; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17).
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited 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 (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).
Ordinances
We believe that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42).
Section 1 - Baptism
We believe Christian baptism by immersion is the solemn and beautiful public testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ, the Church. Baptism is an important act of obedience for those who have been redeemed. (Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:1-11).
Those professing saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be immersed in water according to the Scriptural teaching. The Senior Pastor or some person authorized by the Board of Elders will be in charge of this service.
Section 2 - The Lord's Supper
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination. We also teach that, whereas the elements of Communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer and so is present, fellowshipping with His people (Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 10:16; 11:28-32).
The Lord’s Supper will be served to the assembled church by the Senior Pastor or some person designated by the Board of Elders following the morning service of the first Sunday of each month. Exceptions to this or additional times for the service will be decided by the Board of Elders. Since it is the Lord’s Table, none who are His will be barred, but the Senior Pastor will frequently state Scriptural order explaining the meaning of the Ordinance.
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Pet. 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12-13)
Section 2 - The Godhead
We believe in one Triune 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 perfectness (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14).
Section 3 - God The Father
His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. He is the first Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Ps. 145:8-9; I Cor. 8:6).
He is sovereign – As the only absolute and Omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. (Ps. 103:19; Romans 11:36). He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (I Chron. 29:11). In His Sovereignty He is neither the author nor approver of sin (Habakkuk 1:13; Jn 8:38-47), nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures (I Peter 1:17).
He is Creator – Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31; Eph. 3:9). As Creator He is Father to all men (Eph 4:6), but His is spiritual Father only to believers (Rom. 8:14; II Cor. 6:18). He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass (Eph. 1:11).
He is Redeemer – He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own (Eph. 1:3-6); He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Heb. 12:5-9).
Section 4 - God The Son
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 (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).
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 (Rom. 3:24-25; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:3-5).
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; I John 2:1-2).
Section 5 - God The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who 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; II Cor.3:6; I Cor. 12:1-15; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13-14).
We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; I John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18).
Section 6 - The Total Depravity of 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, 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; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).
Section 7 - Salvation
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 (Eph. 2:8-10, 13; John 1:12; Eph.1:7; I Pet. 1:18-19).
Section 8 - The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1:5).
We believe that it is the privilege of 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 (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
Section 9 - The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Rom. 6:13; 8:12-13; Gal. 5:16-25; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10; I Pet. 1:14-16; I Jn. 1:8-10, 3:5-9).
Section 10 - Separation
We believe that all 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 (II Tim. 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; I Jn. 2:15-17; II Jn. 9-11; II Cor. 6:14-7:1).
Section 11 - Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:19-20).
Section 12 - The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are given to the church for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Cor. 12:4-11, 13:8-13; Eph. 4:7, 11-13; Rom. 12:6-8)
We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted (Jn. 15:7; I Jn. 5:14-15).
Section 13 - The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Eph.1:22-23; 5:25-27; I Cor.12:12-14; II Cor. 11:2).
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; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11), and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies (Hebrews 10:23-25).
We believe that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ (I Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18) and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor/teachers; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; I Peter 5:1-5). The elders should determine all matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government (Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; I Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4). We believe that these leaders lead or rule as servants of Christ (I Timothy 5:17-22) and have His authority in directing the church. The membership is to submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
We believe in the importance of discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20; II Timothy 2:2), mutual accountability of all believers to each other (Matthew 18:5-14), as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the membership in accord with the standards of Scripture (Matthew 18:15-22; Acts 5:1-11; I Corinthians 5:1-13; II Thessalonians 3:6-15; I Timothy 1:19-20; Titus 1:10-16).
Section 14 - Dispensationalism
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 dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these—the age of law, the age of the Church, and the age of the millennial kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in scripture (John 1:17; I Cor. 9:17; II Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25; Heb. 7:19; Rev. 20: 2-6).
Section 15 - Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he is the prince of this world, who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. God is sovereign over Satan (Genesis 3:1-15; Job 1:6-12; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 20:10).
Section 16 - The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “Blessed Hope”, the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones, and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom (I Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).
Section 17 - The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men. The saved are resurrected 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).
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; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17).
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited 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 (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).
Ordinances
We believe that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42).
Section 1 - Baptism
We believe Christian baptism by immersion is the solemn and beautiful public testimony of a believer showing forth his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and his union with Him in death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ, the Church. Baptism is an important act of obedience for those who have been redeemed. (Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:1-11).
Those professing saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Savior will be immersed in water according to the Scriptural teaching. The Senior Pastor or some person authorized by the Board of Elders will be in charge of this service.
Section 2 - The Lord's Supper
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination. We also teach that, whereas the elements of Communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer and so is present, fellowshipping with His people (Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 10:16; 11:28-32).
The Lord’s Supper will be served to the assembled church by the Senior Pastor or some person designated by the Board of Elders following the morning service of the first Sunday of each month. Exceptions to this or additional times for the service will be decided by the Board of Elders. Since it is the Lord’s Table, none who are His will be barred, but the Senior Pastor will frequently state Scriptural order explaining the meaning of the Ordinance.
