What We Believe
Full Statement Of Beliefs
The Bible
We believe that the final authority is the Bible, the supreme standard by which all human creeds and confessions will be assessed. The Bible is made up of 66 books, the Old and New Testament alone. We believe that every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God without error and fully reliable. The Bible is not the word of God subjectively alone but objectively as well. We believe that the Jesus of history is the Christ of faith, and that the historical Jesus is the same Jesus of the Bible. The Bible is clearly understandable in its main teaching, and is to be not simply the nominal rule of the Church, but the actual message of our lips and the practice of our lives.
God
We believe that there is one and only one living and true God. We believe God has revealed himself in the Bible. God is the Almighty Creator, Savior and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory. God is infinitely holy, utterly loving, all-powerful, all-knowing and worthy of all praise and worship. God is an intelligent, spiritual and personal Being. We believe God exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Father - reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Son - Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Mankind
We believe that God created men and women in His image. Therefore, all people have inherent and equal dignity and worth. As a result of the fall, however, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Everyone is therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please Him.
Salvation
We believe that God is sovereign in salvation, and this salvation is worked out in a way consistent with free choice. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation is by faith alone, by the work of Christ alone, by grace alone, and to the glory of God alone.
We believe that regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart affected by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
We believe that justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of his holiness. It is a progressive work begun in regeneration and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means – especially the Word of God, self-examination, watchfulness, mutual encouragement, corporate worship, praise, and prayer.
We believe that glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed. We believe that all and only those who are real believers endure faithfully unto the end; this persevering relationship to Christ is the grand mark which distinguishes their profession from superficial professions of faith. God in His providence watches over their welfare and they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
The Church
We believe that the universal church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between gospel churches by mutual love, care and encouragement.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer, upon their profession of faith, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit; to show forth, in a solemn and beautiful sign, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry to his church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all; all its blessings are received by faith.
The Great Commission
We believe that is the duty of all Christians to demonstrate and declare the gospel message leading others to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Christians must be intentional and work to spread the gospel message within their own sphere of influence and must work, in conjunction with their local church, to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth through missionary endeavors.
The Future
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and those who have been made righteous by the saving work of Christ on the cross, will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God in the new creation. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.