SCRIPTURE
We believe the Bible is God's written revelation to man, and thus the sixty-six books of the Bible are God breathed, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts. They are the supreme and final authority of life and faith, for testing what is true and right (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 24:35; Hebrews 4:12).
The Word of God was written by the use of human agents. The Holy Spirit so superintended the authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God’s Word to man without error in the whole or in the part (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, there is but one true interpretation (2 Peter 1:20-21). The meaning of Scripture is to be found in the literal, grammatical-historical method of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:13; 1 Corinthians 2:13). The truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men, never do men stand in judgment of the truth of Scripture (Hebrews 4:12).
“We teach that justification before God is an act of God (Romans 8:33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of
their sins, and confess Him as sovereign Lord. This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.”
THE FALL OF MAN
Man was created with the intention that he would glorify God, enjoy his fellowship, and fulfill God’s will and purposes on the earth. Man has been created in the image and likeness of God, and fell, turning away from the relationship with God as intended. As a consequence of the fall, man is spiritually and physically dead, subject to the wrath, the righteous judgment of God, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8).
Because all men were in Adam, a nature corrupted by Adam's sin has been transmitted to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the only exception. All men are thus sinners by nature and by choice (Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 5:10-12).
GOD
There is only one living and true God, who exists eternally in three infinitely excellent Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each person in the Godhead is fully and completely God, and each member of the Holy Trinity equally deserving of worship, trust, and obedience (Deut 6:4, John 1:1; Matthew 16:16, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14, Hebrew 1:2-3)
God the Father
God is the Father, the first person of the Trinity, decrees and works all things according to his own purpose and for his own glory, being sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. He created the universe out of nothing. He continually sustains, directs, and governs all creatures and events, accomplishing this without being the author or approver of sin nor minimizing human responsibility. He has graciously chosen the elect from all eternity, he saves from sin all who come to him through Jesus Christ, and he personally relates to his children as their Father.
God the Son
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine excellencies, and in these, He is co-equal, co-substantial, and co-eternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9).
God the Holy Spirit
God the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Trinity. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity including intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (Isaiah 40:13-14), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). In all the divine attributes He is co-equal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; and Jeremiah 31:31 34 with Hebrews 10:15-17).
THE LAST DAYS
We believe physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness (Revelation 6:9-11; Matthew 10:28). We believe the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ (Luke 23:43; Philippians 1:23), there is a separation of soul and body (Philippians 1:21-24) and such separation will continue until the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6) when spirit, soul, and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, 50-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Until that time, the souls of the redeemed in Christ remain in joyful fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8).
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life (Job 19:25-27; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14) and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Revelation 20:6, 13-15).
Creation
God created the entire universe out of nothing as well as all living beings for the purpose of displaying His glory. God created the earth in six literal days (Genesis 1:1, 31, John 1:3).
“We believe Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church. All those who are born again should be members of a local assembly of believers and maintain a regular assembling of themselves together....”
SALVATION
We believe that salvation comes through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This faith is by God’s grace alone and cannot be obtained by any human efforts or works.
We believe salvation occurs at conversion when the Holy Spirit convicts of sin and regenerates the elect, enabling them to hear the Gospel and understand Scripture; seeing the preciousness of Christ and their own unworthiness, they freely choose to repent and believe. Yet without the effectual work of the Spirit, no one would believe; therefore, no one can boast. After conversion, the Spirit dwells in all believers, empowering them to live lives worthy of the calling they have received, to the glory and praise of God. (Jeremiah 31:33,34, Ezekiel 36:25-27, Matthew 11:27, Mark 1:15, 9:23,24, Luke 5:8, John 3:8, John 6:44, Acts 1:8, 11:18, 16:14, Romans 6:17,18, 15:18,19, 2 Corinthians 3:17,18, 6:16, Ephesians 1:13,14, 2:1-9, 4:1, Philippians 2:12,13, 2 Thessalonians 1:11,12, 2 Timothy 2:24,25, 1 Peter 2:4)
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH
We believe the Church of Jesus Christ consists of all Jews and Gentiles out of every country and culture who from the day of Pentecost to the Rapture have been born of the Spirit of God and by that same Spirit have been baptized into the body of Christ (Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:1-21, 47; Ephesians 2:14-22; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 12:22-23; 1 Peter 1:3, 22-25; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
We believe the Church is a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ (Matthew 16:18), distinct from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32), a mystery not revealed until this age (Ephesians 3:1-6; 5:32).
We believe Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church. All those who are born again should be members of a local assembly of believers (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18; Acts 14:23, 27; 20:17, 28; Galatians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1). They should associate with other assemblies of like precious faith and maintain a regular assembling of themselves together (1 Corinthians 11:18-20; Hebrews 10:25; Romans 12:6-8).
We believe the purpose of the church is to glorify God
This is accomplished by edification, which involves building one another up in the faith; by instruction in the Word of God; by the maturing of every believer in Jesus Christ; by evangelism to communicate and advance the Gospel of Christ to the entire world; by discipleship; by the development of mutual accountability of all believers to each other; by the disciplining of sinning members of the congregation in accordance with biblical standards; by fellowship; by prayer; and by the keeping of the ordinances.