Beliefs
OUR CHURCH: Contending for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. (Jude 3)
OUR PURPOSE: To Magnify our Maker by Mimicking the Master (Ephesians 1:3-14; Revelation 4:11).
That is, to glorify God in all our ministries as we seek to reach the lost and edify the saved.
OUR HOPE: The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17).
THE HOLY SCRIPTURES:
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the original manuscripts of the Bible. It consists of only the sixty-six books of the combined Old & New Testaments which serves as the sole and ultimate authority for our faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13).
THE GODHEAD:
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three retain precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:7-12; 16:7; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe this living being to be an all-wise, providential, supreme ruler and judge, holy & just in all His dealings with His creation.
THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST:
We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became fully man, without ceasing to be fully God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order to reveal God and redeem sinful men (Matthew 1:18-20; John 1:1,2,14,18; Luke 1:35).
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who receive Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood (Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
We believe that Lord Jesus Christ rose bodily from the grave, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, where He intercedes on behalf of the believers. He will one day personally return for all true believers (Matthew 28:5,6; 1 Corinthians 15:12-19; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 4:14-16;7:23-25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1,2; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; Titus 2:13; 1 John 3:2,3).
THE HOLY SPIRIT:
We believe the Holy Spirit is a personal spirit being, God in every respect, who convicts the world of sin, draws the sinner to repentance, indwells all believers, baptizes them into the body of Christ, and seals them unto the day of redemption. He also intercedes for, teaches, comforts, empowers and guides believers into all truth. He also distributes spiritual gifts which enable the believers to minister for Christ. Certain of these gifts, such as apostleship, tongues, and prophecy were temporary; they were needed only in the infancy of the church and are not expected to be functioning today (John 3:8; 14:16; 15:26,27; 16:7-15; Acts 5:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; 13:8-11; Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).
ANGELS & SATAN:
We believe in the creation of angels in the past and their existence today. Their purpose is to serve God and believers, but never are they to be worshiped by men.
We believe that Satan, being an angel, fell from his holy and perfect state. He is the enemy of God and His people, opposing all that holy, yet with limited power. God has determined he will face judgment and eternal punishment (Revelation 20:1-10; Ephesians 2:1-4).
THE STATE OF MAN:
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but through Adam's one sin all men are now sinners by nature and by choice destined to experience physical and spiritual death. Men can be restored to their original, intended relationship with God only by the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, and not by any effort or merit of their own (Genesis 1:26; 3:1-24; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 1:20; Ephesians 2:1-6,12).
SALVATION:
We believe that the only way of salvation from spiritual death is through the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. Each individual must personally repent and put faith in the work of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. All those who do this are forgiven their sins, given eternal life, and become a child of God (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8,9; John 1:12; 3:5-7).
We believe that at the moment of salvation the Holy Spirit imparts a new, spiritual nature which is guaranteed victory over the old, sinful nature. This nature enables the believer to walk in close, ever-growing fellowship with God (John 3:3-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5).
This every-growing fellowship is God's process of progressive sanctification to help the believer to become more conformed to the image of Christ. Ultimately this sanctification will be completed when the believer is bodily resurrected (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:52-54; Ephesians 4:30; 5:27; Philippians 4:20-21).
ETERNAL SECURITY:
We believe that every believer, being indwelt by the Holy Spirit, can never lose their salvation (John 5:24; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,29,30,38,39; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25).
MANKIND'S ETERNAL STATE
SAVED: We believe, that at physical death, the believer's soul immediately enters into Heaven and the presence of Jesus Christ. In full consciousness they will enjoy all the blessings and beauty of heaven and there await the resurrection of their physical body. Once reunited the body and soul of the believer will live with the Lord forever (Luke 16:19: 26; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; ; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
UNSAVED: We believe that at physical death, the unbeliever's soul immediately enters into Hell. There they will consciously experience all the physical torments of Hell and the spiritual pain of being separated from God. Once they are resurrected and face the Great White Throne judgment they will be cast eternally into the Lake of Fire (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).
THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST:
We believe in the personal pre-tribulational, imminent return of Jesus Christ for His own, the church, often referred to as the Rapture. We believe in His subsequent, personal, pre-millennial return visibly to the earth to establish His kingdom and to reign for a millennium over the entire earth from the throne of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Zechariah 14:4-11; Luke 1:30-33; Acts 15:14-18; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51,52; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:6).
THE CHURCH
UNIVERSAL: We believe the church, the body of Christ, to be composed of all genuine believers in Jesus Christ and that it is essentially an organism, rather than an organization (Matthew 16:16-18; 1 Corinthians 12:12,13; Galatians 3:27; Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:25-33).
LOCAL: We believe that each local church is a visible expression of the body of Christ. It is the organized body of baptized believers who have joined together for worship, evangelism, fellowship and edification. It is the center of God's program for this age. Every Christian is bound by Scripture to participate in this ministry (Acts 2:41-47; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-16; Titus 1:5-11; 1 Corinthians 3:10-17; 5:1-5; 11:2).
ORDINANCES:
We believe that there are only two ordinances for the church.
BAPTISM: It is the public profession of the believer's salvation by and dedication to Jesus Christ. This is shown by a one-time, immersion in water to picture the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and express their determination to walk in the newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:36; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Peter 3:21; Acts 2:38-41).
LORD'S SUPPER: It is when the church partakes of the bread and fruit of the vine, to show our Lord's death "until He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:23-32; 9:1-5; Matthew 18:15-17).
RESPONSIBILITY OF BELIEVERS:
We believe that all believers should seek to walk by the Spirit, not bringing reproach upon their Lord and Savior, exercising Christian liberty regulated by love, separated from worldly pleasures and practices, separated from organizational association with apostate groups (Romans 12:1,2; Galatians 6:16; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13).
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to assume responsibility for the propagation of the gospel to all the world (Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 1:8).
We believe that it is the responsibility of all believers to remember the work of the local church and its extension ministries in prayer, to support it with their tithes and offerings as the Lord prospers them, to participate in all the regular services of the church as the Lord enables, and to voluntarily submit to the watch care and discipline of the local church (1 Corinthians 16:2; Hebrews 10:19-25; 13:17,18).
CREATION:
We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, "each after its own kind," by a direct act, and not by any process of evolution. We accept the literal six-day creation account as six 24 hour days and reject all other creation theories (Genesis 1,2; Colossians 1:16,17; John 1:3; Exodus 20:9-11; 31:17).
BIBLICAL SEPARATION:
We believe that all the saved are called into a life of separation. This separation is in at least three areas: moral, personal, and ecclesiastical.
MORAL: Believers are to follow the Biblical ethical standard of holiness and seek to be holy as God is holy. This demands rejecting the world's low ethics and morals while consistently striving to emulate the lifestyle of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:21, 4:15; 2 Corinthians 10:5).
PERSONAL: The Bible explains that there will be times when believers disagree over areas of Christian liberty. When this happens every man should be fully persuaded in his own mind (Romans 14:5) yet respect the standards adopted by fellow believers (1 Corinthians 8).
ECCLESIASTICAL: The Bible teaches that false teachings, religious systems, and minsters will be prevalent throughout this age. The church is required to separate from all such forms of errant doctrines, oppose them, and not associate with those groups or ministries that promote such heresies (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 5:11,12; Luke 12:51).