THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired Word of God and is the absolute and only rule and authority for faith and practice. It is the special revelation of God to man and the only basis for true Christian unity. Furthermore, we believe that the Word of God has been preserved for the English-speaking world through the Authorized King James Version. It is to be used exclusively in all teaching and preaching.
II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 4:12; Acts 1:16; John 10:35; 16:12,13; 17:17; Mark 12:36
THE PERSON OF GOD
We believe the only true and living God is a triune God, eternally existing in three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is absolute in His attributes and glorious in His perfection. God is personal, spirit, omniscient, sovereign, perfect, immutable, eternal in being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power. We believe that God is absolutely separate and above the world as its creator, yet every where present in the world as the sustainer of all things. God is self-existent and self-revealing in His relationship with His creation.
Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Romans 1:2-4; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Ephesians 4:3-6; I Corinthians 8:6
CREATION, the BOOK OF GENESIS, & the FLOOD
THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe the eternal Son became flesh in the virgin birth, and that He was Deity and lived a sinless life. His death was vicarious and after He was buried He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into Heaven. He now sits at the right hand of God as our Great High Priest, “ever living to make intercession for us”
Isaiah 7:14; I Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 1:1; 14:3; I Peter 2:22; 3:18
THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person whose task is to glorify God by convicting men of sin, drawing them unto Christ, and regenerating those who believe on Him. The Holy Spirit also empowers believers for the work of the ministry. He comforts and guides them in their Christian walk. We believe the Bible repudiates the charismatic emphasis upon the experiential oriented tongues and ecumenical practices as any ministry of the Holy Spirit. We also believe that His testimony isn’t of Himself but of Jesus Christ and the redemptive truths centered in Christ.
John 14:16,17; 16:8; Ephesians 1:13,14; I Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 12:13
THE FALL OF MAN
The Genesis account of creation is a true and historical record, revealing that all men have inherited a depraved nature and are lost sinners in need of salvation. This nature is evident early in life by willful acts of sin and disobedience. Man is a creature of his free will and must individually determine his relationship to Christ and in turn his eternal destiny. We do not subscribe to man being “irresistibly drawn” and the false doctrine of “predestination” as they relate to salvation. All men are alienated from the life and family of God, without excuse, under the righteous judgement and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation.
Romans 3:9-19 Ephesians 2:1-3 Genesis 1:27 Isaiah 53:6 Romans 5:12-19
THE SALVATION OF SINNERS
We believe that salvation is wholly of grace and that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Salvation is through the finished work of Christ on the cross and that it is the free gift of God which is neither merited, or secured through the works of man. It is received only by personal faith in Christ and His shed blood on the cross. We believe that all who will repent of sin, trusting Christ alone are saved, made perfectly righteous before God, and given the standing of sonship by the new birth into God’s family. We believe that there is no possible salvation outside of Christ and His shed blood.
John 3:3-6, 16; 10:28-29 Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Timothy 2:5-6; I Peter 1:18-23; Hebrews 9:22
THE FREENESS OF SALVATION
We believe that salvation is extended to every man as a free gift of God. Jesus Christ shed His blood in order that all men might be saved but only those who respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in the presentation of the gospel will be saved. Man has done nothing and can do nothing to be saved but believe on Christ.
Romans 4:1-4; Acts 16:31; John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 12:46; Ephesians 2:8-10; I John 2:1-2
THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that once a person is saved, he is eternally saved. We believe that the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin by the substitutionary atonement of Christ. It is complete and final and the believer can never perish after trusting Christ. This gives the believer freedom to serve Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit within him. He is secure because God has taken the responsibility for his eternal destiny.
John 10:27-30; I John 2:1-2; Romans 8:31-39; I Corinthians 6:19; Hebrews 2:10; Philippians 1:6
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
We believe that the visible church is a body of believers that have been baptized by immersion, practicing New Testament principals, believing its doctrines, observing the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord Supper, and exercising her autonomy. The officers of the local church are pastor and deacons. The church is distinct from Israel in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ is the head with the pastor accountable to Christ. The local assembly is the visible manifestation of the Body of Christ which is made up of all believers. She is independent from any other assembly and fellowship should be with other local assemblies of like faith and practice.
Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 4:11-13; I Timothy 3:1-13; I Corinthians 12:12,13
THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe in the eternal blessedness of the saved in a literal place called Heaven and the eternal punishment of the unsaved in a literal place called the Lake of Fire. The saved go immediately to Heaven when they die and will be judged in relationship of rewards following the rapture of the church. This will take place at the BEMA. At death, the unsaved are held in Hell until the time of the Great White Throne judgement when they will be raised in bodily form and cast into the Lake of Fire, which is their place of final and everlasting punishment.
John 5:28,29; 14:2; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:14,15; 21:4; Matthew 25:46; I Corinthians 3:12-15
THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS
Prophecy in the Bible is to be taken literally. Therefore, we believe in a premillennial, pretribulational rapture of the church. The next event on God’s prophetic calendar will be the rapture of the church. This will be followed by the “seventieth week of Daniel” which is called the Tribulation. At the end of this period of seven years, the Lord Jesus will return bodily to the earth; this is called the Second Coming of Christ. He will establish a theocratic kingdom on the earth for 1000 years. Satan is bound during this time but will be released at the end of the 1000 year reign to be cast into the Lake of Fire.
I Thessalonians 4:1-5:2; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 19:1-20:15; Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:4-25:46
We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired Word of God and is the absolute and only rule and authority for faith and practice. It is the special revelation of God to man and the only basis for true Christian unity. Furthermore, we believe that the Word of God has been preserved for the English-speaking world through the Authorized King James Version. It is to be used exclusively in all teaching and preaching.
II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 4:12; Acts 1:16; John 10:35; 16:12,13; 17:17; Mark 12:36
THE PERSON OF GOD
We believe the only true and living God is a triune God, eternally existing in three persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is absolute in His attributes and glorious in His perfection. God is personal, spirit, omniscient, sovereign, perfect, immutable, eternal in being, holiness, love, wisdom, and power. We believe that God is absolutely separate and above the world as its creator, yet every where present in the world as the sustainer of all things. God is self-existent and self-revealing in His relationship with His creation.
Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; Romans 1:2-4; Deuteronomy 4:35; 6:4; Ephesians 4:3-6; I Corinthians 8:6
CREATION, the BOOK OF GENESIS, & the FLOOD
- The account of origins presented in Genesis is a simple but factual presentation of actual events and therefore provides a reliable framework for scientific research into the question of the origin and history of life, mankind, the earth, and the universe.
- The various original life forms (kinds), including mankind, were made by direct creative acts of God. The living descendants of any of the original kinds (apart from man) may represent more than one species today, reflecting the genetic potential within the original kind. Only limited biological changes (including mutational deterioration) have occurred naturally within each kind since creation.
- The great Flood of Genesis was an actual historic event, worldwide (global) in its extent and effect.
- The special creation of Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman), and their subsequent fall into sin, is the basis for the necessity of salvation for mankind.
THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe the eternal Son became flesh in the virgin birth, and that He was Deity and lived a sinless life. His death was vicarious and after He was buried He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into Heaven. He now sits at the right hand of God as our Great High Priest, “ever living to make intercession for us”
Isaiah 7:14; I Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 1:1; 14:3; I Peter 2:22; 3:18
THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person whose task is to glorify God by convicting men of sin, drawing them unto Christ, and regenerating those who believe on Him. The Holy Spirit also empowers believers for the work of the ministry. He comforts and guides them in their Christian walk. We believe the Bible repudiates the charismatic emphasis upon the experiential oriented tongues and ecumenical practices as any ministry of the Holy Spirit. We also believe that His testimony isn’t of Himself but of Jesus Christ and the redemptive truths centered in Christ.
John 14:16,17; 16:8; Ephesians 1:13,14; I Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 12:13
THE FALL OF MAN
The Genesis account of creation is a true and historical record, revealing that all men have inherited a depraved nature and are lost sinners in need of salvation. This nature is evident early in life by willful acts of sin and disobedience. Man is a creature of his free will and must individually determine his relationship to Christ and in turn his eternal destiny. We do not subscribe to man being “irresistibly drawn” and the false doctrine of “predestination” as they relate to salvation. All men are alienated from the life and family of God, without excuse, under the righteous judgement and wrath of God, and has within himself no possible means of salvation.
Romans 3:9-19 Ephesians 2:1-3 Genesis 1:27 Isaiah 53:6 Romans 5:12-19
THE SALVATION OF SINNERS
We believe that salvation is wholly of grace and that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. Salvation is through the finished work of Christ on the cross and that it is the free gift of God which is neither merited, or secured through the works of man. It is received only by personal faith in Christ and His shed blood on the cross. We believe that all who will repent of sin, trusting Christ alone are saved, made perfectly righteous before God, and given the standing of sonship by the new birth into God’s family. We believe that there is no possible salvation outside of Christ and His shed blood.
John 3:3-6, 16; 10:28-29 Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Timothy 2:5-6; I Peter 1:18-23; Hebrews 9:22
THE FREENESS OF SALVATION
We believe that salvation is extended to every man as a free gift of God. Jesus Christ shed His blood in order that all men might be saved but only those who respond to the work of the Holy Spirit in the presentation of the gospel will be saved. Man has done nothing and can do nothing to be saved but believe on Christ.
Romans 4:1-4; Acts 16:31; John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 12:46; Ephesians 2:8-10; I John 2:1-2
THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
We believe that once a person is saved, he is eternally saved. We believe that the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin by the substitutionary atonement of Christ. It is complete and final and the believer can never perish after trusting Christ. This gives the believer freedom to serve Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit within him. He is secure because God has taken the responsibility for his eternal destiny.
John 10:27-30; I John 2:1-2; Romans 8:31-39; I Corinthians 6:19; Hebrews 2:10; Philippians 1:6
THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
We believe that the visible church is a body of believers that have been baptized by immersion, practicing New Testament principals, believing its doctrines, observing the ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord Supper, and exercising her autonomy. The officers of the local church are pastor and deacons. The church is distinct from Israel in the Old Testament and Jesus Christ is the head with the pastor accountable to Christ. The local assembly is the visible manifestation of the Body of Christ which is made up of all believers. She is independent from any other assembly and fellowship should be with other local assemblies of like faith and practice.
Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 1:22, 23; Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 4:11-13; I Timothy 3:1-13; I Corinthians 12:12,13
THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe in the eternal blessedness of the saved in a literal place called Heaven and the eternal punishment of the unsaved in a literal place called the Lake of Fire. The saved go immediately to Heaven when they die and will be judged in relationship of rewards following the rapture of the church. This will take place at the BEMA. At death, the unsaved are held in Hell until the time of the Great White Throne judgement when they will be raised in bodily form and cast into the Lake of Fire, which is their place of final and everlasting punishment.
John 5:28,29; 14:2; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:14,15; 21:4; Matthew 25:46; I Corinthians 3:12-15
THE DOCTRINE OF LAST THINGS
Prophecy in the Bible is to be taken literally. Therefore, we believe in a premillennial, pretribulational rapture of the church. The next event on God’s prophetic calendar will be the rapture of the church. This will be followed by the “seventieth week of Daniel” which is called the Tribulation. At the end of this period of seven years, the Lord Jesus will return bodily to the earth; this is called the Second Coming of Christ. He will establish a theocratic kingdom on the earth for 1000 years. Satan is bound during this time but will be released at the end of the 1000 year reign to be cast into the Lake of Fire.
I Thessalonians 4:1-5:2; II Thessalonians 2:1-12; Revelation 19:1-20:15; Daniel 9:25-27; Matthew 24:4-25:46