Scripture

We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Since the Scriptures are God- breathed in the original autographs, inspiration extends to the very words of the original manuscripts and preservation has allowed us to have accurate translations of the Bible so that the entire Bible, and only the Bible, is the Word of God. As such, the Bible is infallible, inerrant, and our only rule of faith and practice. (II Tim. 3:16; II Pet. 1:21; Mat. 5:18; John 10:35; Rev. 22:18-19)

God

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing as one in His essence yet three in His persons. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, and co-equal in power and glory. (Deut. 6:4; Ps. 90:2; Mat. 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; I Cor. 8:6)

A. God the Father—He is eternal, immutable, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is the sovereign God of the universe, the Creator and Preserver of all things. He is perfect in holiness, righteousness, justice and love. Having extended His grace and mercy to people by sending His Son to die in their place, He desires to have fellowship with them. (Ps. 65:2; 139:1-24; I Chr. 29:11; John 1:12; 3:16; Eph. 1:3-9; Rom. 11:36)

B. Jesus Christ—He is the Son of God. He is one Person, with both a divine nature (He is truly God) and a human nature (He is truly man). He existed from everlasting with the Father, was born of a virgin when He took on human flesh, lived a sinless life, and gave Himself willingly on the cross for the sins of people. He arose from the tomb on the third day, ascended to the Father, and will return to earth one day as Judge and King. (John 1:1-3, 18; 5:22-23; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Heb.1:3, 6, 8; 9:24; Phil. 2:6- 11; Col. 1:15-20; II Cor. 5:21; Mat. 25:31; Rev. 19:11- 20:6; I John 2:2)

C. Holy Spirit—He is a divine Person and not an impersonal force. He is fully God, proceeding from the Father and the Son. The work of the Holy Spirit included creation and the inspiration of the Scriptures. He calls people to salvation through Christ and dwells in the hearts of believers. (Mat. 28:19; John 16:7-14; Tit. 3:5; Eph. 1:13; 5:18; Rom. 8:9-16, 26)

Creation

We believe the Genesis account of the creation of the world as a literal, historical record of the direct acts of God, without the involvement of any evolutionary process. (Gen. 1-2; John 1:3-10; Col. 1:16; Heb. 11:3)

Mankind

We believe that man was created in innocence and in the image of God. However, in Adam’s disobedience, sin entered the world and passed to all mankind destroying man’s relationship with God and resulting in death. Thus, all are sinners by nature and by choice, and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse, and deserve eternal punishment in hell. (Gen. 1-3; Rom. 3:10-12, 23; 5:12; 8:7-8; Eph. 2:1-3; John 6:44; I John 4:19; Is. 64:6; Jer. 17:9)

Salvation

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly by grace through faith alone in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and that all who receive Him as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become children of God. (Eph. 2:8-9; John 1:29; I John 2:2; Is. 53:4-12)

A. Regeneration—When an individual responds in faith to the Gospel, repents of his sin and turns to Christ for salvation, the Holy Spirit causes a spiritual change in which he is freed from the guilt of his inherently sinful nature, receives the imputation of Christ’s righteousness, and thus is born again into God’s family. Regeneration involves an illumination of the mind, a change in the will, and a renewed nature. (John 3:3-7, 16; 1:12; II Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:22-28; I Pet. 1:23; Tit. 3:5; Acts 2:38; 17:30)

B. Justification—This is the act of God whereby He declares the sinner to be righteous in His sight. On the basis of the work of Christ, God does not impute sin to the individual, imputing instead the righteousness of Christ. (Rom. 3:22-28; 4:1-8; 5:1-2; Gal. 2:16)

C. Sanctification—Whereas regeneration is a one-time event in the life of the believer, sanctification is a continuing process by which God gradually transforms him into the image of Christ. This process will be completed when believers join Christ in heaven, perfected in holiness. (John 17:17; II Cor. 3:18; Eph. 5:26; I John 3:2; Acts 20:32)

D. Preservation—Since salvation is based solely upon the grace of God and not on the merit of the individual, everyone who truly accepts Christ as Savior is eternally secure in his salvation and is kept by God’s power. Scripture, however, gives a solemn warning to those who profess salvation but whose lives give no evidence of change because of the willful, continual practice of sin. (John 6:37, 39; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:38-39; I Pet. 1:5; II Pet. 1:10; I John 3:7- 10; James 2:14-26)

The Church

We believe that the church, composed of all who have trusted Christ as Savior since Pentecost, is the body of Christ. Christ Himself is the Head of the Church. This spiritual organism is the universal aspect of the church. (Mat. 16:18; Eph. 1:23)

A. Organization—The local church is an organized assembly of baptized believers voluntarily associated together in the faith in order to exalt the Lord in worship, evangelize the lost through witness, and edify the saints through teaching, fellowship, and service. The local church has the absolute right of self-government and should be free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, religious or governmental. Jesus Christ is the Head and chief Shepherd. (Eph. 4:11-16; Col. 1:15-20; I Pet. 5:4, Acts 2:42)

B. Ordinances—Christ instructed the church to observe two ordinances, both of which are symbolical rather than sacramental or efficacious.

1. Baptism—All who profess faith in Jesus Christ should be baptized by immersion in water as a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord. (Mat. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-4)

2. The Lord’s Supper—The Lord’s Supper is a memorial service in which the bread and juice represent the body and blood of Christ. (Mat. 26:26-29; I Cor. 10:16; 11:23-34)

Separation

We believe that Scripture commands God’s people to be holy and separate from all polluting influences, including sin, unrepentant disobedient brethren, and false teachers.

A. Personal—Individual believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit and so must be pure from sin. They are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, they are to be friends of sinners yet unspotted from the world. (II Cor. 6:14-7:1; I John 2:15-17; James 4:4)

B. Ecclesiastical—The church as a whole must separate from those who teach false doctrine and attempt to subvert the saints. (Rom. 16:17; II Thes. 3:6-15; II John 9-11; II Cor. 6:14- 18)

Marriage

We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman till death do they part as God’s plan for marriage from the beginning. (Genesis 2:18-24, Romans 1:26-27)

Last Things

A. The Rapture of the Church. We believe in the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13) to remove His church from this earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15- 5:11) and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

B. The Tribulation Period. We believe that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 16), and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth (Matthew 24:27-31; 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12).

C. The Second Coming and the Millennial Reign. We believe that, after the tribulation period, Christ will come to earth to occupy the throne of David (Matthew 25:31; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 1:10-11; 2:29-30) and establish His messianic kingdom for 1,000 years on the earth (Revelation 20:1-7). During this time the resurrected saints will reign with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth (Ezekiel 37:21-28; Daniel 7:17-22; Revelation 19:11-16). This reign will be preceded by the overthrow of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, and by the removal of Satan from the world (Daniel 7:17-27; Revelation 20:1-7).

 We believe that this time of our Lord’s reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life (Isaiah 11; 65:17-25; Ezekiel 36:33-38), and will be brought to an end with the release of Satan (Revelation 20:7).

D. The Judgment of the Lost. We believe that following the release of Satan after the 1,000-year reign of Christ (Revelation 20:7), Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9). Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10), whereupon Christ, who is the Judge of all men (John 5:22), will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne Judgment.

We believe that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment (John 5:28-29), they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15).

E. Eternity. We teach that after the closing of the millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers (2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:7-15), the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved (2 Peter 3:10) and replaced with a new earth, wherein only righteousness dwells (Ephesians 5:5; Revelation 20:15; 21:1-27; 22:1-21). Following this, the heavenly city will come down out of heaven (Revelation 21:2) and will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another (John 17:3; Revelation 21-22). Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28), that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever (1 Corinthians 15:28).