WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe the Bible to be the inspired, infallible, authoritative, and inerrant Word of God (II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:21).
We believe there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, John 10:30).
We believe in the deity of Christ (John 10:33); His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:34-35); His sinless life (Hebrews 4:15, 7:26); His miracles (John 2:11); His vicarious and atoning death (I Corinthians 15:3, Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 2:9); His resurrection (John 11:25, I Corinthians 15:4); His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mark 16:19); His personal return to earth in power and glory (Acts 1:11, Revelation 19:11-16).
We believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit for salvation because of the exceeding sinfulness of the human nature, and that all are justified through repentance and faith in the shed blood of Christ, and that only by God’s grace through such repentant faith are we saved (Mark 1:15, Acts 17:31, John 3:16-19; 5:24, Romans 3:23; 5:8-9, Ephesians 2:8-10, Titus 3:5).
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those who are saved unto the resurrection of life, and those who are not unto the resurrection of damnation (John 5:28-29, Revelation 20:5-6,14-15).
We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ as making up the family of God (Ephesians 3:15). We also believe in the church as only a local assembly of baptized believers commissioned to carry out the Lord’s work on earth in this present age. ( Matthew 16:18; 18:17; 28:18-20, Acts 2:47, I Corinthians 1:2)
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by Whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (Romans 8:13-14, I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:30; 5:18).
We believe that we as Christians are examples of the love of God in this world. It is this (agape) love that we desire to possess and practice and without which we have no right to call ourselves Christians (I John 4:16-17).
We believe it is the mandate of every church to go into the whole world and to preach the Gospel to every living creature, and to further organize such believers into scriptural New Testament churches. (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19-20)
Bible
All Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, are inspired by God. Inspiration means God the Holy Spirit superintended the human authors of Scripture (Prophets and Apostles) so that without sacrificing their particular literary style, the words they wrote in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, precisely communicate God’s very words to man (Mark 13:11; Acts 1:16; Rom. 1:18-25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21). The Bible is God’s Word and is without error. God also promised to supernaturally preserve His Word to keep it pure (Matthew 24:35, Psalm 12:6-7, Revelation 22:18-18). We use and believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the preserved Word of God in English. The Bible alone provides special revelation from God to man, and without it, we cannot know anything particular about Him, His creation, or His redemptive work in history through His Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3; 18:28; 26:22-23; 28:23).
Creation
It is also important to state that the Bible provides the Christian with the necessary foundation for making sense of the world in which he lives; that is, the Bible provides the necessary presuppositions to have a correct worldview, as Scripture alone gives the true origin of the universe created in six literal days and reveals that mankind came from the hand of God as a special creature made in His image and in no way evolved from any lower species. More so, the Bible explains the origin of sin and evil, the beginnings of language and society, and why the earth is in a state of decay. The perfect creation God made was marred by man’s sin, and was drastically changed by the world-wide flood in the days of Noah that destroyed all air-breathing life that was not taken onto the ark. (Gen.1-3, 6-9, Ex. 20:11, Psalm 33:6-9, Rev.4:11)
Sin
Adam sinned against God when he ate the forbidden fruit, bringing death to himself, the creation, and all his descendants (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-7; 5:3; 6:5; Rom. 5:12; 8:19-22; 1Cor. 15:21-22; Eph. 2:1-6). Biblically, all of Adam’s children are sinners by imputation (“charged to another” - Rom. 5:12-18; cf. Heb. 7:9-10), nature (Ps. 51:5; Rom. 7:19-21; Eph. 2:3), and choice (1 Kings 8:46; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:9-18). Sin so completely permeates every part of man’s being (mind, will, and body) that he is helpless to live up to God’s perfect standard of righteousness and must rely completely on God for salvation and spiritual advancement after regeneration (Isa. 64:6; Matt. 5:48 John 15:5; Eph. 2:1-6; Tit. 3:5). Jesus’ shed blood is the sole basis for the forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:14; Eph. 1:7; Heb. 10:10-14). By the work of Christ on the cross, and by His resurrection the believer is saved from the penalty of sin (past - Rom. 8:1; Eph. 2:5, 8), the power of sin (present - Rom. 6:1-14), and will ultimately be saved from the presence of sin (future - 1 Pet. 1:3-5; Rev. 21:4). Christ died for everyone; however, His death is only beneficial to those who repent and believe in Him for salvation (2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Jn. 2:2; 1 Tim. 4:10; Heb. 2:9).
God the Father
God the Father is the first Person in the Godhead. He is the master planner of all creation and the Father of all those who believe in Jesus Christ His Son for salvation (1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 3:26), but is not the Father of unbelievers (John 8:42-44). God the Father sent God the Son into the world as an expression of His love and to provide salvation for lost sinners (John 3:16-18). The Father was completely satisfied with the substitutionary death of His Son who died in the place of sinners (Mark 10:45; Rom. 3:25; 1 Cor.1 John 4:10).
God the Son
Jesus is the eternal Son of God who came into the world (John 1:1, 18), born of a virgin from the royal line of David (Luke 1:30-35), and that being truly God, took upon Himself true humanity that He might live righteously according to the Mosaic Law (John 1:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 4:15), and thus be the only qualified substitute to die in the place of sinners (Mark 10:45). After His bodily crucifixion, Jesus was in the grave for three days and was resurrected to life never to die again and ascended to heaven where He currently intercedes for all believers until He returns to receive them unto Himself at the rapture (1 Cor. 15:3-4; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
God the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Godhead (Gen. 1:2; Acts 5:3-4). He has a special ministry in the Church Age in which He convicts the lost, drawing them to salvation (John 16:7-11). He then indwells and seals every believer at the moment of salvation (John 3:3; 14:16-17; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13; 4:30). He gives spiritual gifts to all believers that are to be developed and used for the edification of others in the church (1 Cor. 12. Eph.4:1-16, Rom. 12:6-8). The Spirit also empowers, teaches, and guides the believer in accordance with Scripture, and through the teaching ministry of the church (John 14:26, 16:13-15; Acts 20:28, I Pet.5:1-3).
Trinity
The Bible teaches that God exists as a Triune Being; that there are three Persons in the Godhead who are co-equal, co-infinite, and co-eternal, possessing exactly the same attributes, but functioning in different roles, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Gen.1:26, Deut. 6:4; Mt. 28:18-19; John 1:1, 14, 18; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:4-6).
Angels
God created an unknown number of spirit beings called “angels.” They have intelligence, emotion, and volition. Angels are classified as either unfallen or fallen. One angel, known originally as Lucifer (later Satan, the Devil, the Dragon, and the Serpent), led an angelic revolt in heaven and convinced a third of the angels to follow him in rebellion against God (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19, Rev.12:3-4). Satan and his many fallen angels (known in the Bible as demons) continue in their rebellion (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 16:14); whereas the faithful angels continued in their allegiance to God and serve as His ministers in heaven and on the earth (Heb. 1:14; 13:2). Eventually, God will assign all fallen angels to the Lake of Fire for eternity (Matt. 25:31; Rev. 20:1-10).
Mankind
Adam and Eve were uniquely created in the image of God with intelligence and volition that was untainted by sin and were completely free to serve Him in the perfect environment of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 2:8-15). Adam ruined his innocent state, as well as the future of all mankind (excluding Christ), when he willfully sinned by eating the forbidden fruit (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-7; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). All mankind come from the lineage of Adam and Eve and are created equally by God (Gen.3:20, Acts 17:24-26, Rom.2:11)
Salvation & Security
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God initiates salvation (Lk.19:10), but man must respond in repentance and faith (Prov.28:13, I Thess.1:9) Man contributes nothing to his salvation, as it rests completely on the finished work of Jesus Christ who died as a substitute for sinners (Mark 10:45; John 19:30; Acts 4:12; 16:30-31; Rom. 3:21-28; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Gal. 2:16; 3:26; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 3:9; Tit. 3:5).
#Salvation is completely the work of God and never the work of man; and those whom the Lord saves He preserves until He brings them home to heaven (John 5:24; 10:28; Phil. 1:6; 1 John 5:13). The biblical truth regarding eternal security is in no way a license to sin, as God calls His children to live righteously in this world (Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 1:14-16), and disciplines them when they rebelliously turn from His will (1 Cor. 5:1-5; 11:27-30; Heb. 12:5-7).
Church
The church is an assembly of baptized believers, committed to the Lord and to each other for the purpose of carrying out the Great Commission as given by Christ to His churches. This includes evangelizing the lost, baptizing converts into the church membership, and then further discipling them through teaching-preaching, service, and fellowship (Mt.28:18-20, Mk.16:15, Lk.24:47). Each church is to stress the communication of God's truth to its’ members, worship and prayer to God, loving care for each other, and faithful outreach to their community (Acts 2:41-47, 4:19, 5:29, 1 Cor. 1:1-2, 12:14-27, 1 Thess. 1:1, Heb. 10:24-25) The two ordinances for the church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matt. 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:23-34). God has ordained that each church be led by a pastor with the supportive help of deacons and other leading men called “elders” (I Tim.3:1-13, Titus 1:6-9, I Pet.5:1-3).
End Times
The next prophetic event, which will directly lead to the end of time, is called the rapture, in which all those who are in Christ—whether dead or alive—will meet the Lord in the air when He comes (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Tit. 2:13). After the rapture, God will bring a time of judgment on the earth known in Scripture as the Tribulation, which will last seven years (Dan. 9:24-27; Matt. 24-25; Rev. 6-20). Immediately after God completes this judgment, Jesus Christ will personally return to reign as King in Jerusalem for one thousand years (Mt. 24:27-30; 1 Cor. 15:23-24; Rev. 19:11-21; 20:1-6). After Christ completes His one thousand year reign on the earth, the present heavens and earth will be destroyed and God will create a new heaven and a new earth that will be free from sin, death, pain, or sorrow, and the keeping of time will no longer be needed. (2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 21-22).