WHAT WE BELIEVE / STATEMENT OF FAITH:

 

The Bible

We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error in the original manuscripts and infallible rule of faith and practice.

Ex 24:4; Deut 4:1-2, 17:19; Josh 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10, 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Isa 34:16, 40:8; Jer 15:14, 36; Matt 5:17-18, 22:29; Luke 21:33, 24:44-46; John 5:39, 16:13-15, 17:17; Acts 2:16 ff, 17:11; Rom 15:4, 16:25-26; 2 Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1-2, 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

 

The Trinity

It is the testimony of both the Old and New Testaments and of the Christian Church that God is both One and Triune. The biblical revelation testifies that there is only one God and that He is eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

 

God The Father

We believe in God the Father, and infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of all people, that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

Gen 1:1, 2:7; Ex 3:14, 6:2-3, 15:11ff, 20:1ff; Lev 22:2; Deut 6:4, 32:6; 1 Chron 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isa 43:3, 15, 64:8; Jer 10:10, 17:13; Matt 6:9ff, 7:11, 23:9, 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24, 5:26, 14:6-13, 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom 8:14-15; 1 Cor 8:4; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6; Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:4, 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7

 

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is God, the Son. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who chose to die so that those who believed in Him, repented of their sins, and received Him as Savior and Lord would be saved. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, teaching, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal, visible return to earth.

Gen 18:1ff; Psalm 2:1ff, 110:1ff; Isa 7:14, 53; Matt 1:18-23, 3:17, 8:29, 11:27, 14:33, 16:16, 27, 17:5, 27, 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1, 3:11; Luke 1:35, 4:41, 22:70, 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29, 10:30, 38, 11:25-27; 12:44-50, 16:15-16, 28, 17:1-5, 21-22, 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9, 2:22-24, 7:55-56, 9:4-5, 20; Rom 1:3-4, 3:23-26, 5:6-21, 8:1-3, 34, 10:4; 1 Cor 1:30, 2:2, 8:6, 15:1-8, 24-28; 2 Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:20, 3:11, 4:7-10; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:13-22, 2:9; 1 Thees 4:14-19; 1 Tim 2:5-6, 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Heb 1:1-3, 4:14-15, 7:14-28, 9:12-15, 24-28, 12:2, 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25, 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9, 3:2, 4:14-15, 5:9, 2 John 7-9; Rev 1:13-16, 5:9-14, 12:10-11, 13:8, 19:16

 

 

 

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is God, the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all the biblical gifts of the Spirit.

Gen 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11, 139:7ff; Isa 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 3:16, 4:1, 12:28-32, 28:19; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 1:35, 4:1, 18-19, 11:13, 12:12, 24:49; John 4:24, 14:16-17, 26, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 38, 4:31, 5:3, 6:3, 7:55, 8:17, 39, 19:44, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6, 19:1-6; Rom 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Cor 2:10-14, 3:16, 12:3-11; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:30, 5:18; 1 Thes 5:19; 1 Tim 3:16, 4:1; 2 Tim 1:14, 3:16; Heb 9:8, 14; 2 Peter 1-21; 1 John 4:13, 5:6-7; Rev 1:10, 22:17

 

Evangelism (Sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ)

    God calls on all Christians to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those He brings us into contact with (The Great Commission Matthew 28:19-20).

    According to God’s Word, it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others.

    Sharing the Gospel is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

Gen 12:1-3; Ex:19:5-6; Isa 6:1-8; Matt 9:37-38, 10:5-15, 13:18-30, 37-43, 16:19, 22:9-10, 24:14, 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18, 24:46-53; John 14:11-12, 15:7-8, 16, 17:15, 20:21; Acts 1:8, 2, 8:26-40, 10:42-48, 13:2-3; Rom 10:13-15; Eph 3:1-11; 1 Thes 1:8; 2 Tim 4:5; Heb 2:1-3, 11:39-12:2; 1 Peter 2:4-10; Rev 22:17

 

Mankind

    Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherits a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action become transgressors and are under condemnation.

     Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

Gen 1:26-30, 2:5, 7, 18-22, 3, 9:6; Psalm 1, 8:3-6, 32:1-5, 51:5; Isa 6:5; Jer 17:5; Matt 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Rom 1:19-32, 3:10-18, 23, 5:6, 12, 19, 6:6, 7:14-25, 8:14-18, 29; 1 Cor 1:21-31, 15:19, 21-22; Eph 2:1-22; Col 1:21-22, 3:9-11

 

Sin

We believe that all men are sinners by nature and choice and are therefore under condemnation that God regenerates by the Holy Spirit those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. We believe that through salvation one is redeemed by Christ in the family of God and into their intended identity as a child of God empowered by His Spirit.

Isaiah 64:6; Proverbs 28:13; Hosea 5:15; John 1:12, 3:16; Acts 1:5, 8, 2:38; Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-10; Galatians 4:6-7; Ephesians 1:4-5; James 1:15, 4:17; I John 1:9, 3:4, 3:6; Rev 3:5

 

Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus.

It is a change of heart formed by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Gen 3:15; Ex 3:14-17, 6:2-8; Matt 4:17, 16:21-26, 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69, 2:28-32; John 1:11-14, 29, 3:3-21, 36, 5:24, 10:9, 28-29, 15:1-16, 17:17; Acts 2:21, 4:12, 15:11, 16:30-31, 17:30-31, 20:32; Rom 2:4, 3:23-25, 4:3ff, 5:8-10, 6:1-23, 8:1-18, 29-39, 10:9-10, 13, 13:11-14; 1 Cor 1:18, 30, 6:19-20, 15:10; 2 Cor 5:17-20; Gal 2:20, 3:13, 5:22-25, 6:15; Eph 1:7, 2:8-22, 4:11-16; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-22; 3:1ff; Heb 2:1-3, 5:8-9; 2 Tim 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Thes 5:23-24, 9:24-28, 11:1-12, 8:14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Rev 3:20, 21:1-22:5

 

The Church

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.

This church is an autonomous body, operating through democratic processes under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (The Shepherd). In such a congregation, members are led by a pastor (The Under-shepherd). Scriptural officers within the church are elders and deacons. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages.

Matt 16:15-19, 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42, 47, 5:11-14, 6:3-6, 13:1-3, 14:23, 27, 15:1-30, 16:5, 20:28; Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2, 3:16, 5:4-5, 7:17, 9:13-14, 12; Eph 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 3:8-11, 21, 5:22-32; Phil 1:1; Col 1:18; 1 Tim 3:1-15, 4:14; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Rev 2-3, 21:2-3

 

The Lord’s Day

The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, and resting from secular employments and work.

Ex 20:8-11; Matt 12:1-12, 28:1ff; Mark 2:27-28, 16:1-7; Luke 24:1-3, 33-36; John 4:21-24, 20:1, 19-28; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 16:1-2; Col 2:16, 3:16; Rev 1:10

 

Baptism and Lord’s Supper

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead.

The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His Second Coming.

Matt 3:13-17, 26:26-30, 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11, 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22, 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42, 8:35-39; 16:30-33, 20:7; Rom 6:3-5; 1 Cor 10:16, 21, 11:23-29; Col 2:12

 

Stewardship

God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtor ship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.

Gen 14:20; Lev 27:30-32; Deut 8:18; Mal 3:8-13; Matt 6:1-4, 19-21, 19:21, 23:23, 25:14-29; Luke 12:16-21, 42, 16:1-13; Acts 2:44-47, 5:1-11, 17:24-25, 20:35; Rom 6:6-22; 12:1-2, 1 Cor 4:1-2, 6:19-20, 12, 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8-9, 12:15, Phil 4:10-19; 1 Peter 1:18-19

 

Tithing and Offering

Tithing is biblically defined as a tenth of one’s financial supply. It is an act of worship, obedience, and trust in God. The Christian’s gives God what is rightly His knowing the God will provide as the believer obeys. Christians give to bless the work of God with no strings attached.

The “offering” is over and above the tithe. It is financial giving to support specific needs at targeted times.

Genesis 4:2-5, 14:18-20, 28:20-22; Leviticus 27:30-34; Numbers 18:21, 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 16:17; 2 Chronicles 31:5-12; Nehemiah 10:38; Psalm 4:5, 50:7-12; Proverbs 3:9-10, 11:24; Malachi 3:7-12; Matthew 6:1-4, 6:21, 23:23; Mark 12:41-44; Luke 6:38, 11:42, 16:10, 18:12, 21:1-4; Acts 20:35; Romans 13:7; 1 Corinthians 9:13-14, 16:2; II Corinthians 8:1-5, 9:7; Hebrews 7:1-28

 

Marriage Covenant

God instituted marriage as an earthly picture of Christ’s relationship with the church (Ephesians 5:22–32). He created marriage to be the foundation of a strong church and stable society. It was His intent, as stated in the Bible, that the marriage covenant should be between a man and a woman for a lifetime.

Marriage is a sacred vow and holy covenant between a man and woman with God as the head of their household as they become “one flesh” spiritually.

God never intended marriage to function without His involvement. We believe that the most successful marriages are those that are Christ-centered and where each spouse is submitted to God and His principles for biblical marriage. Every couple needs the full measure of God’s grace in their relationship, as well as training and relational encouragement, to have a successful, lifetime marriage.

The term “marriage”, has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which is the joining together of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive covenant as defined in the Bible.

Genesis 2:22-24; Proverbs 5:18; Proverbs 18:22; Matthew 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9;

Ephesians 5:22-33.

 

The Kingdom

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular kingship over men who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labor that the Kingdom may come and God’s will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

Gen 1:1; Isa 9:6-7; Jer 23:5-6; Matt 3:2, 4:8-10, 23; 12:25-28, 13:1-52, 25:31-46, 26:29; Mark 1:14-15, 9:1; Luke 4:43, 8:1, 9:2, 12:31-32, 17:20-21, 23:42; John 3:3, 18:36; Acts 1:6-7, 17:22-31; Rom 5:17, 8:19; 1Cor 15:24-28; Col 1:13; Heb 11:10, 16, 12:28; 1 Peter 2:4-10, 4:13; Rev 1:6, 9, 5:10, 11:15, 21-22

 

The Last Days

God, in His own time and in His own way will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

Isa 2:4, 11:9; Matt 16:27, 18:8-9, 19:28, 24, 27, 30, 36, 44, 25:31-46, 26:64; Mark 8:38, 9:43-48; Luke 12:40, 48, 16:19-26, 17:22-37, 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11, 17:31; Rom 14, 10; 1 Cor 4:5, 15:24-28, 35-58; 2 Cor 5:10; Phil 3:20-21; Col 1:5, 3:4; 1 Thes 4:14-18, 5:1 ff; 2 Thes 1:7ff, 2, Rev 1:18, 3:11k 20:1-22:13