We believe this Statement of Faith to be an accurate summary of what Scripture teaches, and these are our essential doctrines. On other issues, we will seek to come together in Christian love and unity within this church community always allowing the Bible to guide us.
ABOUT THE BIBLE
The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated with God and that it was given through the instrumentality of certain chosen people. Thus Scripture, at one and the same time, speaks with the authority of God and reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human authors. We hold that the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full, and final authority on all matters of faith and practice and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God.
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-2
ABOUT GOD
We believe in God the Father, First-person of the Trinity, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, and measureless in power. In the beginning, God created the world out of nothing and all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom, and goodness. By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1; Exodus 20:2-3; John 3:l6; Hebrews 7:25; Matthew 7:7
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
We believe in Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, sinless in His life, voluntarily making atonement for the sins of the world by His substitutionary death and shed blood on the cross. His death satisfied divine justice and provided salvation for all who trust in Him alone. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, and His High Priestly intercession for His people; He is the only Mediator between God and man. We believe in His visible return to the world according to His promise.
John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:1-6; Leviticus 17:11; Ephesians 1:7
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, the Third person of the Trinity, who came forth to convict the world of sin, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, comfort, and seal forever those who believe in Jesus Christ. The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, attained by believers as they submit to the Holy Spirit.
He was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to mankind the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them recognition of their need of a Savior, and regenerates them. At the point of salvation, He permanently indwells every believer to become the source of assurance, strength, and wisdom and uniquely endows each believer with gifts for the building up of the body. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying Scripture. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making it possible for a believer to lead a life of Christ-like character and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father.
John 14:16, 26; 16:8, 13; 17:26; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:10, 26-27; 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 1:13-14
ABOUT THE TRINITY
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons who are equal in every divine perfection and execute distinct, but harmonious, offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
John 17:3; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4)
ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS AND SALVATION
The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into a relationship with Himself. We believe that all men by nature and by choice are sinners, but that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life”. We believe that those who place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are adopted into God’s family and are guaranteed to spend eternity with Jesus.
The salvation of humankind is a work of God’s free grace, not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness, and must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. When God begins a saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His Word that He will continue performing it until the day of its full completion. Those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will remain the children of the devil will be forever separated from God and will spend eternity in the lake of fire.
Romans 3:23; John 3:l6; John 3:l8; John 3:36; 1 Corinthians 2:9-l0; John 10:28; Psalm 55:22;
Romans 8:16, 29-30; 1 John 5:13
ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY
We believe in the absolute eternal security of the believer.
John l0:28; Psalm 55:22; Romans 8:l6; 1 John 5:l3
ABOUT THE CHURCH
We believe in the universal church: a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and of which all people who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation are members. We believe that a local church is made up of believers in Jesus Christ who have been immersed following a confession of faith, and who have chosen to come together regularly for worship, prayer, the teaching of the Word, serving, fellowship, and the observance of baptism and communion.
We believe that God has laid upon these local churches the task of proclaiming the message of the gospel: that salvation from sin is found only through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior, and the enthroning of Him as Lord.
Acts 2:40-42; Matthew 16:16-18
THE ORDINANCES
We believe that Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water as a public declaration of one’s faith in Jesus. We believe that Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper for believers as a commemoration of his death and that each time of remembrance should be preceded by careful self-examination. We believe the inappropriate consumption of the Lord’s Supper is warned against by the Apostle Paul. These two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord.
Acts 2:41; Romans 6:3-3; 1 Corinthians 11:20-29
ABOUT RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
We believe that every human being is responsible first and foremost to God in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and autonomous and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other.
Romans 13:1-7; Titus 3:1; 1 Peter 2:13,14,17; Acts 5:29; Galatians 1:16; Matthew 22:21
THE LAST THINGS
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Acts 1:3, 9-11
CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
We believe that believers should live for the glory of God and the well-being of their fellow persons; that their conduct should be blameless before the world; that they should be faithful stewards of their possessions; and that they should seek to realize for themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ.
1 Corinthians 10:31; Matthew 22:36-40; Colossians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Ephesians 4:11-14; Colossians 1:10
MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as is taught in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other and that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, all members, and all who serve as volunteers, must abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ, and we believe that every person must be shown compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Accordingly, hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrine of this church
Genesis 1:27; 2:20b-25; 19:5,13; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4
LIFE
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion at any stage constitutes the unjustified taking of human life. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. As is the case with any sin, complete forgiveness is found through Jesus Christ.
Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:4-16; Isaiah 44:24; 499:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; 1 John 1:9