Statement of faith

The Word of God

We believe that the Bible in its entirety of the sixty-six book canon of Scripture is God's sole written revelation to man. It was produced by men of God who used their distinct personalities and literary abilities under the Holy Spirit's superintendence as He protected their writings from error, so that the autograph writings reveal precisely that which the Triune God wanted to reveal, even to the very selection of the letters. The Bible is thus both infallible and inerrant. This revelation was completed with the canon of 66 books. There is no further revelation, prophecy or vision to be expected before the Lord's return, for the Bible is both sufficient and authoritative until His return to equip us thoroughly "for every good work." We believe that the correct interpretation of God's Word for the believer is the normal litero-grammatico-historical method of interpretation as used by Jesus Christ. We also believe that any and every believer has the God-ordained right and responsibility to study and interpret Scripture under the Holy Spirit's guidance, and that in accord with reason and conscience, we believe that the correct interpretation of Scripture provides only one interpretation; for Scripture truth is a single-minded reality. (2 Timothy 3:16-4:2; 2 Peter 1:21; Matthew 5:18; (canonicity - Luke 11:51; John 17:20; 2 Peter 3:15-16; 1 Timothy 5:18 with Luke 10:7); Mark 12:18-27 with Matthew 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27; 1 Corinthians 2:9-16; 1 Timothy 6:20b; Romans 14:1-2; 3:4; Psalm 12:6)

The Trinity

We believe that God is one God with respect to Essence yet consisting of three co-eternal and co-equal Persons, same in substance but distinct in Being. (Ephesians 4:5; Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1-2; Micah 5:2; John 1:1-3, Psalm 110; 1,5; Matthew 28:19)

God the Father

We believe in God the Father, the infinite personal Spirit, perfect in all His attributes. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that it is He who hears and answers prayer, and that he saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (1 John 4:10; Matthew 6:9; 6:32; Galatians 3:26)

God the Son, Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Godhead, God made known in the flesh as the unique God-man. As God incarnate, born through the virgin birth, He is the perfect man. He thereby voluntarily laid aside the visible expression of some of His divine attributes. He lived a perfect, sinless life in obedience to the Father, in the Holy Spirit's power, being incapable of sin, was crucified, died, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead on the third day. He ascended bodily to the right hand of God the Father where He lives to make intercession for the saints. He is bodily coming again to redeem His Church and to judge the world. His death was the complete satisfaction of divine wrath to the Holy God for all mankind's sin. Because of this redemption, whosoever wills may receive Him as his personal Savior from sin and is thus declared righteous before God. As such, he is spiritually born a new creation, is made a child of God, possessing eternal life. (John 1:1,14; 1 John 4:3; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:30-35; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-8; 1 John 1:1-8; Acts 2:32-36; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Romans 8:34; 8:23; Revelation 22:12; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:14-15; John 5:28)

God the Holy Spirit

We believe in God the Holy Spirit Who was sent from the Father in the name of the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. In the present age He regenerates all believers, baptizes each one into the body of Christ, indwells them permanently, seals them until the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon each one, and fills those who yield to Him. We believe He is the abiding Comforter, Helper, Teacher, Guide, and that He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Son and Father as God. (John 16:7-14; 3:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 5:18; Acts 5:3-4)

Salvation

We believe that salvation from all sin and death is only through faith in the atoning death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior. We believe that God created the universe apart from using any evolutionary processes, that death thus did not exist before Adam's sin so that, as in Adam all men die, so by faith in Christ shall all who believe eternally be made spiritually and physically alive. Any who receive this free gift of eternal life from God by faith through His gracious provision of Christ's substitutionary atonement is immediately born spiritually, passing from spiritual death unto eternal life. As such, he is a true believer. The basis of salvation has always been, always is, and always will be only the shed blood of Jesus Christ. (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:12-21; Romans 8:19-23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-26; Galatians 1:8-9; 1 Corinthians 11:1-11 with John 1:12-13; Galatians 3:26)

The Church

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all spiritually regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, which is an assembly of believers in a certain place who are organized and who practice the ordinances, seeking to do God's will.

Until the return of Christ, we believe the local church should edify itself by fellowship with Christ and each other through the preaching and teaching of God's Word, singing, giving of testimonies, praying, the public reading of Scripture, doing good works, and supporting the work of God. (Matthew 16:18; Colossians 1:18; Philippians 1:1; Hebrews 13:7; Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:15; 4:13; 3 John 5-8; Ephesians 5:19-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-4:2; Acts 2:42; Ephesians 2:10)

The Believer's Walk

We believe that a Christian should live in obedience to the Word of God, through dependence on the Holy Spirit to produce Jesus Christ's quality of obedience to the Father and love to God and man. (1 John 2:4-9; Romans 8:14; Ephesians 6:10-17; Deuteronomy 6:5)

The Ordinances

We believe that Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper were ordained by God for the present Church era. Jesus Christ ordained and commanded baptism as a symbol of identification with the Lord Jesus Christ that was previously obtained by faith in the Gospel. It is not a means of gaining merit or salvation before God. It is for believers only as a one-time act. We believe that the proper mode of baptism is by immersion, for it outwardly pictures the believer's inward faith in Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 1:17; Acts 8:26-38; Romans 6:3-6)

We believe that the Lord's Supper was ordained by Christ for His Body, consisting of all who are believers; who have followed the injunction to examine themselves for spiritual qualification through confession of sins to partake of the elements. We believe that the elements in the bread and cup are mere symbols of Christ's body and blood with no spiritual or actual presence of the Lord in these elements; as such, partaking of the elements shows forth our Lord's death till He comes. (1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Ephesians 2:11-22; John 6:53-63)

The Priesthood of the Believer

We believe that each believer is equal with every other believer in his spiritual position in Jesus Christ so that his sole mediator with God on all matters of faith and practice is the Lord Jesus Christ. As believer-priests, we believe that the Bible is the sole authority of the believer's faith and practice so that any and all other entities are subject to the authority of the Word of God. As believer-priests, we are called to proclaim to the world the excellencies of God's salvation. (Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 2:9; Romans 12:1-2; Acts 5:29)

Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God has instituted spiritual gifts to all believers in the local church for today's ministry of building up the saints in love for the work of the ministry. We believe that God admonishes us to excel in the use of such enablings for His glory. However, we do not teach or practice any spiritual gift or so-called spiritual gift that is not practiced or taught in the way the autograph manuscripts of Scripture present spiritual gifts. Consequently, we believe that the sign gifts given to the infant church no longer exist in the church today. (Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 14:12, 19; Hebrews 2:3-4; Acts 2:1-11; 8:14-17; 10:1-48; 19:1-7; Galatians 5:22-23)

The Last Things

We believe in the personal, visible, imminent pre-tribulational return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Bride, the Church, and His subsequent premillenial second coming to earth to set up His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the judgments and the endless suffering of the wicked, and the eternal blessing of the righteous. (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 4:13-5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 3:10; John 14:2-3; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 20:6; 20:11-15)