What we believe about:

The Bible¹

 We believe in the Bible as the verbally (every word) and plenary (completely) inspired Word of God as contained in the original manuscripts; that all portions of Scripture are equally inspired and contain no contradiction; that the Canon, the sixty-six books of the Bible, is complete (nothing may be added to it or taken from it); and that the Bible is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice for the believers in Jesus Christ.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

God¹

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections. (Exodus 20:2,3; Matthew 28:19,20; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 4:11)

a)          God the Father: We believe there is one and only one living and true God, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from hell all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.  (Psalm 65:2; Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 6:1-3; Lamentations 3:22-23; John 3:16; John 14:6; John 17:11; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 5:8;   1 John 3:20)

 b)          God the Son: We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; His eternal existence as God, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit; His incarnation by means of the virgin birth; His sinlessness; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; His literal bodily resurrection from the dead; His ascension; His present intercession in Heaven for believers; and His personal, visible return to earth.  (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; 24:36-43, 51;  John 1:18; 10:25-30; 14:9; Acts 1:9,11; 10:40, 41; Romans 3:25; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 1:8; 8:1,2; 9:14; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 1:1-2; 2:1; 5:10-12, 20; Revelation 20:4-6)

c)          God the Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and Son and of the same nature; that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; that He bears witness to the Truth; that He is the agent of the New Birth; that He baptizes all true believers into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation, indwelling and sanctifying all of them, sealing and thus securing them unto the day of redemption; that He endues, guides, teaches, and helps believers; and that it is the privilege and expectation of all the saved to be yielded to the work of the Spirit, the evidence of this being the fruit of the Spirit and godly living, not speaking in tongues.  We believe speaking in tongues was a special sign to the unbelieving or doubting Jew to confirm the Message and Messenger as being of God. We also believe the gift of tongues and other sign or revelatory gifts from the Holy Spirit (healing, prophecy, word of knowledge) were temporary and are not necessary for the Church today.  Additionally we believe His work will result in exaltation and adoration of God the Son.  (Matthew 28:19; John 16:7-15; Acts 5:3,4; Romans 8:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 13:8;  2 Corinthians 12:12; 13:14; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2:20-22; 5:18)   

Salvation¹

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through faith in the blood sacrifice, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; that all who receive Him are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and become children of God; that no rite, ceremony, or work can avail for the sinner's salvation or make the believer's salvation more secure; that Christ is the only and all-sufficient Savior.  We believe that all who are truly born again cannot lose their salvation but are kept by the power of God the Father for Jesus Christ (the eternal security of the believer).   (John 1:12; 5:24, 10:28-29; Titus 3:5-7; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 8:35-39; 10:9-12; Acts 16:31; 4:12; 2 Timothy 1:12; Philippians 1:6; Philemon 18, 19; Hebrews 6:20; 8:3-5; 9:14-15; 10:10; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 5:13; Jude 1; John 3:16)

Some key terms defined: 

a)          Election:  We believe that God has chosen, in Christ, before the foundations of the world those whom He graciously regenerates, saves and sanctifies.  This choice is not related to any initiative on man’s part or God’s anticipation of what an individual might do by their own will.  It is solely an act of God’s unmerited, sovereign grace and mercy to draw undeserving men to Himself and all of the elect will ultimately come to salvation.  In no way does God’s choice absolve any individual of his personal responsibility to respond to God’s command to repent and trust Christ as his Savior and Lord.  In exercising His choices, God remains just, holy, loving, and merciful.  (John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 8:28-30, 9:11, 16, 22-23; Ephesians 1:4, 7-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 12-13; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:1-2; Revelation 22:17 ).

b)            Regeneration:  We believe that regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given (Titus 3:5). It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God (John 5:24), when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith to the divine call to salvation. Genuine regeneration is manifested by fruits worthy of repentance as demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct. Good works will be its proper evidence and fruit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10), and will be experienced to the extent that the believer submits to the control of the Holy Spirit in his life through faithful obedience to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:17-21; Philippians 2:12b; Colossians 3:16; 2 Peter 1:4-10). This obedience causes the believer to be increasingly conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). This conformity reaches its final goal in the believer's glorification at Christ's coming (Romans 8:17; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 3:2-3).

c)          Justification: We believe that at the moment of salvation, God imputes the righteousness of Christ to us, imputes our sins to Christ and declares us innocent of all past, present, and future accusations against us; that the penalty incurred by sin is fully satisfied through the death of Christ; that it is given, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith by grace. (Romans 5:1, 9; 8:17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 2:13, 14; Titus 3:3-7; 1 Peter 2:24) 

d)          Sanctification: We believe that every believer, at the moment of salvation, is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is thereby declared by God to be holy and identified as a saint.  This positional sanctification is instantaneous and has to do with his standing before God.  This act of God does not result in a state of perfection or the eradication of sin for the believer in this life.  In addition to the believer’s standing before God is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, conforming the believer to the image of Christ.  This progressive sanctification is a work of grace through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, resulting in an increasing desire for practical holiness in the life of the believer.  (John 17:17,19; Acts 20:32; Romans 6:1-22; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 3:9-10; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; Hebrews 2:11; 3:1; 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2, 14-16; 5:23; 1 John 3:5-9).

e)       Glorification: We believe that the final state of the redeemed is glorification.  This is an eternal bliss, forever with the Lord and in constant benefit of His person and His graces.  (John 14:1-4; 17:24; Romans 8:29-30; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:17)

Man¹

We believe that God created man in His own image and that man sinned, thereby incurring not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which ends in conscious and eternal separation from God in a literal hell.   We believe that all men and women possess, at conception, a sinful nature, evidenced after one’s birth by sinful acts; that man is totally depraved—that is, he is corrupted in his entire being, and therefore unable and unwilling, on his own, to respond to God’s call of salvation; that there is no remission or forgiveness of sin apart from the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and man's repentance.  We believe in a literal Hell, a place of torment and fire, which, after being cast into the lake of fire, becomes the eternal dwelling and punishment for those who do not trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior in this life. We believe that after this life, no one has any additional opportunity to trust Jesus Christ; that each person immediately enters Hell or Heaven based on one’s standing in Christ before death. (Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Luke 16:19-31; Romans 3:10-23, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:8)

Angels¹

We believe that angels and demons are spirit beings.  Angels are heavenly hosts, but are also created beings and therefore should not be worshipped by man.  Some of the angels, referred to as fallen angels, chose to rebel against God with Satan and were cast out of heaven with him. These are now the hosts of Satan, confirmed in their sin, and will share in his ultimate doom.  There are also holy angels, the angels of heaven, ministering spirits to the saints, who are sinless and pure and are forever seeking to praise God in their ministries for Him and His people.  Their ministries, ranks, and orders differ, and their strength, appearance, travel, etc, are not bound by natural human ways.  They are immortal and do not marry.   We believe in the personality of Satan, who is the author of sin and the open and declared enemy of God and man; that he was defeated through the death and resurrection of Christ, and that his final destiny is eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Daniel 10:12-21; Matthew 18:10; 22:30; Mark 5:2; 8:38; Colossians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Hebrews 1:14; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6, 9)

Last Things²

We believe in the personal premillenial, pretribulation, and imminent return of Jesus Christ.                                                        (I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Acts 1:11)

Doctrine of the Church²

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of the church.  We believe in the church as a democracy of believers meeting in some local place, fulfilling the ordinances of the Lord's Supper and water baptism; sovereign and autonomous in deciding matters of church policy and affiliation.  The membership is composed only of persons who profess to have been born again and thereafter have been immersed in water as a public testimony of their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. (Acts 2:41, 6:3-7; Ephesians 1:22, 23, 4:5; Colossians 1:18)

Practical Christianity²

We believe that water baptism is by immersion only and is for the purpose of our identification with Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.  Only those who have accepted Christ by faith may be baptized.  We believe practical sanctification is progressive in the Christian's growth.  We believe that Christians are called to a holy walk and separated unto God from the world, that we might show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.  (Acts 2:41, 8:26-39; Proverbs 4:18; John 17:17; I Thessalonians 1:9; I peter 2:9)