Our Beliefs
Our Beliefs
1. We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that it is the only infallible guide for faith and practice.
II Tim 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; I Thes 2:13; Psa 119:105
2. We believe that God is triune; that there are three eternal, co-equal, divine persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one God.
3. We believe in the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe that He died sinless and sacrificially on a cross, was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father; that He is the only Mediator between God and man, and that He intercedes for all who have put their trust in Him. He is the Head of the Church, made up of believers, and that He will one day return to judge the living and the dead.
Jn 1:1; I Tim 3:16; Lk 1:35; Col 2:9; Mk 16:19; Heb 9:24; I Jn 2:1; I Tim 2:5
4. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature; that He was active in creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent of the New Birth; He indwells and seals, empowers, guides, teaches, enlightens, sanctifies, and gives gifts to believers for godly living and service in the Body of Christ.
Jn 14:16, 26, 27; Matt 28:19; Gen 1:1-2; Jn 16:8-11; Acts 11:16; Rom 8:14, 16, 26, 27; Acts 5:32; Jn 3:5-6; Rom 8:9; I Cor 12:11; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 1:13-14; Mk1:8
5. We believe that God created humanity in His image and after His likeness to have a relationship with Him. However, man defied God, choosing to go his own independent way, thus becoming alienated from God, unable to please Him. As a result, the whole human race fell in the sin of the first man, Adam. Because of the total depravity of the natural man, we believe in the absolute necessity of regeneration of the heart by the Spirit of God, for salvation and restoration of God's image. We believe that the only way to be saved is by faith in the blood sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Gen 1:26-27; Jer 17:9; Rom 3:23; Rom 8:7-8; Jn 3:3-6, 3:16; Jn 1:12-13; Eph 2:8-9; Acts 4:12, 16:31; Rom 3:25-26
6. We believe that Satan is a spiritual being, the author of the fall, given limited and temporary freedom in God's creation, and that he will be eternally punished. Satan’s battle with God is played out in the hearts of men and women. However, God has equipped His people with truth, righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer to live victoriously.
Gen 3:15; Job 1:6-7; John 12:31; Acts 26:18; Eph. 6:10-19; Rev 20:2-10
7. We believe that salvation originates with God and is sustained by His sovereign and loving grace apart from any human effort, is based solely on Christ's saving work, is received by faith alone, and is expressed over a lifetime of developing holiness, obedience, and love.
Jn 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom 8:1, 38:39; Rom 13:13-14; I Cor 1:4-8; Gal 5:13; Titus 2:11-15
8. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, both of the saved and the lost. All are separated from their body, but only believers will enter a conscious presence with the Lord. In the future, the bodies of all the dead will be raised and God will judge all men. All those who die without Christ will be eternally punished.
II Cor 5:8; Lk 23:43, 16:19-31; II Cor 5:10; Phil 1:21-23; Rev 20:11-15
9. We believe that there is one true and universal church, made up of all those who, in every place acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. All believers make up Christ's body and are subject to His authority as the head. The local church is a congregation of believers who have devoted themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Bible, observation of the ordinances of Christ (water baptism and communion), the development and use of spiritual gifts and talents for serving one another. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ through verbal testimony and service to others.
Acts 2:42-47, 8:34-39; I Cor. 1:2, 12:12-14, 11:23-26; Eph 1:22-23
10. We believe that it is the obligation of every Christian to grow in spiritual maturity and holiness through obedience to the Word of God, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and accountability to the people of God. Therefore, we are submissive, one to another, enabling us to give and receive counsel and be held accountable for our life of faith. We recognize and submit to the God ordained authority of our church, which is expressed through the leadership of elders.
I Thes 4:3; I Pet 1:14-16; Eph 5:21; Gal 6:1; II Thes 3:14-15; Jas 5:14-16; I Tim 3:1-7