Our Beliefs
Statement of Faith
The Scripture
We believe that the Scripture, being the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, are our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. They hold this position because they are the very words of God, written through the hands of men by the inspiration of his Holy Spirit. Therefore, the original autographs were completely infallible and without any error at all; every word was authored by God. We believe in the literal interpretation of Scripture giving regard to it literary genre. (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
God
We believe there is one and only one God. He is living and personal, an invisible spirit, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. He is the maker and supreme ruler of Heaven and earth. From him and through him and to him are all things. He is worthy of all honor, love and confidence. While God is one being, He is also a trinity of persons-the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the trinity is fully God and equal in holiness, virtue and honor. Each person of the trinity is harmoniously involved in and responsible for the redemption of human beings. (Deut. 6:4; Jn 4:24; Col. 1:15; 1 Cor. 8:6; Rev. 4:11; Ro. 8:29-30, 11:36; Jas 1:13-14; Mt. 18:7)
God the Father
We believe that God the Father is the first person of the trinity to whom Jesus prayed while on earth. God the Father sent Jesus as a sacrifice. He audibly approved of Jesus’ work. (Mt. 6:9-13; Lk. 23:24; He. 3:1; Jn. 3:16; Mt. 3:17)
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the uncreated only begotten Son of God. Jesus Christ is the second person of the trinity. Having eternally existed previous to his incarnation, he humbled himself and became fully human while remaining fully God. His conception was miraculous; his mother was virgin; his life was completely without sin. He became mortal with the express purpose of dying as a propitiation for our sins. He completely satisfied God’s wrath towards us by his crucifixion. He literally and physically resurrected from the dead. He ascended and is seated at the right hand of the Father until he returns. (Jn. 3:16; Php. 2:6-8; Jn. 1:1-14; 1 Jn. 2:2; Mt. 1:22-23; Rom. 5:1; Lk. 24:36-43; Eph. 1:20; Jn. 14:18; Acts 1:11)
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity- a literal spiritual person and being, not a force or presence. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He is our helper who teaches us. And he is a seal given to us by God upon belief guaranteeing our inheritance. (Acts 13:2; Jn. 16:8; Jn. 14:26; Eph. 1:13-14)
The Devil
We believe that the Devil, who is the Serpent and Satan, is a created being. He was created good but became evil and the enemy of God and man. Jesus’ death conquered the Devil leaving him impotent. His final destination is with all of the unredeemed wicked- the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:2; Is. 14:13-17; 1 Tim. 3:6; 1 Pet. 5:8; He. 2:14-15; Rev. 20:10)
Creation
We believe that all things that have been made were made by God’s Word. We believe that the creation account found in Genesis 1 is literal. We believe that the account found in Genesis 2 is more detailed account of the portion of Genesis 1. We believe that Adam, who was created from the dust of the ground by God, is the progenitor of all other human beings. (Jn. 1:1; He. 11:3; Gen. 2:7; Gen. 2:22; Gen 3:20)
The Fall of Mankind
We believe that mankind was created very good, innocent, and in the image of God. Mankind fell from this position by willfully disobeying God leaving mankind very bad, proficient at sin, and possessing only a marred image of God. All people were made sinners and inherited death when our progenitor sinned. We are sinners by nature and conduct both. Because of this state that we have inherited and contribute to, we justly deserve God’s wrath. (Gen. 1:31, 2:25, 3:7; Gen 1:27, 3:6; Rom. 5:19; I Cor. 15:22; Ps. 51:5; Rom 3:10-18; Ro. 1:18, 6:23)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is wholly a work of God. It is his unobligated way to redeem undeserving humanity from our corruption, give up Jesus’ righteousness, restore fellowship with us, and exalt to us an undeserved and better position than our original one. Mankind is corrupted so badly that we cannot procure this salvation by any means whatsoever, but it is given to us by grace as God grants faith and repentance based on the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus provided this salvation for us by bearing our sins in his body, receiving God’s active wrath against him because of those sins (resulting in death), and resurrecting from death to immortal and glorified state. There is salvation in no one else but Jesus. Faith and repentance are God’s means of granting salvation. (Acts 2:47; 2 Pt. 1:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Ro. 5:1; Eph. 2:6; Eph. 2:8; Ro. 3:11; Acts 5:31; Acts 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:25; 1 Pet. 2:24; Is. 53:10; Eph. 1:20-23; Acts 4:12; Acts 2:38, 5:14)
Eternal Security
We believe that, since salvation is God’s work and not man’s, that those who have been saved are eternally secure in that salvation. Nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus. The work that God began will be completed without any possibility of failure. (Titus 2:14; Ro. 8:38-39; Php. 1:6)
The Church
We believe that the church is the body of Jesus. It is individuals who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Jesus’ body is made up of local assemblies that ideally obey the great commission in harmony with one another and encourage one another to love and good works. We believe that the epistles written to Timothy and Titus define the qualifications and duties of her leadership. We believe that the church is autonomous, subject only to the authority of the scriptures. We believe that there are two ordinances given by Jesus to be carried out by his body. These ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These ordinances are not means of saving grace but methods of instruction to be carried out as defined in scripture. (I Cor. 12:12, 27; Mt. 28:19-20; He. 10:24-25; I Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 2:15, 4:2; Mt. 28:19; I Cor. 11:24-25)
Future Events
We believe that Jesus will return physically in the same way that he left. We believe that there will be a time of great tribulation in which God will pour out his wrath on the ungodly wicked. We believe that there will be a literal thousand years in which Jesus will physically rule the earth before a final judgment. We believe that sometime before Christ’s thousand-year reign God’s people who are dead will rise from their graves, and his people who are living will be caught up with them, and both will meet Jesus in the air. We believe that God will destroy the earth with fire. We believe that God will make a new heaven and a new earth, which will be our eternal co-dwelling with God himself. (Acts 1:11; Re. 7:14; Rev. 16:1-2; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Pt. 3:10; Re. 21:1-3)
The Final Judgment
We believe that there will be a final judgment, the results of which send the righteous to eternal, indescribable comfort (God’s blessing) and the wicked to eternal, indescribable torment (God’s cursing). The identity of “wicked” or “righteous” will be based solely on whether or not a person possesses Jesus’ imputed righteousness, since there is no other true righteousness in even the smallest degree among all of humanity. (Re. 20:11-15; Re. 21:3-4; Php. 3:9; Ro. 3:10)