What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbal, inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, God-breathed, and sufficient for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21, Mark 13:31).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Through the proclamation of the gospel, He persuades men to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. By the same Spirit, a person is led to trust in divine mercy. He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide, who empowers the preaching and teaching of the gospel. The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth, and dwells within the regenerate, whom He seals until the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who, in turn, came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honored, and worshiped as God, the Third Person of the Trinity (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:30; John 14:16-17, 26; John 15:26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14).

Man’s Inheritance Through the Gospel

We believe that salvation is the free gift of God as revealed in Holy Scriptures. Salvation is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Anyone repenting of sin by the miracle of regeneration and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and fully accepted by God. Through Christ’s atonement for sin, an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin, liberated from the law of sin and death, and given the gift of the Holy Spirit (I John 1:9, I Peter 2:24, II Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:19, Ephesians 1:11-14)

Church Ordinances

We believe God’s Word commands every true believer to be baptized and to observe the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of Christ’s death until He comes. Baptism is a public testimony of one’s identification with the body of Christ. The ordinances have no saving value (Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-11; II Corinthians 11:23-26; Matthew 28:19-20).

The Future

We believe the consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment. The righteous, in glorified bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new (Romans 8:20-24; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; Titus 2:11-13).

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who are coequal in power and glory, and have the same attributes and perfection (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 28:19).

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe man was created in the likeness and image of God but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God, and objects of His wrath. Consequently, man is totally depraved, dead in his sins, and of himself, utterly unable to redeem his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1, 3, 12; Romans 1:18).

The Gospel

We believe the gospel is the good news that through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, sinful man can be saved by grace through faith. It is the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation ordained by God and orchestrated through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel. His resurrection is the power of the gospel. His ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men can be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have in glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, church, and ministry to proceed from and be related to the gospel (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19; I Timothy 3:16, I Timothy 2:5, Acts 4:12, I Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 3:1-6, 10).

Sanctification

We believe sanctification is the progressive work of God by which we are made partakers of His holiness. The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification, seeking to produce His fruit in us. Our minds are renewed, and we are conformed to the image of Christ. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, the Spirit leads us to grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping His commandments, confessing and repenting of sin, and endeavoring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith, knowing they will have to give an account to God for their every thought, word, and deed. The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, fellowship, and service, are a vital means of grace toward sanctification. Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate confidence to persevere is based in the sure promise of God to preserve His people until the certain end (Philippians 2:12-13, I Thessalonians 4:3-5, I Thessalonians 5:23, Philippians 1:6, Matthew 12:36, Romans 14:12, John 17:17, Galatians 2:20, II Corinthians 5:17, II Corinthians 5:10).

The Personality of Satan

We believe Satan is the author of sin, the cause of the fall, the open and declared enemy of God and man, and destined to be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Job 1:6-7; Genesis 3:1-15; Revelation 20:10).

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary. He is fully God and fully man. Through Him, all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him, all things hold together by the word of His power. He is perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience and is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death on the cross. By His death in our place, He revealed divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Redeeming us from sin, He rose bodily from the grave on the third day, victorious over death and the powers of darkness and performing many convincing proofs of His resurrection. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all. He is the Head of His body, the Church, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by all (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35, Romans 3:23-26; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 1:3, Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1; Colossians 1:15-20).

Man’s Response to the Gospel

We believe the proper response to the gospel is faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, which is naturally accompanied by repentance from sin. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service and works. Unless a person is willing to deny himself and pick up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot become His disciple. This response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory. This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12, James 2:14-26, Luke 9:23, Acts 3:19, 1 John 1:9, II Peter 3:9, Ephesians 1:3-14).

The Church

We believe God, by His Word and Spirit, creates the Church, calling sinful men out of the whole human race into the fellowship of Christ’s body. By the same Word and Spirit, He guides and preserves that newly redeemed humanity. The Church is not a building, religious institution, or denomination. Rather, the Church is made up of people who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. This service involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in the entire world. The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church in which they devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer. All members of the Church are to be a vital and committed part of a local church. In this context, they are called to live out the implications of the gospel as the people of God and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom of God. The ascended Christ gave gift ministries through the Holy Spirit to the Church, including apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, for the equipping of Christ’s body so that it might mature and grow. In the context of the local church, God’s people submit themselves to the authority of the elders and care of the deacons as they steward their spiritual gifts for His glory and the good of the others (Ephesians 4:7-12; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Hebrews 13:17; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27, Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-13; I Peter 5:1-4, Matthew 28:18-20).