What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures


We believe the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the verbally inspired Word of God, written by men in God's control, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts, and the final authority in faith and life. (2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Psalm 19:7-9)

The Godhead


We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, these three being identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and possessing precisely the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Condition of Man


We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God in innocence and without sin, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became spiritually dead and alienated from God, and now man of himself is incapable of remedying his lost and depraved condition. (Genesis 1:26, 3:1-24; Romans 3:10-18, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3)

The Person and Work of Christ


We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. This redemption He accomplished by voluntarily giving Himself as a sinless substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, thereby satisfying God's righteous judgments against sin. After substantiating the accomplishment of that redemption of His bodily resurrection from the grave, He ascended to the right hand of His Father where He intercedes on behalf of those who trust Him. (John 1:1, 2, 14, 18; Luke 1:34, 35; Romans 3:24-26; Romans 8:34)

The Person and Work of The Holy Spirit


We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person who convicts the world of sin, that He alone brings new life to those who are spiritually dead, that He baptizes (or places) all believers into the one true Church, which is the Body of Christ, that He indwells them permanently, seals them, and fills (or controls) those who are yielded to Him. (John 16:7-11; 3:5-8; I Corinthians 12:13; John 14:16, 17; Ephesians 4:30; I Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 5:18)

Salvation


We believe that salvation is the gift of God's grace. It cannot be gained by meritorious works, but is freely bestowed upon all who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. All who so trust the Savior are forgiven of their sins and born into the family of God by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:8,9; 1:7; John 1:12)

Security, Assurance, and Responsibility


We believe that all the saved, those in whom God has accomplished His transforming work of grace, are kept by His power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is their privilege to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation. However, this assurance must not be the occasion for sin, for God in holiness cannot tolerate persistent sin in His children, and in infinite love He corrects them. True faith in Christ is expressed by a fruitful, God-pleasing life. (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:29-39; 1 John 5:13; Hebrews 12:6; Matthew 7:20; James 2:20)

The Church


We believe that the true Church, called in Scripture the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism into which every person who has trusted Jesus Christ for salvation in this present age has been baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Scripture also teaches the establishment and continuance of local churches, groups of redeemed individuals joined together for worship, instruction, fellowship and service. (Ephesians 1:22; I Corinthians 12:13; Acts 2:42; 13:1, 2)

The Ordinances


We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances to be observed until His return, baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. (Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 11: 23-26)

The Second Coming of Christ


We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church, and His subsequent return to earth to establish His kingdom.

The Eternal State


We believe that at death the souls of those who have trusted Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for the Church, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be separated from God forever in conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-26; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).