What We Believe

The Bible. The Old and New Testaments are God’s revelation given through man directed by the Holy Spirit. These Scriptures, as originally given, are verbally and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and stand free from error in any and all parts. They are the final and supreme authority.  (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21)
 
God. God is Spirit, eternally existing in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are of one essence, are equal in power and glory, and are therefore to be honored and worshipped equally as true God. God is above and separate from His creation yet active in it as the Preserver.  (Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 57:15; Matt. 28:19; Jn. 4:24)
 

• The Father – The author of one eternal plan that includes all things, and He is    directing this plan to glorify Himself; He is the creator of the universe and the human race, but is the spiritual Father only of those who receive Jesus Christ by faith. (Jn. 1:12; Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Cor. 8:6; 15:24-28; Eph. 1:3-12)

•  The Son – Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is eternal and was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born a man by the virgin birth, sinless in nature and action. He voluntarily gave His life in substitutionary death on the cross for our sins and in the same body was raised from the dead. He appeared in His glorified body, and then ascended to the Father as our Mediator to continue forever as true God and true man. He will come again, first to receive from the earth His own and then to establish His righteous kingdom upon the earth. (Matt. 28:6; Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1; 14:3; Acts 15:14-16; Heb. 2:14; 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:24)

 

• The Holy Spirit – The third Person of the Trinity, is eternal and infinite. Though active in creation, revelation, and enablement of Old Testament saints, the Holy  Spirit was sent on the day of Pentecost by the Father and the Son to take up His   abode in believers. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment;   regenerates all believers; indwells all who are saved; baptizes all believers into the body of Christ; seals believers until the day of redemption; bestows spiritual gifts upon the members of Christ’s body according to His own will; and controls for guidance, power, and sanctification those among the saved who are yielded      to Him and subject to His will. (Gen. 1:2; 1 Sam. 16:13, Jn. 15:26; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9-17; 1 Cor. 6:19; 12:22-23;  Eph. 4:30; Titus 3:5)

 
Creation. The Genesis account is the trustworthy, historical record of creation. God brought the universe and all that it contains into existence through the mediation of Jesus Christ and the operation of the Holy Spirit. Man is the direct creation of God – spirit, soul, and body – not in any sense the product of animal ancestry, but made in the divine image.  (Gen. 1:1-2; 26-27; 31; 2:7; Ex. 20:9,11; Col. 1:16; 1 Thess. 5:23)
 
Man. Man was originally sinless and in perfect fellowship with God, but when tempted by Satan, he sinned by disobeying God’s revealed will. This act of rebellion resulted in separation from God and in physical death. All members of the human race are born in sin and are sinners by nature and practice. (Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 3:23; 5:12)
 
Salvation.  Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace, offered to us on the basis of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross. It is received personally by repentance for sin and by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and is in no way obtained or increased by human effort. This salvation contains within itself deliverance from the guilt and the penalty of sin, perfectly righteous standing before God, the provisions for victory over the power of sin, and the promise of future glorification in God’s presence.  (Jn. 3:14-18; Acts 20:21; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14)
 
Israel. God has a separate program for the nation Israel declared in a series of covenants. This program includes judgment, repentance, acknowledgement of her Messiah, and restoration of a redeemed remnant to the promised land. Israel will occupy a place of honor and blessing when Christ reigns as King during the millennium. (Gen. 12:1-3; Deut. 30:1-10; 2 Sam. 7:16; Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 11:12, 25-27)
 
The Church. It is composed of all those who by faith have been united to the risen and ascended Son of God. The church, which is completely distinct from Israel, began at Pentecost and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture. All believers in this age, whether Jews or Gentiles, are baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ at conversion and so become one spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. The members of this church are commanded to assemble in local churches for worship, instruction in the Word, fellowship, prayer, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The commission of Christ to His church is to communicate the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile. (Matt. 16:18; 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 12:13; Eph. 1:21-23; 4:3-10; Heb. 10:25)
 
Christian Responsibility. The Christian is to glorify God in personal conduct in relation to his family, his vocation, his neighbor, and his government. He fulfills this responsibility as he submits to the Lordship of Christ and obeys the Scriptures by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; Phil. 2:5-11; Titus 2:11-14)
 
Spiritual Gifts. These are divinely given and sovereignly distributed by the Holy Spirit to every member of the body of Christ. The purpose of these gifts is to glorify God and to edify the church to fulfill its divinely appointed task. There are gifts of a permanent nature given to enable every believer to share in the ministry of edification and growth of the church. Some gifts were temporary, intended for use during the era of the New Testaments apostles and prophets and were necessary until all the Scriptures were written. The current charismatic movement with its emphasis on tongues and prophecies is not in harmony with the Scriptural teachings on the Holy Spirit.  (1 Cor. 12:1-13; 13:8; 14:26-34; Eph. 4:7-16; 1 Pet. 4:10-11)
 
Satan. Satan was originally a creature of God of the highest order, but through pride he fell and became the arch-enemy of God and the deceiver of humanity. He was joined in his fall by a great company of angels, some of which assist him in controlling the ungodly world system. Satan opposes God by influencing the unsaved to substitute other revelations and experiences for those divinely given and by diverting believers’ energies into ungodly channels. His power is particularly manifested in occult practices such as demonic control, Satan worship, fortune telling, and astrology. Though his powers are supernatural, they are strictly limited under the rule of a sovereign God. He was judged at the cross, and therefore his final doom is certain. (Lk. 10:18; Eph. 2:2; 2 Thess. 2:8-9; 1 Tim. 4:1; James 4:7; 1 Jn. 3:8; Rev. 20:10)
 
The Future. The next event in the prophetic plan of God is the personal, visible appearance of Jesus Christ to rapture the church. Believers will then receive their rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. During the seven year tribulation period following the removal of His church, God will pour out judgments on an unbelieving world. The climax of this period of judgment will be the physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth in great power and glory with His church to establish His literal kingdom over all the nations for one thousand years.  Following the millennium, the wicked dead will be raised bodily, judged at the Great White Throne, and cast into the lake of fire where they will consciously suffer forever. All believers, however, will enjoy the presence of God forever in His eternal kingdom. (Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 6:19-21; 20:1-6; 11-15)