Statement of Faith
A) The Scriptures
(1) We believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the Holy Bible and the inerrancy of the original writings. We be-lieve that God has preserved His Word in fulfillment of His promise. We believe that the canon of Scripture was completed with the death of the apostles and that God forbids any additions to or deletions from His Word. The Bible, therefore, is the sole authority for our faith and practice, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried. (2) Our beliefs about the Scriptures are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Proverbs 30:5-6; II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:25; II Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19.
(B) God
(1) We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God. He is the creator of heaven and earth, inex-pressively glorious in holiness, and worthy of all our honor, confidence, and love. We believe that the Godhead eternally exists as three persons in one—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—a teaching known as the Trinity.
(2) Our beliefs about God are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10, 26; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6; I John 5:7; Revelation 4:11.
(C) Christ
(1) We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the Eternal Word manifested in the flesh, and one of the three persons of the Godhead. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
(2) Our beliefs about Christ are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-2, 14, 18; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-19.
(D) The Holy Spirit
(1) We believe that the Holy Spirit is one of the three persons of the Godhead and is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts men of sin, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life. He is now restraining the evil one in an unbelieving world until God’s purpose is fulfilled.
(2) Our beliefs about the Holy Spirit are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: John 14:16-17; Acts 5:3-4, 32; Romans 8:14; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; I Peter 1:2.
(E) Satan and Angels
(1) We believe in the personality of Satan, a fallen angel. He is the unholy god of this age and the author of all the powers of darkness. He is destined to eternal torment in the lake of fire.
(2) We believe that the angels are holy beings created to serve God and worship Him. Those angels who rebelled against God are known as demons, and they follow Satan.
(3) Our beliefs about Satan and angels are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 6:2-4; 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:13-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:3-4, 7-11; 20:10.
(F) Man
(1) We believe that man was originally created in the image and likeness of God. By voluntary transgression he fell from his sinless and happy state. Consequently, all of Adam’s descendents lost their spiritual life, became dead in trespasses and sins, were made subject to the power of the devil, and became dependent upon divine help through the plan of redemption. Therefore, no child of Adam is born into the world possessing a spark of di-vine life, but each one is born essentially corrupt in body, mind, and soul and utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
(2) Our beliefs about man are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:1-13; 6:5-6; Psalm 14:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; Romans 3:10-19; 5:12; 6:23; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19.
(G) Sin
(1) We believe that sin is unbelief and disobedience to God and His Word. Sin is the universal problem that sepa-rates mankind from God and is the single reason for mankind incurring the penalty of physical, spiritual, and eternal death. The problem of sin is solved and the gift of eternal life made possible only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Repentance from sin and faith in the person and work of Christ are required to receive God’s forgiveness, restoration, and deliverance from the penalty of spiritual and eternal death. In Christ believers are free from the power and penalty of sin in their lives. When believers sin, fellowship with their Heavenly Father is broken, but fellowship can be restored by confessing their sins to Him and receiving His forgiveness and cleansing. One day believers will be delivered from the very presence of sin when they join Christ in His heavenly kingdom.
(2) Our beliefs about sin are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: John 3:16-17; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-6; Hebrews 9:22; I John 1:6-9; Revelation 21:4; 22:3.
(H) Salvation
(1) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and sub-stitutionary sacrifice and that justification is provided through His shed blood. The unbeliever must repent of his sin and exercise saving faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone in order to receive God’s gift of eternal life.
(2) We believe that all who are truly born again are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ and can never be lost.
(3) We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that as a result of salvation every true believer has immediate ac-cess to the Father through our only mediator Jesus Christ without the need for a human priest to act as inter-cessor.
(4) We believe in full consecration and separation by those who profess Christ. God commands his people to separate from religious apostasy, willfully disobedient Christians, and all sinful pleasures, practices and associa-tions. Total devotion to the Lord is the greatest need for building a strong church.
(5) Our beliefs about salvation are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Matthew 26:28; John 1:12-13, 29; 3:3-8, 16; 5:24; 10:28-29; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:24-26; 8:35-39; 10:9-10; 12:1-2; 14:12-23; I Corinthians 6:19-20; II Corinthians 5:14; 6:14-7:1; Philippians 1:6; II Timothy 3:5; Hebrews 10:5-22; I Peter 2:24; 3:18; I John 1:7; 2:15-17; 3:18; II John 9-11; Jude 1.
(I) The Church
(1) We believe that the Body of Christ is composed of those who have been redeemed and washed in His blood, regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and saved to worship and serve the Lord. The local church is a part of the universal Body of Christ, and it is a local assembly of born-again, baptized believers united in organiza-tion to glorify God by carrying out Christ’s Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and His Great Commis-sion (Matthew 28:19-20). Thus, we believe that only believers should be admitted to the local church’s member-ship. We further believe that it is the responsibility and privilege of all who are saved to win others to Christ.
(2) We hold to the autonomy of the local church. It has the absolute right of self-government, free from interfer-ence of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. While we believe it is right to obey human authorities over us, we also believe that the one authority to whom we are ultimately responsible is the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the separation of church and state, meaning that we reject as unbiblical the idea of a state church as much as we reject the idea of the state interfering in the affairs of the churches.
(3) We believe that it is scriptural for local churches to cooperate in contending for the faith and proclaiming the gospel. However, each local church has the right to decide how and to what extent it will cooperate. We believe that the local church should avoid cooperation or alliances with churches or organizations that deny the clear teachings of Scripture. Likewise, each member of the local church shall seek to live a holy life, separating him-self from and forsaking all that might dishonor God, discredit His cause, or weaken his own personal testi-mony.
(4) We believe that there are two offices of the local church: pastor (also known in Scripture as elder, bishop, and overseer) and deacon. These offices have scriptural qualifications that limit these offices to being held only by spiritually mature men.
(5) We believe that Christ instituted two ordinances for the local church—baptism and the Lord’s Supper (also re-ferred to as the Lord’s Table or Communion). Baptism by immersion is commanded by Christ and beautifully pictures His death, burial, and resurrection. Baptism identifies the believer as a Christian and is the sign of fel lowship with other believers. The Lord’s Supper commemorates and proclaims Christ’s death and is to be ob-served regularly until He returns. We believe that the elements of the Lord’s Supper are symbolic representa-tions of the body and blood of Jesus and are intended to help believers commune with their Lord.
(6) Our beliefs about the church are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Matthew 16:16-19; 22:37-40; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 6:3; 8:36-39; 10:47; 13:1-3; 15:13-32; 19:5; 20:17-28; Romans 6:3-4; I Corinthians 10:16; 11:2, 17-34; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-12; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 1:18; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:7-9; 3:5, 7, 14; Hebrews 13:7; Revelation 1:5.
(J) Future Events
(1) We believe that the return of Christ is imminent and will be personal. His return for all believers will be fol-lowed by His coming to judge the rebellious and to reign on earth for a thousand years.
(2) Our beliefs about future events are derived from, but not limited to, the following Scriptures: Zechariah 14:4-11; Matthew 24:29-31, 36-44; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; II Thessalonians 2:7-10; Titus 2:11-14; Revelation 20:1-6.
