What We Believe

THE BIBLE:  The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts and, therefore, wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

THE ONE TRUE GOD:  In the unity of the Godhead, there exist three co-eternal, co-equal persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:  His pre-existence and deity (John 1:1-3), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14; Matthew 1:18-23), sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), substitutionary death (2 Corinthians 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Hebrews 4:14-16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).

THE HOLY SPIRIT:  His personality (John 16:7-15), His role as Comforter and Convictor of Truth (John 14:17, 26), and deity (Acts 5:3-4), and His work in each believer, baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Corinthians 12:13, Romans 8:9), and filling (Ephesians 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Ephesians 3:16: Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:22-23).

MAN:  His direct creation in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).

SALVATION:   A complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His vicarious atonement through the cross (Ephesians. 2:8,9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

THE CHURCH:  One true Church, the body and bride of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Ephesians 4:11-16).

CHRISTIAN LIFE:  A life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Ephesians 5:22-6:4), settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (I Corinthians 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Romans 12:17-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the officials of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).

ORDINANCES:  The Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ which are baptism of believers by immersion (Matthew 28:19) and the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

SATAN:  A created spirit being (Ezekiel 28:13-15) possessing personality. The great adversary of God and His people (Revelation 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Revelation 20:10).

SECOND COMING:  The personal, visible, and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) and the establishment of His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Revelation 19:11-20:6).

FUTURE LIFE:  The conscious existence of the dead (Philippians 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Romans 14:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Revelation 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the punishment of the lost (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15).