Statement of Faith
1. The Scriptures Inspired
The Bible is the inerrant, inspired word of the living God, a revelation from God to man, the infallible rule of faith and conduct, and absolute truth. The Bible is the final authority on all matters of life, faith and practice. The maxim of Biblical interpretation is “scripture interprets scripture.” (II Timothy 3:15-16; II Peter 1:20-21)
2. The One True God
We believe in the One True God – who became all God and all man – and yet is a Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) all co-eternal and co-equal and all deity. (John 1:1,14, Deut. 6:4, Matt. 28:19, Ex. 3:14, John 8:58)
3. Man, His Fall and Redemption
Man was created good and upright, for God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness.” “But man, by voluntary transgression, fell, and his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ the Son of God.” (Genesis 1:26-31; 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21)
4. The Salvation of Man
A. Conditions of Salvation. The grace of God which brings salvation, has appeared to all men, through the preaching of repentance toward the Lord Jesus Christ; man is saved by the washing of regeneration, the renewing of the Holy Spirit, and by being justified by grace through faith. Then he becomes an heir of God according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 2:11; Romans 10:13-15; Luke 24:47; Titus 3:5-7)
B. The Evidence of Salvation. The “inward” evidence of the believer of his salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Romans 8:16). The “outward” evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness.
5. Baptism in Water
The ordinance of Baptism in water should be observed as commanded in the Scriptures by all who have repented and in their hearts have truly believed in Christ as Savior and Lord. This represents an outward symbol of cleansing, while the heart has already been saved by the Blood of Christ as an inner cleansing. Thus they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and that they have also been raised with Him to walk in newness of life. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47, 48; Romans 6:4; Hebrews 10:22)
6. Virgin Birth and Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection and virgin birth of Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:1 and 1:23)
7. The Promise of the Father
All believers are entitled to, and should ardently expect, and earnestly seek, the promise of the Father, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian Church. With it comes a deeper spiritual life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. (Luke 24:29; Acts 1:4,8; I Corinthians 12:1-31). This wonderful experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience of the new birth. (Acts 8:14-17; 10:44-48; 11:13-16; 15:7-9.)
8. Our Walk With the Lord
The Scriptures teach a life of holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey the command, “Be ye holy, for I am holy.” Living for the Lord is the will of God for all believers, and should be earnestly pursued by walking in obedience to God’s Word.
“But among you there must not be even a hint a sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” Eph 5:3 ” (Hebrews 12:14; I Peter 1:15-16; I Thess 5:23-24; I John 2:6)
9. Biblical Marriage
We believe in the Biblical definition of marriage which is between a man and a woman. We also believe in the Biblical Truths of Marriage: The Lord God said, “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a help suitable for him.” Gen 2:18 . “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.” Gen 2:21-22 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman’, for she was taken out of man. That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.” Gen 2:23-24
Jesus confirmed this when He said “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female.” Then He said, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” Matt 19:4-5
10. The Church
The Church is the body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit with divine appointments for the fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer, born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the Church. Jesus Christ is the head of the church and all believers are to submit to His Lordship. (Ephesians 1:22,23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23)
11. The Ministry, Evangelism, & Missions
A divinely-called and scripturally-ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for a twofold purpose:
A. The evangelization of the world. (Matthew 28:18-20)
B. The edifying of the body of Christ. (Mark 16:15-20, Eph. 4:11-13)
12. Divine Healing
Deliverance from sickness is provided for in the atonement, and is the privilege of all believers. (Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17)
13. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
The second coming of Jesus Christ includes the catching away and rapture of the church, the tribulation, the actual personal return of Christ, His millennial reign on earth, the promise of a new heaven and a new earth and the judgment of the believers and unbelievers. (I Thess. 4:16-17, 2 Peter 3:13, Rev. 19:11-14 & 20:1-6, Rev. 21:1)