BELIEFS
The Bible
We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative, living, eternally-reliable Word of God. We believe it is without error in its original manuscript, absolutely infallible, our source of supreme revelation from God, and is superior to conscience and reason, though not contrary to reason. It is therefore our rule of faith and practice and is necessary to our daily lives. [2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12]
The Godhead
We believe in one God who has revealed Himself in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. [Romans 1:20] The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are all co-eternal and all stand equally superior to time, free from the temporal distinctions of past and future. FATHER – [Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2; Psalm 102:27; 1 Timothy 1:17] SON – [John 1:1-2; John 8:58; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 1:2; Revelation 1:8] HOLY SPIRIT – [Hebrews 9:14] We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things visible and invisible. [Colossians 1:15-16] We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who came into the world to reveal the Father, the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. In Christ dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead in bodily form; He was fully God and fully Man. [John 1:1-2, 14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Acts 7:37-38] We believe in Jesus Christ’s pre-existence, incarnation, virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, substitutionary and atoning death, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension into heaven, exaltation, present rule at the right hand of God, personal return in power and great glory, and in His everlasting Kingdom and dominion. [Acts 1:11; 3:19-21; Daniel 7:14; Revelation 20:4] We acknowledge His Lordship – that Jesus Christ is Lord over all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth. [Philippians 2:9-10] We believe in the Holy Spirit, His present ministry, His indwelling, His impartation of gifts for today and His transforming power in the lives of all believers. [1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Galatians 5:22-23]
Man and Salvation
Man was created by a direct and immediate act of God. [Genesis 1:26-27; 2:4] Man, by transgression, fell from the state of righteousness and holiness in which he was first created into total spiritual depravity, a state of death in trespasses and sins in which he is held as a slave of sin and enemy of God. As such, he is unable to attain divine righteousness by his own efforts and so must be redeemed and delivered by the power of the gospel. [Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4] Repentance and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are an integral part of God’s work of justification of the believer. Through faith in the shed blood of Christ, the believer is justified and participates in the death of Christ. [Romans 5:1, 9] We believe “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” [Ephesians 2:8-9] We believe repentance is dependent upon the convicting action of the Holy Spirit in the lives of both sinners and believers and their response. The conviction of the Holy Spirit will result in the revelation of one’s sinfulness and lead to godly sorrow. On the other hand, remorse, or worldly sorrow, is a feeling of deep regret, hopelessness, or even despair. It does not lead to constructive change. Godly sorrow produces repentance, which causes us to turn away from sin and to receive faith for change. Repentance is evidenced by an earnest desire to change. It changes the way we feel and act about sin, self and God. [2 Corinthians 7:10; Psalm 51; Acts 11:18; 2 Timothy 2:25; Romans 1:18-32; Matthew 9:12-13] For a continuous walk in intimacy with God, the believer should be demonstrating righteousness and purity of heart, believing in the keeping power of God, walking after the Spirit rather than the flesh, living a lifestyle that demonstrates the love of Jesus Christ, and not being conformed to the world. [Jude 24; Romans 8:25; Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 4:1-5; 12:1-2] The final judgment will accompany the return of Christ, and every person will give an account to God of every aspect of this earthly life. At this time, unbelievers will be eternally separated from God and in torment. [1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15]
The Lord’s Commands
We believe in the Lord’s Supper and Believer’s Baptism as acts of our obedience and a testimony of our faith. [Matthew 3:6; Mark 16:16; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29] Water baptism is necessary in obedient response to the command of Jesus. Baptism is to be performed only upon repentant believers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:18-20] We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We hold that the real evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is in one’s response to the Word of God, a Christ-like life, showing forth Christ’s character, and experiencing and manifesting the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. [Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6; John 16:13, 15:26, 16:14; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11]
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to love, provide for, protect and lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his companion in both managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. [Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:20-25; Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:24; Titus 2:4-5; Psalm 139:13-15]
Kingdom Life
The message and mission of the church is “the gospel of the kingdom” which simply means the “rule” of God over everything. The church is God’s chosen instrument to proclaim and manifest God’s kingdom on earth. Kingdom life is the Spirit of God for us, in us, through us, and for others. Our responsibility then is to live each day in the power of God with the purpose of living for the glory of God. We are to share the whole truth of the gospel and enforce the victory of God over every dark and godless influence until King Jesus returns. [2 Corinthians 9:8; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 9:35-36; Matthew 10:1-20; John 14-17; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 8:1-15; 1 Corinthians 4:20]
The Church
The Church is God’s instrument to distribute His glory on the Earth. The Church is defined as the people of God meeting and experiencing God together in order to display His goodness wherever they go. [Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Acts 9:4-6; Ephesians 3:14-19; Ephesians 5:25-31]