STATEMENT OF FAITH
What We Believe:
I. The Bible
It is the inerrant Word of God, the Scriptures written by men who were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. Including both the Old and New Testaments, we believe 66 books compose the Bible to reveal God and His will to man. The Bible has God as its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error. The Bible is the sole authority for Christian living. Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Psalm 19:7-10; Psalm 119:105, 160; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21
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II. The Trinity
There is one and only one true and eternal God who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Each have distinct personal attributes but are without division of nature, essence or being. Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 44:6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-5; John 17:20-23; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2
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III. God the Father
God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of Life. He is Father in truth to those who become children of God through Jesus Christ; however, He is fatherly toward all men. He is unchanging, sovereign, and loving, the Creator and Ruler of all things in heaven and earth. Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 4:4-6, 39; 6:4-9; 1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 11:27; Romans 15:5-6; Ephesians 4:4-6; James 2:19; Jude 24-25
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IV. God the Son
God as Son is the perfect representation of the Father in human form. He is fully human and fully divine. He is Jesus Christ. He is equal with God though he humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant and becoming obedient to death on a cross. The shedding of His blood provided the final atoning sacrifice for the remission of our sins. He rose on the third day after his death and now reigns at the right hand of His Father in glory. He lives in all believers as their present Lord. Jesus Christ, our Lord, is God in the Flesh. He is the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, fully God, fully man, sinless. He died on the cross in our place for our sins, was buried, resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now sits as our Advocate, and will return to judge the living and the dead. Matthew 1:18-25; 25:31-46; Luke 24; John 1:1-18; 10:30; 17:20-25; Acts 1:9-11; 2:22-24; Romans 9:6; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 1:15; 2:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 4:14-16; Revelation 11:15-17; 20:4-6, 11-15
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V. God the Holy Spirit
God as Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, and the need for Jesus Christ. He fully lives in every believer from the moment of salvation. He works in the life of each believer to produce godly character qualities, comforts, teaches and empowers us to live in righteousness, and demonstrates Himself, in the life of the church, through spiritual gifts given to each believer to carry out the work of the church. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, exalting Christ and empowers every believer for service in the Body of Christ. John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 3: 16; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 13:14; 1 Peter 4:10
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VI. Man/Humanity
Man was created by a special work of God in His image and is the finest of the creation. Man was created to worship God, to glorify Him, and to have dominion over the earth. Man was created innocent but given a free will whereby he sinned against God and fell from his original state. Through Christ’s death, every person is worthy of respect and love. Sin separates man from God and man is eternally doomed unless he receives salvation in Jesus Christ. Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-10; 5:1-2; Psalm 8:3-6; John 1:12-13; 3:3, 16; Acts 13:38-39; 17:26-31; Romans 3:10-18, 23; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; 1 John 3:1-3
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VII. Salvation
Since all persons are separated from God by sin and are in need of forgiveness, God offers the free gift of salvation. Each person must individually accept this gift, repent of sin, and place faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Salvation was obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross so that we might be rightly related to God. Exodus 6:2-8; Matthew 16:21-26; John 3:15-18; 17:3; Acts 2:36-39; Romans 5:1, 8-9; 6:23; 10:9, 10, 13; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7; Hebrews 9:22
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VIII. Eternal Security of the Believer
We believe our true salvation, provided by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is eternally secure. It is imperishable and no man or circumstance can snatch us out of the powerful hand of God because Jesus Christ has made an everlasting covenant with us. 2 Samuel 23:5; John 3:36; 5:24; 10:27-29; 14:6; Romans 8:38-39; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:11-12
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IX. Grace
Grace is the unmerited favor of God and shows us His goodness. All who have accepted Christ and are set apart will never fall from grace but will endure to the end. The abounding grace God provides should never be used as an excuse to abound in sin. Romans 3:23-26; Ephesians 2:8
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X. Sin
Sin is transgression of the Law. When one becomes a believer, he is free from sin’s penalty of death but not from the consequences of disobedience to God. When the believer confesses sin, Christ forgives and cleanses from sin. Genesis 4:7; 1 John 3:4
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XI. The Church
The church is a group of believers brought together by the Spirit of God to carry out the Great Commandment by practicing the Great Commission. Each church is a local autonomous body operating under the leadership of Christ as Head of the Church. Jesus is the head of His Body, the Church. Matthew 16:15-16; 28:19-20; Acts 1:6-8; 2:42-47; 4:32-35; 15:13-17; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12; 2 Corinthians 1:3-7; Ephesians 1:3-8; 3:10-12; 4:10-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 2 & 3
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XII. Priesthood of the Believer
Every believer is a minister and has direct access to God through the high priest, Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:7; Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:19-22
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XIII. Baptism
We believe baptism is an obedience and lordship issue, not a membership issue. Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change that has occurred in the life of the believer. It is identi-fication with Christ that pictures His death, burial and resurrection to new life in Christ. By definition, baptism by immersion follows Christ’s example and serves as a testimony of faith after accepting Christ as personal Savior and Lord. Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 8:26-39; Romans 6:1-10; Colossians 2:9-12
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XIV. Communion
Communion is an opportunity for personal examination, confession of sins, and reflection as we observe the “Lord’s death until He comes.” The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood which were broken and spilled out for our salvation and is done in “remembrance” of Him until He comes again. The Lord’s Supper is another name for communion referencing an act of obedience and a testimony of faith. It symbolically memorialized the death of Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:26-30; 1 Corinthians 11:23-27
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XV. Church Leadership
God calls individuals, whose lives best exemplify the Biblical qualifications of the position of pastor, overseer/elder, ministerial staff and deacon, to lead the local body. They are selected and affirmed by the local body after prayerful consideration. Leaders are called by God to uphold church doctrine and to live lives worthy of respect. The local church is called to submit to their authority. Acts 6:1-8; 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3; 5:17-22; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:7, 17
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XVI. Church Discipline
We believe that the Bible teaches church discipline. God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12). He uses the leadership of the church to prayerfully administer His discipline (Galatians 6:1) according to scripture (Matthew 18:15-18 and 1 Corinthians 5:1-13). Discipline is administered in hope of restoring the one who has fallen into sin back to a right relationship with God and the church.