What We Believe

God

We believe there are three persons in the one true and living God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

(Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5; Matthew 28:19-20; John 8:58; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-3)

The Father

God the Father is the almighty creator and sustainer of everyone and everything. He is eternal, infinite, and unchangeable in his power and perfection, goodness and glory, wisdom, justice and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will.

(Genesis 1; Psalm 90:1-2; Psalm 86:8-10,15; Jeremiah 32:17; Psalm 119:68; Psalm 97:1-2; Isaiah 45:7)

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus is the only Son of God, was born of a virgin, is fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind, was buried, rose from the grave and ascended into heaven where he sits at the right hand of the Father, from where he will come again at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead.

(John 1:14, 3:16; Matthew 4; Luke 4; Acts 17:31; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10, 21; Hebrews 4:15; Revelation 19)

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is coeternal with the Father and Son. The Holy Spirit is active today in regenerating, indwelling, and empowering the saved to live in obedience and devotion to God, while convicting the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. The presence of the Spirit in a person’s life is the seal of their salvation, the evidence that they belong to God, and will be manifested in a growing love for God and for others.

(Genesis 1:2; John 16:7-11; Romans 5:5, 8:9, 13-16; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18; 1 Corinthians 12:7; Acts 1:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13)

The Bible

We believe that the Bible, containing 66 books, is entirely the Word of God without any error and is the sole, sufficient authority for faith (right thinking) and practice (right living).

(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Salvation

We believe that mankind is the special creation of God, unique in all creation in that they were made in God’s image. Mankind fell through the sin of the first man, Adam, and all people have thus become sinners. Our fallen condition includes our inclination to do what God has forbidden and not to do what God has commanded and all the consequences that accompany such choices, including present suffering, eventual death, the wrath of God and eternal punishment. Sin has separated us from God.

Salvation is a gift of God, received through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every person who puts their faith in Jesus, evidenced by turning from sin, being united with him by faith through baptism, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, will persevere in faith until death by God’s preserving grace.

When a person is saved, he is forgiven of his sins. He becomes an adopted child of God. The Holy Spirit comes and lives within this Christian leading him or her to abound in prayer and good works. As a child of God, the Christian is an heir of God and coheir with Christ of the eternal kingdom.

(Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3, Romans 5:12-15; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:12-17; Titus 3:5; Galatians 4:4-7; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; John 10:28-30; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14; 1 John 2:19)

Good Works

We believe that no one is saved by good works, but that all who are saved have been saved for good works. Good works are the evidence that the seal of the Spirit has been given and that a person is truly a child of God and not self-deceived. Where works are absent, salvation is to be questioned. Where there is no fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), the presence of the Spirit is in doubt. And whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Romans 8:9).

(Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 14:15; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Titus 2:11-14, 3:8, 14; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 John 2:3, 3:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, 2:16-17)

Eternity

We believe that every human being will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive what is due for what they have done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). The righteous will enter the kingdom of God and eternal life (Matthew 25:34,46). The wicked will go away to eternal punishment, being cast to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41,46).

(John 3:16; Matthew 25; John 3; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Ephesians 2:1-4)

Baptism

We believe that water baptism is an imitation of and obedience to Christ and is by immersion after repentance as an act of faith.

(Matthew 3:13-17; Acts 2:38; Matthew 28:19)

The Church

The church is the local fellowship of baptized believers. The church is a body with many members, having Christ as its head. It is the household of God and the pillar and buttress of truth in the world. All whom Christ calls out of the world he calls into the church.

(1 Timothy 3:15; Ephesians 5:23)