Doctrine

1. The Word of God
We believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible as the Word of God, without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme and final authority in testing all claims about what is true and right in all matters of faith and conduct. In matters not specifically addressed in the Bible, what is true and right is assessed by criteria consistent with the teachings of Scripture.

I Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20,21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31,32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32


2. The Trinity
We believe that there is one living, true, sovereign and all glorious God, eternally existing in three persons; that these three persons are equal in divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but complimentary and harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.

Genesis 1:1,26;  John 1:1,3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19,20; Ephesians 1, 2:18-21, 3:14-21, 4:5,6


3. God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He sovereignly rules over all things, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:21,22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; I Timothy 1:1,2; 2:5,6 I Peter 1:3; Rev.1:6


4. God the Son, Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, fully man, fully God. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 8:46; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30,31 Matthew 20:28 Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9,10; Hebrews 7:25; I Timothy 3:16, Col. 1:15-20


5. God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.

John 14:16,17,26; 15:26,27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16, 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26


6. Mankind
We believe God created both male and female in His own image for fellowship with Him; that mankind sinned against God and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God; that as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature, are sinners by choice, and are therefore under God’s righteous, divine condemnation.  Fallen, sinful people, whatever their character or attainments, are lost and without hope apart from salvation in Christ.
    
Genesis 1:26; 5:2; Genesis 3; Genesis 2:17;3:19; Romans 1:18-32, 3:9-19, 23


7. The Gospel of Salvation
We believe the Gospel is the good news that the death of Jesus Christ was a once for all substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our justification; that His resurrection conquered sin and death; that all who repent, forsake sin, and place their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become new creatures, delivered and saved from condemnation and receive the promise of eternal life through Christ’s resurrection.

John 1:12-13, 3:14-21; 5:24; 8:12; 10:26; Romans 3:21-26; 5:19; 8:1; 10, I John 1:9; II Corinthians 5:17, I Corinthians 15, Romans 3:21-23


8. Evidence of Salvation
We believe biblical salvation is characterized by godly sorrow, repentance, and embracing Christ as one’s Savior, Lord, and Treasure.  This “re-birth” through the Spirit is evidenced by an understanding of God’s Word, new affections for God and hatred for sin, desires to please Him and not the world, and works by the obedience of faith.  These new works do not produce salvation but rather are the natural fruits of true saving faith.  They do not earn grace but are rather evidence of grace.

Ephesians 2, Romans 1; 15, Philippians 2:12-13, John 15, Galatians 3:3; I Peter 2:2-3,  II Peter 1:10


9.  Christian Conduct, Sanctification, and Perseverance
    a.) We believe that a Christian should conduct their life solely for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow man; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful and generous steward of his possessions, and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.

I Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-3; Hebrews 12:1-2, 14; John 14:15, 23-24; I John 2:3-6; II Corinthians 9:6-9; I Corinthians 4:2; Colossians 1:9-10, Hebrews 2:10-11,12:1-2,14;  II Peter 3:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-32

    b.) We believe the Holy Spirit is the indwelling active agent in our progressive sanctification; that He seeks to produce His fruit in us as our minds are renewed by His Word and we are conformed to the image of Christ; that though our battle with indwelling sin continues throughout our lives, as we are led by the Spirit, we are enabled to walk in the Spirit and so delight in God’s commandments that we truly endeavor to live in this world for the glory of God.

Galatians 3:1-6, 5:16-26; I Corinthians 1:1-2, 30; II Corinthians 3:17-18; 4:2, 6:17-18; Romans 6:11-14, 8:29, 12:1-3;  Colossians 3:5-9; I Thessalonians 4:3-7; I John 2:3-6; John 14:15,23-27, 15:11

    c.) We believe all Christians are commanded by God to persevere in their faith, knowing that they will give an account to God for their every word and deed; that the spiritual disciplines of Bible study, prayer, worship, giving, fellowship, confession of sin, and the active sharing of one’s faith are provided by God as vital means of grace to assist us in our pursuit of holiness; that the believer’s ultimate confidence of persevering in the faith is based solely on the grace and promise of God to keep all those who are His to the end.

Galatians 5:1-15, 6:11-18; I Timothy 4:15-16; James 1:12, Matthew 10:22, 24:13


10. The Church
We believe the church exists to worship God, nurture believers, and evangelize the lost.  We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship.  We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of taking the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world through preaching the Gospel and planting churches as visible evidence of an inaugurated Kingdom.

Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-23; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25; Matt. 16:18, Acts 8:1, 11:22, 15:13-21, 20:28; I Cor. 1: 11-17, 3:9-16, 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16; I Tim.3:15


11. Church Ordinances...Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe that Christian baptism signifies entrance into relationship with God, and is our identification in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and is best portrayed by immersion of the believer in water in the name of the triune God.  

We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to signify the continuation of covenant and is to commemorate His atoning death and resurrection.  We believe that only those who give a believable profession of faith and show reasonable evidence of believing in Christ should be baptized or partake in the communion elements.

We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 2:41, 8:12, 10:47-48, 16:14-15, Colossians 2:11-12, Romans 6:1-11, Galatians 3:2,5, 24-29
I Cor. 11:23-30. Matt. 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:17-20.


12. Liberty
We believe that every human being has direct relationship with God, and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority; that therefore Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other.

    I Timothy 2:5; Romans 14:7-9, 12  


13.  The Doctrine of the Future
We believe the consummation of all things will happen in the visible and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge the just and the unjust and to fulfill His kingdom in the establishing the new heavens and the new earth.  We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal happiness of the righteous, and the endless, conscious suffering of the wicked in hell.

Matt. 24:44, 25:13; Mark 13:32-33; Luke 12:40; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 1:9-11, 4:13-17; Hebrews 9:28, James 5:8;  I John 3:2; Rev. 20:11-15, 22:8-20