We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the
verbally (every word) and completely inspired Word of God. The Scriptures
are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for
faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete
and divine revelation of God to man (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21). [For
reasons of textual reliability, we use and promote the King James Version of the Bible.]
The Godhead
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. We believe God the Father is perfect in holiness, boundless in love, infinite in
wisdom, and measureless in power. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in
the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayers; and that He saves from sin and
death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ, His Son. We believe He is worthy
of all our honor, confidence, and love. (Based on Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 20:2-3;
I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7; Revelation 4:11.)
God the Son
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without
ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man.
(Based on John 1:12,14; Luke 1:35.)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished redemption through His death
on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our
justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Based on Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5.)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted
at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry
of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Based on Acts 1:9-10;
Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2.)
We believe that the promise of His second coming includes the personal,
premillennial, and pretribulational return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
to rapture His church according to I Thessalonians 4:13-18, and His return
with His saints to set up His millennial reign.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, and He is equal with God
the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts men of sin, regenerates,
indwells, baptizes, and sets believers apart to a holy life, and seals them unto
the day of redemption. (Based on John 16:8-11; I Corinthians 3:6;
I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14.)
We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher Who guides believers into
all truth, and is now restraining the evil one in an unbelieving world until
God's purpose is fulfilled. (Based on John 16:13; 14:16-17.)
Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but
that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated
from God, and that man is totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable
to remedy his lost condition. (Based on Genesis 1:26-27;
Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12.)
Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan and that he is the unholy god of this
age, and the author of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to
the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Based on
Matthew 4:1-3; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10.)
Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, according to
the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that
all who by faith receive Him as their Savior are justified on the grounds of
His shed blood on Calvary and His resurrection from the dead and are born
again of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming the children of God. We believe
that those God saves by His grace, He keeps by His power. (Based on
I Corinthians 15:3-4; Ephesians 2:8-9; II Timothy 1:12; I Peter 1:3-5.)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power
and are thus secure in Christ forever. (Based on John 6:37-40; 10:27-30;
Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5.)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance
of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however,
clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Based on Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15.)
The Church
We believe that the church exists in two aspects:
An Organism
We believe that the church as an organism is the body and bride of Christ,
composed of all the redeemed. We believe that Christ gave Himself for the
church, and that He is its only true head. (Based on I Corinthians 12:13;
Ephesians 1:20-23; 3:3-11; Colossians 1:18.)
An Organization
We believe that the establishment and continuation of local churches is
clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. We believe that the church as
an organization is an assembly of baptized believers, voluntarily associated by covenant
in the faith for fellowship, worship, and service; and that its mission is to spread the Gospel
to all men and to earnestly contend for the faith. We believe that its officers are pastors
and deacons whose qualifications and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We hold
that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference
of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that its only superintendent is Christ
through the Holy Spirit; that it is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other
in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; and that each local
church is the sole judge of the measure and methods of its cooperation. On all matters of
membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local
church is final. (Based on Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 14:27; I Corinthians 16:19;
II Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:2; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11.)
Ordinances
We believe that Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and
the Lord's Supper as a testimony to be observed until He comes again.
(Based on Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 10:47; 19:5; I Corinthians 11:23-26.)
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing
the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death
to sin, the burial of the old life, and resurrection to walk in newness of life in
Christ Jesus. As a Scriptural ordinance of obedience for the church in this age,
it is prerequisite to the privilege of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members
of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine,
memorialize the death of our Redeemer and anticipate His coming again.
We believe that we are mandated by God in the Scriptures to separate ourselves unto
Christ and, as much as possible, from any participation in or endorsement of sin; from
ecclesiastical organizations and religious personalities that deny the faith or compromise
its message; from brethren that walk disorderly or who unrepentantly continue in sin or
engage in the compromise aforementioned. We believe that all the saved should live in
such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands
His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures,
practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate
appearances. Each member shall seek to live a holy life, separating himself from
and forsaking all that might weaken his personal testimony, dishonor God, or
cast discredit on God's cause. (Based on Romans 12:1-2; 14:13;
II Corinthians 6:14-17; Ephesians 2:8-10; II Timothy 3:1-5;
II Thessalonians 3:11-12; I Peter 1:15-16; I John 2:15-17;
II John 9-11; I Corinthians 6:19-20.)
The Second Coming of Christ