Doctrine
I. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed. We believe that God speaks to people primarily through His Word, and we reject language that implies that God has directly spoken to individuals in any way that conflicts with His Word.
Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:21-22
(NOTE: While we do not view it as the only valid Bible translation, we typically preach and teach from the English Standard Version (ESV) Bible.)
II. The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-equal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.
Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14
III. The Person and Work of Christ
A.) 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.
Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14
B.) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our 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.
Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24
C.) 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 ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2
IV. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ, and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.
John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14
V. The Total Depravity of 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 redeem his lost condition.
Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12
VI. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God, brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.
John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19
VII. Creation
We believe that God is the Creator of all things. As the Creator of all things, we believe that God created the universe in six twenty-four hour days and that before He created, nothing except God existed. We believe that within the context of this six twenty-four hour days, God created man on the sixth day and we reject, as untrue, the theory of the evolution as it pertains to the origin of man or that life itself evolved from nonliving substances. In respect to man, we believe that all people are descendants of Adam and Eve, whom God created personally and individually and as complete human beings. We believe that God created mankind in His image, forming all people from conception in the womb and making them His image-bearers throughout life and until the point of natural death when they breathe their last breath; and assigning gender to His people, male (man) and female (woman), as He created them sexually (identified on a physical level) and biologically (identified at a chromosomal level) different, but with equal personal dignity and value.
Genesis 1; 2:7; 2:21&22; 25:8; Exodus 20:8-11; 31:16&17; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 14:5-6; Psalm 33:6-9; 139:13-16; 146:5&6; Isaiah 44:2; Jeremiah 1:4-5; Luke 23:46; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11; 10:6
VIII. The Eternal State
A.) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13
B.) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6
C.) We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment.
Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15
IX. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
A.) We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5
B.) 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.
Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Hebrews 12:1-11
X. The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provisions made for victory of the new nature over the old nature by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We believe that all claims to the eradication of the old nature are unscriptural.
Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:59
XI. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God.
Romans 12:1-2, 14:13,16:17; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9:11
XII. Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.
Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20
XIII. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
A.) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and that the gifts of evangelists, Pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established.
Isaiah 28:11; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-11
B.) We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and the afflicted.
John 15:7; James 5:15; 1 John 5:14
XIV. The Church
A.) We believe that the Church, which is the Body and the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age.
1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27
B.) We believe that the establishment and continuance of the local church is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
Acts 14:27, 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11
XV. Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or regulations for living that define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. This view is commonly referred to as ‘Dispensationalism’. Because we interpret Scripture in this way, we believe in the sovereign selection of Israel as God’s eternal covenant people, that she is now dispersed because of her disobedience and rejection of Christ, and that after the completion of the church, she will be regathered in the Holy Land and will be saved as a nation at the second advent of Christ. We believe the church and Israel to be separate and distinct. We believe the way of salvation for the church to be the same as that for Israel, through Jesus Christ alone.
Genesis 13:14-17; Romans 11:1-32; Ezekiel 37; John 1:14; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6
XVI. The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, and accuser of the brethren, whose end shall be eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire.
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Matthew 25:41; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 12:9-10, 20:10
XVII. The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in the “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational, and premillenial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to the Earth, with His saints, to establish His millennial kingdom.
Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6
XVIII. Homosexuality and Same-Sex Marriage
We believe that sexual union was established exclusively within the context of a male-female relationship and that sexual union is to be entered into only within the context of marriage between a male and female. Homosexual activity is condemned in the Scriptures. It is described as degrading and as an indecent act. Scripture further teaches that one who persists in this practice will suffer grave consequences. 1 Corinthians 6:9&10 also teach that one can turn away from this practice; therefore, we reject, as non-biblical, the teaching that homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle and that it is the result of one’s genetic makeup.
Genesis 2:18-24; Exodus 20:14; Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26 & 27; 1 Corinthians 6:9 & 10
