THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and plenarily 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 Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures are to be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning. The King James Version of the Bible is the official and only translation used by the church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
THE GODHEAD
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Duet. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14)
THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST
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
men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5;
Phil. 2:5-8)
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. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:3-5;
2:24)
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. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34;
Heb. 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
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, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)
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 human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
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; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)
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. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)
We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal
life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John
5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from
the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first
resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever
with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17;
Rev. 20:4-6)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in
conscious punishment and torment 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 and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26;
2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)