Our Beliefs
Our Confession of Faith
The Bible
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. (2 Tim. 3:16–17; 2 Pet. 1:20–21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12)
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; 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. (John 1:1–2, 14; Luke 1:35)
- 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. (Rom. 3:24–25; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 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. (Acts 1:9–10; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; Rom. 8:34)
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; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13–14)
- We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth, and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (John 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27; Eph. 5:18)
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 remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26–27; Rom. 3:22–23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1–3, 12)
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. (Eph. 2:8–10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18–19)
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. 1:5)
- 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. (Rom. 13:13–14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11–15)
The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature, through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Rom. 6:13; 8:12–13; Gal. 5:16–25; Eph. 4:22–24; Col. 3:10; 1 Pet.1:14–16; 1 John 3:5–9)
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 of God. (2 Tim. 3:1–5; Rom. 12:1–2; 14:13; 1 John 2:15–17; 2 John 9–11; 2 Cor. 6:14; 7:1)
Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19–20)
The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
- We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; 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. (1 Cor. 12:4–11; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7–12)
- We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; 1 John 5:14–15; James 5:13–15)
The Church
- 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. (Eph. 1:22–23; 5:25–27; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; 2 Cor. 11:2)
- We believe that the Church, spiritual and universal, is manifested through local New Testament churches. A New Testament church is an organized body of baptized believers, practicing Scriptural ordinances and actively engaged in carrying out the Great Commission. (Acts 2:41–42, 47; Matt. 28:19–20)
- We believe that the Scriptural officers of the local church are Pastor and Deacons; that the Pastor has Scriptural authority as the overseer; that the church has the absolute right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit; that it is answerable only to Christ; and that in all matters of membership, policy, discipline, and giving the will of the local church is final. (1 Tim. 3:1–13; Col. 1:18; 1 Pet. 5:1–4; 1 Cor. 6:1–3)
- We believe the establishment of new local churches is clearly taught in the New Testament. (Acts 14:27; Titus 1:5–11)
Ordinances
We believe there are just two ordinances set forth in the New Testament: Believer's Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
- Believer's Baptism is the believer's immersion in water to show forth in a solemn and beautiful symbol our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. In Scriptural order, Baptism precedes the privileges of church membership and is the public profession of faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. (Acts 8:36–39; Matt. 3:6; Rom. 6:3–5; Col. 2:12; Acts 2:41–42)
- The Lord's Supper is a memorial service for all believers living in obedience to the Word of God. The elements represent the body and blood of Christ and therefore remind us of His love, His atonement, and His return. (1 Cor. 11:23–28; Rom. 8:32)
Dispensationalism
We believe in the dispensational view of Bible interpretation but reject the extreme teaching known as hyper-dispensationalism, such as that teaching which opposes either the Lord's Table or water baptism as a Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 18:8; 1 Cor. 11:23–26)
The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall; that he is the openly declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6–7; Isa. 14:12–17; Matt. 4:2–11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe in that "Blessed Hope": the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and premillennial coming of Christ for His redeemed; and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. (1 Thess. 4:13–18; Zech. 14:4–11; Rev. 19:11–16; 20:1–6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10)
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; Rev. 20:4–6; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16–17)
- 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 punishment. (Luke 16:19–26; Matt. 25:41–46; 2 Thess. 1:7–9; Jude 6–7; Mark 9:43–48; Rev. 20:11–15)