Praying, Teaching, Reaching, Caring

          
Revised: 2003

This doctrinal statement may only be changed by a ¾ majority of the active church membership. An absentee ballot will be made available to active church members who are unable to attend the meeting.

SCRIPTURE

We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the plenary, verbally inspired Word of God, infallible, God-breathed and inerrant as originally given. They are the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life. (II Tim 3:16,17; II Pet 1:20,21; Mt 5:18)

DISPENSATIONAL REVELATION

We believe the Scriptures are to be interpreted in their natural and literal sense. When taken normally, the Scriptures reveal certain divinely determined dispensations or rules of life. Three of these, the age of law, the age of grace and the age of the millennial kingdom, are the subjects of detailed revelation in the Scriptures. (Deut 29:29; Jn 1:17; I Cor 9:17; II Cor 3: 7-16; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10, 3:1-6; Col 1:24, 25; Eph 1:10, 3:1-6; Col 1:24,25; Heb 1:1-2, 7:19; Rev 20:2-6)

GOD

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternal, existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit—eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfection. (Deut 6:4; II Cor 13:14; Heb 1:3; I Cor 8:6; Mt 28:19; Jn 10:30)

THE FATHER

We believe in God the Father who is Spirit and Truth, and desires to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. He is good, full of grace, righteous and perfect holiness. He is true light, foreknowing, perfect in judgment, just, and sovereign. He is self-existent, omnipotent, immutable, unsearchable and incomprehensible. He is infinite, omniscient and omnipresent. He is jealous, long-suffering and merciful towards those who love Him. (Ex 3:14; Jn 4:24; Deut 32:4; Jn 4:23; I Jn 4:8-10, 16; Tit 1:2; Ps 65:9; Mt 5:45; Ps 34:8, 86:5; I Pet 5:10; Isa 51:8; I Pet 1:15; Lev 19:2; I Jn 1:5, Isa 46:9, 10; Jer 9:24; Rom 3:26; Deut 10:14, 17; Jer 10:10; Rev 19:6; Rom 1:20; Ps 119:89-91; Rom 11:23; Isa 40:12-28; Gen 1:1; I Ki 8:27;
Ps 147:4,5; Jer 23:23; Ex 34:14, 34:6; Ps 103:8-10; Ex 20:2)

THE SON

We believe in Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as the sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven, where He is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is now our advocate and High Priest, and in the person of the Holy Spirit, indwells the believer. He will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. (Isa 7:14; Mt 1:18-25; I Cor 15:1-8; Heb 7:24-28; Jn 1:1-14; Rom 3:24,25; I Pet 2:21-25; Act 1:9,10; I Jn 2:1,2; Mt 25:31-41) Mt 24:36-41

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the Holy Spirit whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and to convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment, to regenerate, seal, indwell, guide, instruct and empower believers for life and service. (I Cor 12:12-14; Eph 5:18; Jn 16:8-13; Rom 8:9; Tit 3:5; I Jn 2:20-27)

THE PERSON AND WORK OF SATAN

We believe Satan is a personal being, the originator of sin and cause of the fall, the open and declared enemy of God and man. His destiny is everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6,7; Isa 14:12-17; I Tim 3:6;
Ezek 28: 11-19; Mt 4:2-11, 25:41; Rev 20:10)

MANKIND & SIN

We believe that man was created in the image of God, chose to sin and is therefore spiritually dead, totally depraved and utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. Only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can he obtain salvation and spiritual life. (Gen 1:26,27, 2:17, 3:16; I Cor 15:21,22; Rom 3:9-23, 5:12; Eph 2:1-3; Jn 3:36)

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace, received through repentance of sin and by personal faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. This provides the only grounds for the justification, sanctification and glorification of those who believe. Thus all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are born of the Holy Spirit and become the children of God. (Eph 1:13-14, 2:4-10; Tit 2:14, 3:4-8; Jn 1:12,13, 3:16-36, 5:24; Rom 5:9-10, 8:1; Jn 3:3; I Jn 5:10-14; I Pet 1:18,19, 23) Rom 2:4; Lk 24: 46-4)

THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (Jn 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Rom 8:1,29, 30 38, 39; I Cor 1:4-8; I Pet 1:15; Rom 3:13,14; Gal 5:13; Tit 2:11-15)

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

We believe that those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are immediately filled with the Holy Spirit, who gives gifts to men to be used for the glory of God through the building of His church, the body of believers. (Rom. 10;9, Rom 12:3-8, Eph. 4:!-16, 1Cor. 12:1-3).

THE CHURCH

We believe that the true Church, which is the body and bride of Christ on earth, is composed of everyone who has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit through saving faith in Jesus Christ, who is its Lord and Head. God has called His Church to worship Him, to disciple believers and to proclaim the gospel to all the world.

We believe the local church is a fellowship of worshipping saints and composed of members of the true Church. We believe that every local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs. (Acts 2:41,42, 14:27, 20:1, 28:32; Rom 12:5; Eph 1:22,23, 3:21,4:11-13, 5:23-27; I Cor 12:12-14; II Cor 11:2; I Tim 3:1-3; II Tim 2:2; Tit 1:5-11)

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scripture. We seek:
• to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind, and
• to disciple to maturity those won to Christ both at home and to the ends of the earth. (Mk 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor 5:19, 20)

ORDINANCES

We believe that there are two ordinances: water baptism and The Lord’s Supper.
• Water Baptism: We believe in and shall practice believer’s baptism by immersion. It is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ and is therefore to be observed by individuals following salvation. Its purpose is to publicly demonstrate our identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to express our willingness to be obedient to our Lord’s command. (Mt 28:19,20; Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12, 35-38, 48, 16:15, 18:8; Col 2:12; Rom 6:1-14; I Pet 3:21)
• The Lord’s Supper: We believe that the Lord’s Supper is commanded by the Lord Jesus and is therefore to be observed by believers. It is for the commemoration of the Lord’s death. By partaking of the elements, which are symbolic of the blood and body of our Lord which were offered as a sacrifice for our sins, we proclaim His death until His return. (I Cor 11:23-29; Lu 22:19,20)

THE BELIEVER’S TWO NATURES

We believe every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old sin nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Since our old sin nature is never eradicated in this earthly life, it needs to be kept by the Spirit in constant subjection to Christ. (Rom 6:5-11, 8:2,4,12,13; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 4:22,32; Col 3:1-10; I Pet 1:14-16; I Jn 3:5-9)

SEPARATION

We believe separation from religious apostasy is commanded in the Scriptures. It is important for each believer to be discerning when dealing with those who deny the fundamentals of the faith. (II Cor 6:14-7:1; Jud 22,23; II Pet 2:1-8)

DEATH & ETERNAL LIFE

We believe that it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment will occur. (Heb 9:27)

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind; the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Mt 25:31-46; Jn 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. There in conscious bliss they await the Rapture when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Lu 23:43; II Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23, 3:21; I Thes 4:13-18; 1 Cor 15:35-54)

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery after death until the second resurrection. Then with spirit, soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire to suffer everlasting conscious torment. (Lu 16:19-26; Mt 25:41-46; II Thes 1:7-9; Jud 6:7; Mk 9:43-48; Rev 20:11-15)

CHRIST’S RETURN

We believe that previous to Christ’s return to this earth and prior to the tribulation, believers, both those who have fallen asleep in Jesus and those still living, shall be caught up to meet Christ in the air. This is commonly referred to as the Rapture of the Church. We believe in the personal, pre-millennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. These truths should have a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. (I Thes 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; II Thes 2:1-12; Zech 14:4-11; Jn 14:3; Acts 1:11; I Cor 15; Rev 1:7, 3:10, 19:11-16, 20: 1-6; 1 Jn 3:3)