From the time of the Apostles to today, Christians have laid out doctrine (beliefs) in brief, definitive statements. As those who know God, we believe it necessary to set forth in a concise fashion the cornerstone truths of our church as guided by Scripture. Our Doctrinal Statement summarizes Christian beliefs we believe to be essential, guides our unity in Christ, guards the church from error, and demonstrates our agreement with Christians throughout history.
I. The Word of God
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, consisting of the sixty six books of the Old and New Testaments, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20, 21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31, 32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32.
II. The Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God, Creator of heaven and earth, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption. Rather than being part of what He has created, God is above and beyond His creation. Yet He is intimately involved with what He has made. Genesis 1:1, 26; John 1:1, 3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19, 20; Ephesians 4:5, 6; Isaiah 57:15.
III. God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ. Luke 10:21,22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; I Timothy 1:1, 2; 2:5, 6; I Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6.
IV. The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe that God’s eternal, divine Son became a human being in the man, Jesus Christ, without ceasing to be God. We believe in his miraculous conception by means of the Holy Spirit, virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death on the cross, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal, visible return to earth. Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Romans 9:5; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9,10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; I Timothy 3:16.
V. The Holy Spirit
We believe in the eternal, divine Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells and seals every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. We believe that the Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts to every believer for the building up of his church. John 14:16,17,26; 15:26,27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 12:7-13; Galatians 5:22-26.
VI. Man
We believe that God created man in His own image and in a condition of original righteousness. But man sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God. As a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under just condemnation by God. Genesis 1:26; 5:2; Genesis 3; Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 6:23; II Thessalonians 1:9.
VII. Marriage, Sexuality and Gender
We believe that God wonderfully, biologically and unchangeably creates each person as male or female, and that these two distinct, complementary genders both reflect the image and nature of God. We believe that God created marriage to be exclusively the union of one man and one woman, and that intimate sexual activity is to occur only within that union. Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18-25; I Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; I Thessalonians 4:3-6; Hebrews 13:4.
VIII. Salvation
We believe that by His perfect obedience to God and by His suffering and death on the cross, Jesus Christ obtained forgiveness of sins and the gift of perfect righteousness for all who trust in Christ for salvation. Through living a perfect life and dying in our place, Christ bore our punishment, appeased the wrath of God against us, vindicated the righteousness of God in our justification, and removed the condemnation of the law against us. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become new creatures, delivered from condemnation and receive eternal life. We believe that salvation is the free gift of God to unworthy sinners by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone and not the result of man’s good works. Romans 5:18-19; Colossians 1:14; Romans 3:22-26; 5:9; 8:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9.
IX. The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has given` the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-21; Acts 2:41-42; Hebrews 10:23-25.
X. The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to exhibit the central facts of the gospel in a visual manner. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God to symbolize union with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-26.
XI. The Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked. Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:15; II Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 4:5; I Corinthians 15; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4- 6,11-15.