THE SCRIPTURES
The entire Bible, all 66 books of the combined Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings. Through the providence of God, the Bible has been protected and preserved and is the only infallible, authoritative rule of faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
GOD
There is only one true, living, sovereign, holy, and eternally existent God. He exists in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each being a distinct person with a distinct function but all of one essence and all possessing the same nature, perfection, and attributes. The triune God is the creator and sustainer of all things, the source of all truth, and is worthy of absolute love, worship, trust, and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Genesis 1:31)
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed many miracles, shed His blood on the cross as a vicarious substitute, was buried, bodily resurrected, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return literally, visibly, and personally in glory and power. (John 1:1-3, 14; Matthew 1:18-25; Philippians 2:5-9; Colossians 1:15; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Acts 1:11)
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is God, co-existent with the Father and the Son. He convicts people of their sin and is the chief agent of regeneration and sanctification. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer and empowers every believer to live a godly life. Through His gift of the Holy Spirit, God equips each believer to know Him and accomplish His will. While every regenerated person is indwelt by the Holy Sprit, God commands His people to walk also in His daily fullness and power. (John 14:16-19, 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 8:9, 11; Titus 3:5; Eph. 4:11-16, 5:18)
HUMANITY
In the beginning God created people in His image. People were originally created with the ability to live perfectly for God’s glory. (Genesis 1:17, 31)
SIN
Adam, the first man, sinned by disobedience. This act resulted in the fall of all of humanity. Therefore, everyone has sinned and lost their ability to reflect God’s glory. Humanity’s fall has incurred both physical and spiritual death on all until an individual receives forgiveness and salvation by God’s grace. (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 3:10-23, 5:12-21, 6:23)
SALVATION
Salvation is a free gift of God’s grace apart from human works to all who believe. Salvation is based solely upon Christ’s vicarious and atoning death, effected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and received only through faith in the person and finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-19; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 20:29-31; 1 John 5:11-13)
ELECTION
Election means that those divinely chosen will be saved, but it alone does not save them. People are saved by God’s grace, as they trust in the substitutionary death of Christ. Individuals must repent, place their faith in Christ, and yield to Christ’s lordship to be saved. It is our belief that those truly saved will endure in their faith. (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:2; Romans 10:9-10, 13)
THE CHURCH
The church is the body of Christ and the family of God. It is the Bride of Christ. The church is made up of regenerate and baptized believers who regularly join together for worship, fellowship, and ministry. (Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 5:25-32; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Hebrews 10:25; Revelation 22:17)
EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS
It is the responsibility and privilege of every Christian to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to seek to make growing disciples. Believers are to take Christ’s gospel to the ends of the earth. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8)
THE HOME
We believe marriage is intended by God to be a lifelong union between a man and a woman and sexual relations are to be confined within the marriage relationship. (Gen. 2:18-25) God has given parents the responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Though the church is essential, the first responsibility for children’s spiritual well-being is the parents. Parents should not abdicate this responsibility. (Deuteronomy 6:5-9; Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4)
ETERNITY
People were created for eternity, not time. They will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To reside eternally with God is heaven. (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15)
BAPTISM AND LORD’S SUPPER
Jesus instructed His followers to remember His death and resurrection. He gave the church two visible symbols (called “ordinances”) as reminders. These are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Neither of these ordinances contains any saving grace. Baptism by immersion is a one-time act of obedient identification with Jesus as Lord. It serves as an outward sign of a conscious confession of repentance and faith. The Lord’s Supper is a symbol remembering our Lord’s death, burial, resurrection, and promised return. (Matthew 28:18-20; Matthew26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32)
If you have any questions regarding any of these statements, please contact us.
Updated on 3/4/2016