We believe the Bible is God’s Word to us in all that it teaches. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God–breathed. What the Bible says, God says. What the Bible implies, God implies.
2 TIMOTHY 3:16-17; 2 PETER 1:20-21; MATTHEW 5:18; 22:29-33; JOHN 16:12-13
We believe God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. There is one true Holy God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and equally possess all the attributes of deity and characteristics of personality. In the beginning, God created out of nothing the world and all the things therein.
GENESIS 1:1; 26-27, 3:22; PSALM 90:2; MATTHEW 28:19; 1 PETER 1:2; 2 CORINTHIANS 13:14
We believe Jesus Christ is completely human but, at the same time, completely God. He is the only plan for bringing people who are far from God back into a right relationship with God. He lived a perfect life, so that He could be a substitution for us in satisfying God’s demands for perfection. He defeated death in His resurrection so that we could have life.
ISAIAH 7:14; 53; MATTHEW 1:18-23, 3:17, 8:29, 14:33, 16:16, 28:5-6; LUKE 22:70, 24:46-47; JOHN 1:1, 14, 10:30, 11:25-27, 17:1-5; ACTS 1:9, 2:22-24, 7:55-56; ROMANS 1:3-4, 3:23-26, 8:1-3, 10:4; 1 CORINTHIANS 8:6; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11; COLOSSIANS 1:15, 2:9; 1 TIMOTHY 2:5-6, 3:16
We believe that the church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born–again persons. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control. We recognize believer’s baptism and the Lord’s supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church.
EPHESIANS 1:22-23, 5:25–27; 1 CORINTHIANS 12:12–14; 2 CORINTHIANS 11:2; ACTS 14:27, 18:22, 20:17; 1 TIMOTHY 3:1–3; TITUS 1:5–11; ACTS 13:1–4, 15:19–31, 20:28; ROMANS 16:1, 4; 1 CORINTHIANS 3:9, 16; 5: 4–7, 13; 1 PETER 5:1–4; MATTHEW 28:19-20; ACTS 2:41-42; 18:8; 1 CORINTHIANS 11:23–26
We believe man was created to exist forever. He will exist either eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is Heaven. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
JOHN 3:16, 36, ROMANS 6:23, 1 JOHN 2:25, 5:11-13, REVELATION 20:15
We believe The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
GENESIS 1:2; JUDGES 14:6; JOB 26:13; PSALMS 51:11, 139:7; ISAIAH 61:1-3; JOEL 2:28-32; MATTHEW 1:18, 3:16, 4:1, 12:28-32, 28:19; MARK 1:10,12; LUKE 1:35, 4:1,18-19, 11:13, 12:12, 24:49; JOHN 4:24, 14:16-17,26, 15:26, 16:7-14; ACTS 1:8, 2:1-4,38, 4:31, 5:3, 6:3, 7:55, 8:17,39, 10:44, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6, 19:1-6; ROMANS 8:9-11,14-16, 26-27; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:10-14, 3:16, 12:3-11,13; GALATIANS 4:6; EPHESIANS 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18; 1 THESSALONIANS 5:19; 1 TIMOTHY 3:16, 4:1; 2 TIMOTHY 1:14, 3:16; HEBREWS 9:8,14; 2 PETER 1:21; 1 JOHN 4:13; 5:6-7; REVELATION 1:10, 22:17
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin the 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.
GENESIS 1:26-27; ROMANS 3:22-23, 5:12; EPHESIANS 2:1–3, 12
We believe marriage as a simple yet profound covenant: one man and one woman, committing to each other for a lifetime. It’s a unique, God-ordained covenant that grows and sustains, reflecting the deep, enduring love Christ has for his Church. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. In God’s wisdom, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways.
GENESIS 2:15-24, EPHESIANS 5: 22-33