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What We Believe
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible is God’s coherent and complete revelation of Himself to humanity. Its very words of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek bear the mark of divine inspiration and are our all-sufficient rule of faith and practice, authoritative “for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”; Christ focused; inerrant in the original manuscripts; and correctly interpreted through a consistent literal-historical-grammatical methodology (Mt. 5:17-18; Jn 16:12-15; 2 Ti. 3:15-17; 2 Pe. 1:20-21).
2. The Godhead
We believe there is one, and only one, living and triune God, existing eternally in three coequal and coeternal Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), who share the exact same attributes, power, glory, and essence. We believe that God as Father exercises sovereign rule over all creation as part of and consistent with the essence and attributes of deity (Dt. 6:4; Ps. 24:1; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Co. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3).
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3. Total Depravity of Humanity
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We believe that Adam (the first man) and Eve (the first woman) were created perfect in body, soul, and spirit according to the image and likeness of God. Through one act of personal sin they died spiritually, acquiring a sin nature, which is transmitted through Adam to every member of the human race. This sin nature causes all humans to be born alive physically yet dead spiritually (the soul being in a state of total depravity), leaving them helpless to produce an eternal relationship with God apart from the saving work of Christ on the cross and God’s policy of grace (Ge. 1:26-27; Is. 64:6; Ro. 3:10-17, 22-23; 5:12; Eph. 2:8-9).
4. Person and Work of Christ
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We believe the Lord Jesus Christ (the eternal Son of God) became fully man without ceasing to be fully God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful humanity. Arriving at the cross in a state of impeccability, having never sinned, He accomplished our redemption through His godforsaken death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all humanity. We believe that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that the Lord Jesus Christ is now seated in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God; He is the Head of the Church (which is His body) and intercedes for those who believe, functioning as their High Priest and Advocate (Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1-2, 14; Ro. 3:24-25; 4:25; 8:34; He. 7:25; 9:24; 1 Pe. 1:3-5; 1 Jn. 2:1-2).
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5. Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Godhead who began an unprecedented ministry during this age, which began on the day of Pentecost. This special ministry encompasses convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; restraining evil to some degree; baptizing all believers into the body of Christ; permanently indwelling and sealing believers unto the day of redemption; empowering believers to execute the spiritual life through filling and teaching. We believe that the Holy Spirit’s unique ministry during this age will terminate at the resurrection of the Church (Jn. 14:26; Acts 2:1-4; Ro. 8:9; 1 Co. 12:12-14; 2 Co. 1:22; Eph. 1:13-14; 5:18; 2 Ths. 2:7).
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We believe that spiritual gifts are given to believers in order for the Church to function properly. God the Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes these gifts to the church-age believer at the moment of salvation. The spiritual gifts include but are not limited to: pastor-teacher, evangelist, administration, giving, helps, mercy, and prayer. We believe that certain spiritual gifts—namely tongues, the interpretation of tongues, and apostleship—were terminated at the completion of the canon of Scripture and are no longer legitimately functioning today (1 Co. 12:1-31; 13:10).
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation comes to the sinner only by faith alone in Christ alone. Salvation (which is the same in every age) is based solely on the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and can be received only through personal faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe that the power of the proclaimed Word of God coupled with the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit frees the human will from its depraved state, so that a person can believe in Christ. When a he or she believes, God makes them alive toward Him and imputes eternal life and divine righteousness to the person.
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Salvation is both a completed and an ongoing activity. Regeneration (new birth) and justification (forgiveness and imputation of divine righteousness) are completed at the moment of faith alone in Christ alone. Sanctification (growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ) is the responsibility of the believer and continues throughout the believer’s life on earth, terminating in glorification at the resurrection of the Church (Jn. 1:12; Acts 4:12; 16:31; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pe. 3:18).
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7. Spirituality
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We believe that spirituality is an absolute condition in the life of a believer in this age wherein the believer is filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Holy Spirit is the sole means by which the spiritual life is executed. We believe that spirituality is distinct from maturity, that a believer becomes carnal through any act of mental, verbal, or overt sin, and that spirituality (fellowship with Christ) is restored solely by personal confession of that sin to God the Father (Jn. 15:7-8; Ro. 6:11-13; 1 Co. 11:30-31; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:18; 1 Jn. 1:9).
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8. The Eternal Security of Believers
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We believe there is no sin that a believer can commit or creature powerful enough to cancel the salvation God has accomplished, so that all believers are eternally secure in their salvation. All true believers of this age will be glorified at the resurrection of the Church, having been kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation (Jn. 10:27-30; Ro. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Co. 1:4-8; 1 Pe. 1:5; 1 Jn. 5:13).
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9. Marriage
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We believe marriage is a divine institution that unites in covenant commitment one man and one woman for a lifetime. The Christian marriage is a spiritual institution that unites for life a man and a woman who have each expressed personal faith in Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. United as one, they become a corporate testimony to the world of the Church’s eternal relationship with Christ: the Church’s reciprocal love and enduring respect for Christ expressed through the testimony of the wife and Christ’s unconditional love and enduring devotion to the Church expressed through the testimony of the husband (Ge. 1:27-28; 2:20-24; Eccl. 9:9; Mt 19:4-6; 1 Co. 7:1-4; 2 Co. 6:14-16; Eph. 5:22-33).
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10. The Church
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We believe that the universal Church, which is now the Body and will be the Bride of Christ, is composed only of church-age (from Pentecost until the Resurrection) believers, who are united to the Body through the baptism of the Holy Spirit regardless of gender, race, national origin, or denominational membership (1 Co. 12:12-14; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
We believe the local, visible New Testament church is an autonomous assembly of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, who observe the two ordinances of Christ, and whose officers are Elders and Deacons (Eph. 4:11-12; 1 Ti. 3:1-13; Tit. 1:5-9).
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11. The Church Ordinances of Believer’s Baptism and Lord’s Supper
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We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in Christ to symbolize the believer’s identification with the death (payment for sins), burial (rejection of self-righteous works), and resurrection (acceptance of divine works) of Christ and to declare his or her commitment to Christ and His church. Every believer is mandated to be baptized. As a church ordinance, baptism is prerequisite to local church membership and observance of the Lord’s Supper (Mt. 28:19-20).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper. The unleavened bread symbolizes the sacrifice of His sinless life, and the fruit of the vine symbolizes the atoning work of His substitutionary spiritual death on the cross. Every believer is mandated to observe the Lord’s Supper until His return (1 Co. 11:23-26).
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12. The Person of Satan and His Fallen Angels
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We believe the first beings God created were supernatural beings called angels. Lucifer was the highest ranking of these beings and through his pride committed the first sin. One-third of the angelic beings chose to follow him. We believe that God rendered a judgment of eternal condemnation in the lake of fire on these beings in eternity past; and, upon this judgment, though under appeal, Lucifer inherited the name of Satan and his followers became classified as demons. We believe that Satan is the author of sin, the enemy of both God and humans; he has access to God for accusing the saints and is currently ruler of the world. We believe that Satan will be barred from God’s throne room and cast down to earth; he will be bound in the abyss for 1,000 years during the millennial reign of Christ, released for a short period of time, then thrown forever into the lake of fire (Job 1:6-7; 38:4-6; Is. 14:12-14; Mt. 4:1-11; 7:22; 25:41; Jn. 12:31; 1 Pe. 5:8; Re. 12:7-9; 20:1-3, 10).
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13. The Blessed Hope
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We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself the dead in Christ (who will be resurrected) and believers who are alive at His coming, otherwise known as the rapture of the Church. This blessed hope is just as imminent now as it was during the Apostolic Era (1 Co. 15:51-57; 1 Ths. 4:13-18; Tit. 2:11-14).
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14. The Second Coming of Christ
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We believe in the physical, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth, where He will personally and visibly reign over the nations in His millennial kingdom. He will lift the curse that now rests upon the whole creation, restore Israel to her own land, and fulfill the unconditional biblical covenants promised to her.
No one can know with certainty the timing of the Lord’s return. Until He returns, the Church will endure general tribulation, but by means of the Holy Spirit will have great power and victory in praying for and working toward an abundant harvest of souls (Dt. 30:1-10; Is.11:9; Eze. 37:21-28; Zec. 14:4-11; Mt. 25:31-46; 2 Ths. 1:7-10; Re. 20:1-6).
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15. The Eternal State
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We believe the soul and human spirit of each person who has believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death pass immediately into His presence and remain there in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming. We believe the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final Great White Throne judgment at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited will be judged on the basis of their deeds (self-righteous good works) and cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Lk. 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Co. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 2 Ths. 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Re. 20:11-15).