God
We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each possessing all of God’s attributes.
The Son of God
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the one and only eternal Son of God, became fully human without ceasing to be fully God. He was born of the Virgin Mary. After living a sinless life, Jesus died on the cross, and rose bodily from the tomb. He then ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He intercedes for His people as their Advocate, High Priest, and Mediator.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is one in essence with God the Father and God the Son, and is the third person of the Godhead who spoke through the prophets and moved men to write God-breathed Scriptures. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and gives spiritual life to those who were spiritually dead, enabling them to believe in Christ. The Holy Spirit immerses all believers into one body of Christ, and indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, empowers them to serve Christ, and leads them into an increasingly correct understanding of the truth of Christ, and constrains them to become holy in their conduct.
The Bible
We believe that the 66 books contained in the Bible are all of the God-breathed writings there are. All of the words of Scripture in their original writing were inerrant. We can have great confidence that the original writings are faithfully represented by good translations today. Such translations are authoritative, and sufficient for right living. We believe that the Scriptures are able to make people wise for salvation which is in Christ Jesus, for spiritual vitality and growth, and for knowing God’s will. The Scriptures are clear enough to be understood with careful study so that people are accountable to obey them. We believe that the application of the Old Testament writings must be done according to the New Testament writers and that the New Testament writings must be understood in Old Testament terms. In this way all the words of Scripture must be believed and obeyed.
Creation
God initially created all things; visible and invisible, by His word, out of nothing. He also initially created each and every kind of reproducing plant and animal that has ever existed.
Humanity
We believe that God initially created Adam and Eve as individuals, without parents, from whom all other human beings are descended. He created them sinless and in the image of God . Yet they fell into the state of sin through their disobedience, so that every person is now born spiritually dead, both by heredity, and eventually by their own personal actions. Therefore, every person is in need of forgiveness and eternal life from God in order to escape the condition of eternal death and to be counted right with God. Human beings are incapable of remedying this lost sinful condition without God’s gracious intervention in their lives.
The Eternal State
Every believer who dies comes before the Judgment seat of Christ to be rewarded for the deeds done in the body whether good or bad. They then continue in Christ’s presence forever blameless with great joy. Believers also receive incorruptible and immortal bodies at the resurrection and so continue to be with the Lord forever. Unbelievers also continue to have a self conscious bodily existence after physical death. However, unbelievers will experience a state of punishment away from the presence of the Lord forever in the lake of fire.
The Return of Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ will return to earth visibly and in a way similar to the way in which He ascended. In His time, God will “make all things new” by establishing righteousness and eliminating all sin, sorrow, and death in heaven and earth forever. We allow for a variety of ideas regarding Christ’s coming, except those contradicting the fact that there will be a visible and real personal return of the same Jesus who ascended in the first century.
Salvation
Salvation is the loving work of God from initiation to completion, and consists of deliverance from partaking in God’s righteous condemnation which is due to each person on account of their sins. This salvation is possessed by everyone who believes in Jesus’ saving death and resurrection. God provided the gracious and perfect substitutionary sacrifice of Christ as full payment for the penalty of our sins. Belief in Christ and His saving work is the way that people receive forgiveness, and eternal life from God, which is for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior. This salvation is a free gift, and not the result of good works, so that it may bring glory to God. Every believer will eventually be glorified by receiving a new body and also the inward character of the Son of God.
Sin
We believe that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Even though believers have new power to avoid sin, we believe that even believers will continue to sin in this life. We believe that the sins of unbelievers result in God’s condemnation and wrath, but that the sins of believers result in God’s corrective discipline. Although all sin deserves death and is equally wrong, not all sin is equally damaging, informed, willful, or depraved. Therefore church discipline, according to Scripture, may vary to fit the nature of each sin. Healthy, normal Christian growth should bring increasing freedom from sinful thoughts, words, and deeds.
Sanctification
Sanctification means that every believer is “set apart holy for God.” Although sanctification is a fact from the first moment of faith, believers are also called to participate in sanctification as a continual part of a process in which they progress in purity and consistency in righteous behavior and thinking. This process is God’s will for every believer and continues throughout our lives until we are glorified. Our sanctification is improved by such things as enduring suffering, meditation upon the Scriptures, the cultivation of Christian virtues, selfless service, spiritual alertness, obedience to God, mutual submission, drawing close to God, exertion and struggle, hard work, and self-denial, over time.
Eternal Security
Eternal security is a theological fact for the believer because justification is not contingent upon anything other than faith in the Christ of Scripture. Everyone who knows and agrees that Jesus actually is the eternal Son of God who died for their sins and rose from the dead can know that they are forgiven, and have eternal life, which they possessed from their first moment of faith in Him.
The Church
We believe that the church is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ, and is called the Body of Christ, and the Household of God. The church manifests itself on earth in local churches where the biblical gospel is preached and the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper) are practiced. The mission of the church is to make disciples through worship that honors God, Bible education which transforms lives, fellowship that enhances oneness, evangelism that persuades people of the truth of Christ, and service that helps people. Every member plays a special part in this mission. The church is responsible to restore its erring members in a spirit of gentleness, whenever anyone clearly strays from the teachings of Scripture or persists in sinful behavior.
All of our ‘Statement of Beliefs’ are directly out of the Bible, if you would like these Bible references please give us a call and we will gladly e mail a copy of this statement complete with references.