What We Believe

I. The Scriptures

We believe the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God. It was written by men under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is inerrant and infallible, and is the ultimate authority for faith and life.

(2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Ps. 19:7-10)

II. God

We believe there is only one God. He is the creator, redeemer, preserver and ruler of all things. God is all-powerful and all-knowing. He is perfect, infinite, and sovereign. To Him alone we owe our highest love, reverence and obedience.

(Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)

III. The Trinity

We believe God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit each having distinct personal attributes and functions, but without division of nature, essence or being. (Exod. 20:2; John 20:28; Acts 5:3-4)

IV. Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God. He is fully God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. He took on a human nature, without ceasing to be God. He lived a life without sin and perfectly fulfilled the law of God. He suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, rose again, and ascended to His Father's right hand. There He intercedes for His people. (John 1:1-2, 14, 18; Luke 1:34-35; Rom. 3:24-26; 8:34)

V. The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the fully divine Spirit of God. Through illumination He enables people to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to Christ, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows spiritual gifts. He enlightens and empowers believers and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. He also inspired the writers of the Scriptures to record the Word of God. (John 14:16-17; 16:7-11; 1 Cor. 3:16; 12:4-13; Eph. 5:18)

VI. Mankind

We believe man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. Man was created innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. (Gen. 1:26-30; 3:1-24; Rom. 3:10-18; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3)

VII. Salvation

We believe salvation involves the redemption of the whole man. It is the gift of God given freely to all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

A. Regeneration, the new birth, is a work of God's grace through which believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart brought about by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is trusting in Jesus Christ and being fully committed to Him as Lord and Savior.

B. Justification is God's declaration of righteousness for all sinners who repent and believe in Jesus. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.

C. Sanctification is the process of being set apart for God's purposes, and the progression toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final state of the redeemed.

(2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9; Phil. 1:6; 2:12-13; Tit. 2:11-14)

VIII. Election

We believe election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is completely consistent with the free agency of man. However, man's choice in no way diminishes God's sovereignty. Election is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility. (John 6:44-45, 65; 10:27-29; Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:4-23; 2 Thess. 2:13-14)

IX. Last Things

We believe God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will live forever in Heaven with the Lord. (Matt. 25:31-46; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 4:13-18)

X. The Church

We believe the local church of our Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the Body of Christ which includes the redeemed of all ages.

(Matt. 16:15-19; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23)

XI. Ordinances

We believe Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus.

We Believe the Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience through which members of the church, by partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of Christ and anticipate His second coming.(Matt. 28:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)

XII. The Lord's Day

We believe the first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Rev. 1:10)