THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be verbally inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible in the original writings, and God-breathed, and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to man.  The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the pastor. II Tim 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21.

THE GODHEAD

We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.  Deut 6:4; Matt 28:19; John 14:10, 26; II Cor 13:14.

THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man.  Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:34-35; 2 Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Phil 2:5-8.
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5.
3. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24-25, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2.

THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. We believe the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts of sin and of righteousness and judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. John 16:8-11; II Cor 3:6; I Co 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Eph 1:13-14.
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures, and that it is the duty and privilege of all the saved to be filled with the spirit.  John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Ephesians 1:17-18, 5:18.

THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and of himself utterly unable to redeem his lost condition. Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3,12, 4:17-19.

SALVATION

We believe that all are born sinners. We believe that Salvation is a free gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on the cross at Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Repentance for one’s sins and faith in Jesus Christ are the necessities of which one must believe whereby he can receive salvation. All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are forgiven, regenerated, and justified forever. John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; I Peter 1:18-19.

THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS

1. We believe that once a person is saved, they are kept by God’s power and remain secure in Christ forever. We believe that salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-efforts of the Christian. John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Cor 1:4-8; Phil 1:6; I Peter 1:5; Jude 24-25.
2. We believe that it is the privilege of the believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15.

THE TWO NATURES OF THE BELIEVER

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural.  Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9.

SEPARATION

We believe that believers should maintain a godly testimony and live in such a way that their lives do not bring reproach upon their Savior. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations. We stand against any and all worldly philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of Biblical Christianity and that attempt to compromise with unbelief. Personal holiness and ecclesiastical purity of fellowship are essential to reflecting the holiness of God. Separation should always be done in brotherly love and for the glory of God.  (II Tim 3:1-5; Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-10; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).

MISSIONS

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to   witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Cor 5:19-20.

THE MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

We believe that God is sovereign in the equipping of every believer for the work of the ministry today through evangelists and pastor/teachers. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary.  Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit.  Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, although God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of the believers for physical healing. Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor 1:22, 12:4-11, 28, 13:8; 14:21-22; Eph 4:7-12. 

THE CHURCH

1. We believe that the local church, which is the body, and the espoused bride of Christ is solely made up of born-again believers, voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, fellowship of the believers, spiritual growth, and service. We believe that the church is the center of God’s program for this age. Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27; I Cor 12:12-14; II Cor 11:2.
2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of the local churches are clearly taught and defined in the New Testament.  Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11.
3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or controls, and any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies that this church affiliates with to further the objectives stated in the purpose statement are not authoritative in matters of church practice or belief. On all matters of membership, policy, governance, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the church is final, while maintaining that the one and only true head of the church is Christ, through the Holy Spirit.  (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Cor 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
4. We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor 11:23-26)
5. We believe that the church is distinct from Israel.

DISPENSATIONALISM

We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life that define man’s responsibilities in successive ages.  These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations – the law, the church, and the kingdom – are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. We believe in the dispensational view of the Bible method of interpretation but reject the extreme teaching which opposes either the Lord’s Supper or Water Baptism as Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age.  Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:8; I Cor 11:23-26.; Gen 1:28; 1 Cor 9:17; 2 Cor 3:9-18; Gal 3:13-25; Eph 1:10, 3:2-10; Col 1:24-25, 27; Rev 20:2-6.

THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man, and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.  Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; Revelation 20:10.

THE SECOND ADVENT OF CHRIST

We believe in that “Blessed Hope”, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom, which was promised to the nation of Israel.  Zech14:4-11, I Thess 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Titus 2:13; Rev 19:11-16; 20:1-6; Rev 3:10.

THE ETERNAL STATE

1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and the everlasting punishment.  Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6,12-13.
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they wait the first resurrection, when soul and body are united to be glorified forever with the Lord.  Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Cor 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thess 4:16-17.
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Luke 16:19-26; Matt 25:41-46; II Thess 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev 20:11-15).

HUMAN SEXUALITY

1. one naturally born man and one naturally born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Lev 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Cor 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess 4:1-8; Heb 13:4).
2. biblical marriage is the joining of one naturally born man and one naturally born woman for life. (gen 2:24; Rom 7:2; 1 Cor 7:10; Eph 5:22-23)

FAMILY RELATIONS

1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Gal 3:28; Col 3:18; 1 Tim 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12).
2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.  The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.  The wife is to submit to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ.  Children are the heritage from the Lord.  Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline. (Gen 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deut 6:4-9; Ps 127:3-5; Prov 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Cor 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col 3:18-21; Heb 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7).

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies.  Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication.  Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Mal 2:14-17; Matt 19:3-12; Rom 7:1-3; 1 Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)

CREATION

We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God’s creation of the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods.  We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen 1-2; Exodus 20:11)

CIVIL GOVERNMENT

Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no

institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to our faith at which time, we must obey God rather than the state. (Matt. 22:15-22; Acts 5:29; Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Titus 3:1-2; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)

ABORTION

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth, or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

EUTHANASIA

We believe that the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus, we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment. (Ex. 20:13, 23:7; Matt. 5:21; Acts 17:28)

LOVE

We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)

LAWSUIT BETWEEN BELIEVERS

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32; Matt. 18:15-17)

MISSIONS

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)

GIVING

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)