What We Believe

 

The Scriptures:

 

The Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired men and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth—without any mixture of error—for its matter. All Scripture is, therefore, totally true and trustworthy.

 

God:

 

There is only one true and living God. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, His perfect knowledge extending to all things—past, present, and future. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. He has revealed Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence, or being.

 

As Father, He reigns with providential care over His creation and the flow of human history according to His grace and eternal purpose. He is Father to all those of us who become His children through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

As the eternal Son of God incarnate, Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born to the virgin Mary—fully God and fully man. Honoring the divine law by His personal obedience, His substitutionary death on the cross made provision for the redemption of man from sin. He has been raised from the dead and is now exalted at the right hand of God in heaven, from which He will one day return in power and glory to judge the world and to complete His redemptive mission.

 

As the Holy Spirit, He exalts Christ; convicts of sin; draws men to the Saviour; seals and secures our salvation unto the day of final redemption; and enlightens and empowers both believer and church in worship, evangelism, and service.

 

Man:

 

Specially and uniquely created in the image of God, man was—in the beginning—innocent of sin but endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice by which he sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Having fallen from innocence, his posterity has inherited a nature inclined toward sin. Only the grace of God—through Christ—enables us to come back into fellowship with Him.

 

Salvation:

 

Involving the redemption of the whole man, salvation is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, Who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. While they often grieve the Spirit by falling into sin, true believers can never fall away from the state of grace but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, shall persevere and endure to the end—kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. There is NO salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ.

 

The Church and Her Mission:

 

The New Testament speaks of the Church as the universal Body of Christ, including all of the redeemed of all the ages—believers from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. It is the solemn and sacred duty and privilege of every follower and church of Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples from the same—until He comes again.

 

Ordinances:

 

We practice baptism by the immersion of a believer in water. This is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s death to sin, the burial of their former life, and resurrection to walk in a brand new way of life as a committed follower of Jesus Christ.

 

We observe the Lord’s Supper as a symbolic act of obedience through which we memorialize the death of our now-risen Redeemer and anticipate His second coming when He will return in glory for His Church.

 

Future Things:

 

In His own time and way, God will bring the world to its appropriate end. As promised, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and all mankind, living and dead, will face the judgment of Christ. 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 dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.