What We Believe

The Holy Scriptures

We believe that all Scripture, which is comprised of 39 Old Testament and 27 New Testament books, “is given by inspiration of God,” by which we understand the whole Bible is inspired in the sense that “holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. We believe that this divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the writing—historical, poetical, doctrinal and prophetical—as appeared in the original manuscripts. We believe that all the Scriptures center about the Lord Jesus Christ in His Person and work in His first and second coming, and hence that no portion, even of the Old Testament, is properly read or understood, until it leads to Him. We also believe that all the Scriptures were designed for our practical instruction. (Mark 12:26,36;13:11; Luke 24:27,44; John 5:39; Acts 1:16; 17:2,3; 18:28; 26:22-23; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 2:13; 10:11; 2 Tm. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)

The Trinity

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three Persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit—and that these three are one God’ having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Heb. 1:1-3; 1 Peter 1:2-3; Rev. 1:4-6)

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

• 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 men. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35)
• We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 2 Peter 1:3-4)
• We believe that 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; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:35; 1 John 2:1-2)

The Holy Spirit

• We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the blessed Trinity, though omnipresent from all eternity took up His abode in the world in a special sense on the day of Pentecost according to the divine promise, dwells in our body, and that He, as the indwelling One, is the source of all power and all acceptable worship and service. We believe that He never takes His departure from the church, nor from the feeblest of the saints, but is ever present to testify of Christ; seeking to occupy believers with Him and not with themselves, nor with their experiences. We believe that His abode in the world in this special sense will cease when Christ comes to receive His own at the completion of the church. (John 14:16-17; 16:7-15; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 2:22; 2 Thess. 2:7)
• We believe that, in this age, certain well-defined ministries are committed to the Holy Spirit, and that it is the duty of every Christian to understand them and to be adjusted to them in his own life and experience. These ministries are the restraining of evil in the world to the measure of the divine will; the convicting of the world respecting sin, righteousness and judgment; the regenerating of all believers; the indwelling and anointing of all who are saved; and the continued filling for power, teaching and service of those among the saved who are yielded to Him and who are subject to His will. (John 3:6; 16:7-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30; 5:18; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 John 2:20-27)
• We believe that some gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and miraculous healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism, nor of the filling of the Spirit, and that the deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection. (Acts 4:8, 31; Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 13:8)
• We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; 1 John 5:11-15)

Mankind

• We believe that man was originally created in the image and after the likeness of God, and that he fell through sin, and as a consequence of his sin, lost his spiritual life, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, and that he became influenced by the devil. We also believe that his spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race of man, the man Christ Jesus alone being excepted; and hence, that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of divine life but is unable to please God. (Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 6:5; Ps. 14:1-3; 51:5; Jer. 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:53; Rom. 3:10-19; 8:6-7; Eph. 2:1-4; 1 Tim. 5:6; 1 John 3:8)
• We believe God established marriage to be a lifelong covenant relationship between one man and one woman. Marriage so defined is the only permissible context for intimate sexual expression and is the foundation for the human family. We believe that human life is sacred and precious from conception until death and should always be protected. We believe God assigned every person gender (male or female) at conception. We further believe that every human being is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life. (Gen. 1:26-31; 2:7, 22; 5:1-2; 9:6; Ps.100:3; 119:73; Isa. 45:12; Acts 17:26-28; Ps.51:5; Ps.139:13-16; Jer.1:5; Gen. 2:23, 24; Matt.19:4-6; 1 Tim. 3:2)

Salvation

• We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Moreover, we believe that, owing to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again; and that no degree of reformation, however great, no attainments in morality, however high, no culture, however attractive, no baptism or other ordinances, however administered, can help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven; but a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those saved are sons of God. We believe, also, that our redemption has been accomplished solely by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who was made to be sin and was made a curse for us, dying in our stead.
• We believe that the new birth of the believer comes only through faith in Christ, and that repentance is a vital part of believing, and is in no way in itself a separate and independent condition of salvation; nor are any other acts, such as confession, baptism, prayer, or faithful service to be added to believing as a condition of salvation. (Lev. 17:11; Isa. 64:6; Matt. 26:28; Rom. 5:6-9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13, 22; 6:15; Eph. 1:7; 2: 8-10; Phil. 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19, 23; Jn. 1:12; 3:5, 16, 18, 36; 5:24; 6:29; Acts 13:39; 16:31; Rom. 1:16-17; 3:22-26; 4:5; 10:4)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

• We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; 17:23; Acts 13:39; Rom. 5:1; 8:1, 38, 39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5; 1 John 5:11-13)
• We believe, moreover, that God is a holy and righteous Father, and that, since He cannot overlook the sin of His children, He will, when they persistently sin, chasten them and correct them in infinite love; but having undertaken to save them and keep them forever, apart from human merit, He , who cannot fail, will in the end, present every one of them faultless before the presence of His glory and conformed to the image of His Son. (Heb. 7:25; 12:5; Jude 24)
• We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through faith in Christ as revealed in the Scriptures, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom. 13:13,14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification, which is the setting apart unto God, is threefold; it is already complete for every saved person because his position toward God is the same as Christ’s position. Since the believer is in Christ, he is set apart unto God. We believe, however, that he retains this sin nature, which cannot be eradicated in this life. Therefore, while the standing of the Christian in Christ is perfect, his present state is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There is, therefore, a progressive sanctification wherein the Christian is to “grow in grace”, and to “be changed” by the unhindered power of the Spirit. We believe, also that the child of God will yet be fully sanctified in his state as he is now sanctified in his standing in Christ when he shall see his Lord and shall be “like Him”. (John 17:17; 2 Cor. 3:18; 7:1; Eph. 4:24; 5:25-27; 1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 10:10, 14; 12:10)

Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God. (2 Tim 3:1-5; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1)

The Great Commission

We believe that it is the explicit message of our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved, that they are sent forth by Him into the world even as He was sent forth of His Father into the world. We believe that, after they are saved, they are divinely reckoned to be related to this world as strangers and pilgrims, ambassadors and witnesses, and that their primary purpose in life should be to make Christ known to the whole world. (Matt. 28:19:20; Mark 16:15; John 17:18; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:18-20; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:11)

The Church

• We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age; that it began at Pentecost and is completely distinct from Israel. Its members are constituted as such, regardless of membership or non-membership in the organized churches of earth (Matt. 16:16- 18; Acts 2:42-47; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:3-10; Col. 3:14, 15)
• We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

The Ordinances

We believe that two ordinances are significant above any others that Christians are given in scripture. Christians are commanded to observe these two; namely, WATER BAPTISM and the LORD’S SUPPER. While recognizing that Water Baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, Baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world the believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. It is our conviction that the Scriptural method of Water Baptism is by immersion. All believers are to be baptized in order to be obedient to God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Lord’s death until He comes; wherein the symbols are bread and the fruit of the vine; and that it also depicts the believer’s constant dependency upon Christ. (Matt. 28:19; Luke 22:19,20; Acts 10:47-48; 16:32-33; 18:7-8; 1 Cor. 11:26)

Dispensationalism

We believe in the dispensational view of Bible Interpretation, but reject the extreme teaching known as “Hyper-dispensationalism”, such as that teaching which opposes either the Lord’s Table or Water Baptism as a Scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age. (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-41; 18:8; 1 Cor. 11:23-26; 2 Tim. 2:15; Eph. 2:7; 3:2-9)

Angels, Fallen and Unfallen

• We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless spiritual beings, known as angels; that one, “Lucifer, son the morning”—the highest in rank—sinned through pride, thereby becoming Satan; that a great company of the angels followed him in his moral fall, some of whom became demons and are active as his agents and associated in the prosecution of his unholy purposes, while others who fell are “reserved In everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezek. 28:11-19;1 Tim. 3:6; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6)
• We believe that Satan is the originator of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; that in his warfare, he appears as an angel of light, even counterfeiting the works of God by fostering religious movements and systems of doctrine, which systems in every case are characterized by a denial of the efficacy of the blood of Christ and of salvation by grace alone. (Gen. 3:1-19; Rom. 5:12-14; 2 Cor. 4:3-4; 11:13-15; Eph. 6:10-12; 2 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim.
• We believe that Satan was judged at the cross, though not then executed, and that he, an usurper, now rules as the “god of this world”, that, at the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years, and after the thousand years, he will be loosed for a little season, and then “cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,” where he “shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Col. 2:15; Rev. 20:1-3,10)
• We believe that a great company of angels kept their holy estate and are before the throne of God, from whence they are sent forth as ministering spirits to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. (Luke 15:10; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 1:14; Rev. 7:11-12)

The Rapture

We believe that, according to the Word of God, the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto His coming; and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that this even is the blessed hope set before us in the Scriptures, and for this we should be constantly looking. (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14)

The Tribulation

We believe that the translation of the church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel’s seventieth week (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:1-19:21) during which the church, the body of Christ will be in heaven. The whole period of Israel’s seventieth week will be a time of judgment on the whole earth, at the end of which the time of the Gentiles will be brought to a close. The latter half of this period will be the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jer. 30:7), which our Lord called the great tribulation (Matt. 24:15-21). We believe that universal righteousness will not be realized previous to the second coming of Christ, but that the world is day by day ripening for judgment and that the age will end with a fearful apostasy. (2 Tim.3:1-5)

The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ with His saints to the earth as He went, in person on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory, to introduce the Millennial Age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests upon the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land, and to give her the realization of God’s covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God. (Deut. 30:1-10; Isa. 11:9; Ezek. 37:21-28; Matt. 24:15-25, 46; Acts 15:16-17; Rom, 8:19-23; 1:25-27; 1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; Rev. 20:1-3)

The Eternal State

We believe that, at death, the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence. There they remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for His own, whereupon soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory. However, the spirits and souls of the unbelieving remain after death, conscious of condemnation, and in misery unto the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be 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. (Luke 16:19-16; 23:42; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)