We believe that all Scripture, the Old and New Testament of the Bible, was given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
We believe inspiration means that God breathed the very words of Scripture, and it is inerrant in the original writings. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the author of Scripture and that it is the only complete and final revelation from God and is the supreme standard of all faith and practice (I Corinthians 2:9-13; 2 Peter 1:21).
We believe there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, sovereign Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love (Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4).
We believe that in the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of Creation and redemption (Matthew 28:18-19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
We believe in the absolute Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Eternal Son of God who became man when He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:34-35).
We believe He did not cease to be God when He became man, but was the unique God-man; He lived a sinless life and died on the Cross for our sins as our substitute and paid the penalty of our sins, that He rose again the third day accomplishing our redemption (John 1:1, 14; I Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; 4:15.)
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father, as our Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 7:25-26).
We believe in the Deity of the Holy Spirit with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the Creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world, He restrains evil until God’s purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment (John 14:16-17; 16:7-11).
We believe that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and teaching; that He is the agent of the New Birth (John 3:5-6; 14:26).
We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells, seals, fills, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer (John 16:13-15; I Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18; Romans 8:16, 26-27).
We believe that God created man in His own image, that man was created with a spiritual nature that will never die, and that man came into the world by direct creation of God, not by evolution.
We believe that man was created in innocence, but Adam, by voluntary choice and transgression, fell from his sinless state, that men as his descendants are now born in sin and are sinners by choice, and therefore under condemnation without defense or excuse before God (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; 3:1-6; Romans 1:18; 3:10-12, 23; 5:12, 19).
We believe that in Adam’s sin, the entire human race fell into sin, inherited a sinful nature, and the whole race became alienated from God and became spiritually dead (Romans 5:12, 19; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3).
We believe that man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his sinful condition (Romans 3:10-12, 23).
We believe salvation involves a repentance toward God and a turning in faith to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 20:21).
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, that it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast (Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-9).
We believe that every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ receives everlasting life and can know it based on the testimony of God’s Word (I John 5:10-13).
We believe that all who are saved are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-29, 38-39; I Peter 1:3-5).
We believe the Church universal is a New Testament institution, unknown to the Old Testament prophets, and established by Jesus Christ Who is its sole Head (Matthew 16:16-18; Ephesians 3:2-11, 21).
We believe the Church which is His Body was revealed through the holy Apostles, empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit, composed of all believers in Jesus Christ as Savior, called out from the world and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and will be consummated at the coming of Christ at the Rapture (Acts 1:8; 2:1-6, 41-47; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:20-23; I Thessalonians 4:13-18).
We believe the local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gift, rights, and privileges invested in it by His Word (Acts 16:5; I Corinthians 1:2; 7:17; 11:16, 23-26; 14:33).
We believe that its officers are pastors and deacons; that it has the absolute right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit and is answerable only to Jesus Christ; that in all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline and benevolence, the will of the local church is final (Matthew 18:15-17; I Timothy 3:1-15).
We believe that the ordinances of the local church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe Believer’s baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior. It also signifies the burial of his old life and his walking in newness of life in Christ Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5). We believe Believer’s baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of remembrance whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and look forward in anticipation of His second coming (I Corinthians 11:23-31).
We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven year tribulation period to catch away His Church, coming only in the air at the Rapture, and that He will come with His Church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations on earth and to set up His kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:9-11; Revelation 19:11-21).
We believe there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous who are saved and the lost who are unsaved, that only those who through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are justified before God and declared righteous (Romans 4:3-7, 23-25; 5:1).
We believe that men who continue in impenitence and unbelief are wicked in the sight of God and under the curse of sin, and this distinction holds after death, in the eternal joy of the saved in Heaven and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in Hell (Matthew 25:31-46; John 8:21-24).
We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead. We believe that believers who sleep in Jesus will be raised at the coming of Christ for His Church and be caught up with transformed living saints to meet the Lord in the air and be taken to Heaven (John 5:24-29; I Thessalonians 4:13-17).
We believe that the resurrection of the wicked (unsaved) dead will take place at the close of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ, and they will stand in their bodies at the Great White Throne Judgment to receive their final doom (Revelation 20:11-15).