WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Bible:
We believe in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. That it is supernaturally inspired and divinely preserved for all men. (2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalms 12:6-7; Math. 5:17-18). It is without error in its presentation and should be accepted as the final absolute authority for all matters of belief and action. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; Prov. 4:4.) Its truth and standard is God’s position for every age and every life. I Cor. 2:13) We hold the authorized version King James 1611 as the perfected standard for English speaking people. (Prov. 22:20-21).
God:
We believe in one true God who exists in three eternal persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. (I John 5:7, Gen.1: 26; Math. 3:16-17).
The Father:
We believe in God as the sole Creator and Sustainer of the universe. We believe God is Sovereign And all powerful. When He created the heaven, the earth, and all they contain, He did it by the command of his word and from nothing. He did not create through any part of an evolutionary process. God’s main attributes to His character are his love for all men and his holiness which will demand justice against the wickedness of man. (John 1:3,10; Gen. 1:1; I John 1:1-10; Heb. 11:3).
The Son:
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is fully and literally God in human form. (I Tim. 3:16). He was conceived of the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35), and in the womb of a virgin named Mary He received a human body. (Isa. 7:14). He lived a sinless life in spite of being tempted by Satan (Heb. 4:15).He taught the truth of God and performed mighty works exactly as the Bible records them. (John 5;36; I john 1:1-2). Jesus allowed himself to be crucified by man in order to pay the full price for all men’s sin with his blood. ( Col. 1: 13:14; Rom. 4: 23-25; Heb. 9:22). He literally and bodily rose from the grave on the third day exactly as the scriptures foretold by his own power. (I Cor. 15:3-4;; Acts 1: 3, 11). He now sits at the right hand of God interceding for Christians. (I Tim. 2:5; I John 2:1-2). He will one day literally and physically return to this earth and establish a millennial Kingdom. (Rev. 20:4).
The Holy Ghost:
We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God possessing all His attributes and power. He is the current earthly manifestation of God and embodies all believers. (John 16:7). He seals the believer and baptizes him into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. (Eph. 1:13-14; Rom. 6:3-6). His mission is to convict of sin (John 16:13), glorify Jesus Christ ( John 16:13-14), and teach the words of Christ ( John 14:26) in order to conform all believers to the image of Christ. ( II Cor. 3:17-18). He uniquely gifts every believer so they can effectively communicate God’s love and truth to every man. ( Eph. 4:1-16; I Cor. 12-13). We believe the modern day “tongues movement” is not according to scripture. ( I Cor. 14).
The Church:
We believe the church is God’s instrument for this age. While all genuine born-again believers in Christ share a family relationship, we believe the overwhelming numbers of references of the word “church” in the Bible apply to a local, visible assembly of believers. (Acts 14: 23; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-16; I Tim. 3:1-13). It is the responsibility of each local church to continue in evangelism, discipleship, and missions both independently and interdependently. (Math. 28:19-20). It is the commission of each local assembly to be actively worshiping, fellowshipping, teaching, equipping and communicating the full counsel of God to each other, the surrounding community and the world. (Eph. 4:1-16; Acts 1:8). We believe each local assembly should be self governing, self supporting, and self-propagating as possible; practicing the ordinances; and operating under the Lordship of Christ and leadership of those who hold office of pastors and deacons. (Math. 28:18-20; I Cor. 11: 23-24; I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; I Peter 5:1-4; Heb. 13:17). We believe every member of the local church has the responsibility to support the ministry by living the Word of God, communicating the Word of God, and participating in prayer, tithes, and offerings. (I Cor. 16:2; Mal. 3:10; Acts 2: 41-47; 13;1-4; 4:34-37; II Cor. 8:7; Eph. 4:1,15-16). At the rapture of the church, all born again believers since the time of Christ’s ascension will be united together as the body of Christ. ( I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev. 19:7-8; 21:2).
Man:
We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God ( Gen. 1:26-27), but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sin nature, and became separated from God (Gen 3; Gen. 5:3). All men are morally corrupt and utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Rom. 3:9-23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3). We believe all men will spend their eternity either separated from Christ or reconciled to Christ. (Math. 25: 31-46). Those who die without Christ wait in a literal Hell for the Day of final judgment where they will be assigned to the proper degree of punishment in a literal lake of fire. ( Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-15). Those who die in Christ will experience a bodily resurrection to everlasting life with Him. ( I Cor. 15:51-58; Thess. 4: 13-18).
Salvation:
We believe salvation is the/a gift of God and is received by man through personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (Acts 16:31; Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10). We believe man is justified apart from works. (Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 4:5). We are saved by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. (Rom. 3:20-26; Eph. 2:8-9). We believe the act of salvation to be just as definite and decisive as the physical birth. (John 3:1-7). All true believers possess a salvation gift that cannot be lost or reversed. They are kept eternally secure by the power and faithfulness of God. (John 10:28-29; Rom. 8:35-39; II Tim. 1:12; Rom. 6:23; I John 2:25; 5:13).
The Ordinances:
We believe the ordinances for the believer are water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s supper as a memorial. (Math. 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Acts 8:35-39; I Cor. 11:23-26). Neither of these are to be regarded as a means of salvation. (I Cor. 11:26; Acts 8:36-37; Eph. 2:8-9). Both are intended to be evidences of obedience and fellowship with the Lord. (Luke 6:46; John 15:14).
Satan:
We believe Satan is a real and present being. In eternity past he was a created cherub who was lifted up in pride and with an army of angelic beings rebelled against God. (Isa. 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-15; Rev. 12:3-9). God judged his sin by casting Satan and his angels out of heaven. (Isa. 14:12). He is presently active in this world attempting to counterfeit, frustrate and destroy God’s plan. (II Cor. 11:13-15; 11:1-3). His final destiny is an eternal location called the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:10; Math. 25:41).
The Christian Life:
We believe that a Christian should walk in holiness and not after the flesh, with the desire to be conformed to the image of our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. I Peter 1:13-17; Gal. 5:24-25; Rom. 6:17-22; 8:29). As a new creation , walking in the spirit, the Christian learns to grow in faith, in obedience to scripture, in prayer, in fellowship with the saints and in a life of serving God through ministry. (II Cor. 5:17-21; I Cor. 5:19-20). We believe that every Christian will stand before the judgement seat of Christ to have his life evaluated as a steward of Christ. (II Cor. 5:8-11; I Cor. 3:10-15).
The Second Coming:
We believe there will be two key events before the second coming of Christ. First, there will a harvesting of all genuine believers to meet the Lord in the air.(I Thess. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-52). Second, there will be a seven year period of tribulation where God will judge His People Israel and those without Christ. (Math. 24; I Thess. 5:1-11). After these events, we believe in the literal, physical return of Jesus Christ to earth in power and glory to judge the world and personally rein His millennial kingdom for 1000 years. (Acts 1:11; II Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 20:1-6; Math. 25: 31-46).
