DOCTRINAL BELIEFS

The Bible

• We believe the Holy Bible is the infallible Word of God—entirely without error based on the original handwritten documents.      

  “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5).

• We believe God divinely inspired human beings to write all the words in the Bible, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, to express His authoritative revelation to the world.      

  “Prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

• We believe the Bible provides the principles for our faith and practice, revealing how to live our lives.      

  “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

God

• We believe there is only one living and true God, the all-powerful Creator, Supreme Ruler, and Sustainer of the Universe. (See Deuteronomy 4:39; Psalm 90:2.)      

  “You alone are the LORD. You made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you” (Nehemiah 9:6).

• We believe the eternally existing God is revealed in three persons as the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each equally and fully deity and each equally possessing all the attributes and characteristics of personality—mind, will, and emotion.      

  “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

• We believe no God exists apart from the eternal God of the Bible. He alone possesses natural attributes unique to the nature of God (e.g., God is always omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent). At the same time, He possesses moral attributes revealing the character of God (e.g., God is always wise, loving, and faithful). (See Jeremiah 9:24; 1 John 4:8).      

  “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’ … What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do” (Isaiah 46:9-11).

Jesus Christ

• We believe Jesus Christ is God the Son and Savior of the World. He became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He is, therefore, perfect deity and perfect humanity, which are fully united and exhibited in one person. (See Matthew 1:18; Luke 2:11; John 1:1-3, 14; 4:42.)      

  “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God … has made him known” (John 1:18).

• We believe He lived a sinless life and voluntarily paid the penalty for the sins of all people by His sacrificial death on the cross as our substitute.

  “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).

• We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, His present ministry as High Priest and Mediator, and His future role as Judge of all humanity. (See Mark 16:6; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 4:15.)      

  “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22).

The Holy Spirit

• We believe the Holy Spirit is God, whose present ministry in the world is to reveal and glorify Christ and to convict and draw sinners to Christ. (See John 16:14; Acts 5:3-4.)      

  “When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8).

• We believe His present ministry within Christians is to regenerate, baptize, and seal them into the body of Christ and impart spiritual gifts to each of them. (See 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7-11; Titus 3:5.)      

  “You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

• We believe His permanent, indwelling presence within Christians empowers them to live godly lives. (See Galatians 5:16.)      

  “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Creation

• We believe God created all things by His almighty power.      

  "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (Hebrews 11:3).

• We believe the Genesis account of creation is to be understood historically and literally, not allegorically or figuratively. (See Genesis chapters 1 and 2.)

• We believe all three members of the triune God participated in the Creation. (See Genesis 1:1-2; Revelation 4:11.)      

  “In him [Jesus] all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16).

Humanity

• We believe all people everywhere are created in the image of God.      

  “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27).

• We believe Adam, the first man, sinned and as a result, all people inherited a natural bent to sin and thus are spiritually dead. (See Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:23.)      

  “Sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12).

• We believe God offers salvation and the gift of eternal life to all people through the Lord Jesus Christ, and He desires that no one should perish. (See 2 Peter 3:9.)      

  “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Salvation

• We believe God saves people from the penalty of sin when they entrust their lives to Jesus Christ alone, receiving Him as their personal Lord and Savior. This salvation is a result not of good works, but of God’s grace—a gift no one deserves—when they put their faith in Jesus Christ. (See Romans 10:9; Acts 4:12.)      

  “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• We believe God saves people from the power of sin by giving them a new heart, a new spirit, and a new way of behaving. (See Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 7:21-25.)      

  “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13).

• We believe God saves people from the presence of sin, where in heaven Christians will be like Christ and where He will keep them eternally secure. (See John 10:28; Hebrews 9:26.)      

  “What we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him” (1 John 3:2).

The Christian Walk

• We believe Christians sin and are, therefore, called to confess their sins to God—not for salvation, since they are already saved, but to regain a clear conscience before God and to not give Satan a foothold in their lives. (See Psalm 32:3-5.)      

  “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9).

• We believe God calls all Christians to live holy lives through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (See Galatians 2:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:7.)

  “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

• We believe Christians are called to love one another as Christ loves them so that everyone will know they are His disciples. (See John 13:34-35.)      

  “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

The Church

• We believe the church, “the body of Christ,” is composed of all those who have put their faith in Christ. (See Colossians 1:18.)      

  “You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

• We believe baptism is a symbol of identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (See Acts 10:47-48; 1 Corinthians 1:17.)      

  “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:3-5).

• We believe all Christians should assemble regularly in local churches for worship, for observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, for mutual encouragement and discipline, and for carrying out God’s purpose in this world. (See Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-24.)

  “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

The Future

• We believe in the imminent, personal, visible return of Christ to inaugurate His kingdom in which He will reign in power and glory for 1,000 years.      

  “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

• We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, resulting in the everlasting, conscious, blessed state of the saved and the everlasting, conscious punishment of the unsaved. (See Matthew 25:31-32, 34, 41, 46; Revelation 20:12-13, 15.)      

  “I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:12).

• We believe in the second coming of Christ, the rapture of believers—both the living and the dead—and the establishment of a new order within a new heaven and new earth. (See Isaiah 65:17; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:17.)      

  “Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away’” (Revelation 21:1-4).