Statement of Faith
1. WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER.
There is one God that expresses himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the Bible.
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all people.
Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 19:1-3; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 28:19; John 17:1-8; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; 1 Timothy 1:17.
2. WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE SON.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood, are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man. We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with all things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.
Matthew 1:20-25; 16:15-16; John 14:6; Romans 8:3, 32-34; Galatians 4:4- 5; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-5; 1 John 1:1-3; 4:2-3, 15)
3. WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is ever present and efficiently active in and with the Church of Christ, convincing the world of sin, sanctifying believers, and guiding into all truth as it is in Jesus. He gives every believer spiritual gifts when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His guidance and power, daily.
John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8
4. WE BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE.
We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, infallibly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.
(Luke 24:44-47; John 10:35; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 1 Peter 1:8-12; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
5. WE BELIEVE THAT HUMANS ARE CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE.
Humanity is the pinnacle of God’s creation, and we have been created spiritually in His image, to be like Him in character. Out of God’s entire creation, humans alone possess a spirit that will live beyond this temporal life. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude, and its corresponding behavior, separates people from God and His holiness and results in physical and spiritual death.
Gen 1:27-31; Psalm 8; Romans 3:23; 5:12-14, 18
6. WE BELIEVE IN SALVATION.
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, (or the new birth), is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.
B. Justification (being declared innocent) is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification (being made clean and holy) is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification (returning to our perfect state) is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
John 6:37,44,65, Phil. 2:5-8, 1 John 2:2, Acts 20:21, 1 Cor. 15:3,4, Eph. 4:11-16, 2 Cor. 3:18, Heb. 12:11, John 10:27-29, 1 John 3:2
7. WE BELIEVE IN BAPTISM.
We believe that baptism is a symbol of one's faith in and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Faith in Jesus Christ should result in repentance of sin and a turn from an old way of life to a new life, which comes from God's sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ. Immersion in water symbolizes one's participation in the death of Jesus Christ, while coming out of the water symbolizes new life in Jesus and freedom from sin. Baptism publicly announces the believer's choice to follow Christ.
Acts 8:36-38, Matt. 28:18-20, Romans 6:3-5
8. WE BELIEVE IN MARRIAGE.
Marriage is a publicly recognized covenanting together for life, between a woman and a man who live together in a relationship, characterized by truth and fidelity, and for the purpose of lifelong companionship, mutual interdependence and responsibility for each other, and potential procreation. It is symbolic of God’s relationship to His people and Jesus Christ’s relationship to His church.
Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33, Hebrew 13:4
9. WE BELIEVE IN ETERNITY.
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. We believe that glorious and everlasting life is assured to all who savingly believe in, and obediently follow, Jesus Christ our Lord
Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-26; 17:22-37; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff;1John 3:2; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13.
