Our Faith
OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

1. We believe in the absolute authority and accuracy of the 66 books of the Bible; its full verbal inspiration in the original manuscripts and its all-sufficiency as the Christian’s rule of faith and practice. (2 Tim 3:16,17, 2 Pet 1:19-21)

2. We believe that there is but one God, the creator, preserver and ruler of all things, who is perfect in holiness and in love, infinite in wisdom and measureless in power, and who reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deut 6:4, Neh 9:6, I Chron 29:11, 12, Ex 15:11, 1 John 4:8b, Matt 28:19)

3. We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and that He is true God and true man, and is the only mediator between God and man. (Matt 1:20, Luke 1:35, John 1:12,14, 12:45, 14:9, 1 Tim 2:5)

4. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine person, equal with the Father and Son, and of the same substance and nature, that He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment; that He bears witness of the truth; that He is the agent of the new birth; and that at conversion He baptizes the believer into the Body of Christ; and that he seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God. (John 16:8-11, 3:3-7, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 13:14, John 14: 16,17, Rom 8:14-27, 1 Cor 12:12,13)

5. We believe that man was created in the image of God by direct creation and that he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death; thus, we believe that all men by nature and by choice are sinners, and, apart from Christ, shall be forever separated from God. (Gen 1:26, 2:17, Ezek 18:20a, Rom 3:23, 6:23)

6. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. (1 Cor 15:3,4, Rev 1:5)

7. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are born again of the Holy Spirit thereby becoming children of God. We believe in the eternal security of the believer. (Eph 2:8,9, John 1:12, 3:3,7, 10:27-29)

8. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into heaven and in His present ministry there for us as High Priest and Advocate. We believe in the personal, visible, imminent return of the Lord to set up His kingdom upon the earth. (1 Cor 15:4, Acts 1:9-11, Heb 4:14-16, 1 John 2:1,2, 1 Thes 4:13-17, Rev 19:11-16 Rev 20: 1-5)

9. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just, and the bodily resurrection of the unjust; the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. (1 Cor 15;20-24, Rev 20: 12-15, 2 Cor 5:8)

10. We believe that the local church is the local expression of the Body of Christ and is a voluntary association of baptized believers equal in rank and privilege, subject to the Word of God, and independent of any external ecclesiastical control. We believe that God’s word commands every believer to be baptized by immersion in water. Though baptism has no saving merit, it does show forth in solemn and beautiful symbolism the believer’s faith in the union with the crucified, buried and risen savior. (Acts 8:38, 18:8, Rom 6:3-5)

11. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is provision of bread and the cup which are symbolic of Christ’s broken body and shed blood; that the Lord’s supper is partaken of by saved individuals in commemoration of the suffering and death of their Lord and in anticipation of His soon coming again; that its observance is to be preceded by faith self-examination.
(Luke 22:19,20, 1 Cor 11:23-30).