BIBLE

We believe the Bible (39 Old Testament books & 27 New Testament books) to be the only inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. We believe the Bible is the first final authority in every area it addresses for every individual Christian, as well as for the church collectively. This includes but is not limited to being authoritative in matters of truth, faith, meaning, purpose and practice. We recognize that the Bible can be distorted due to ignorance, laziness, deception or intentional manipulation and therefore, we strongly emphasize the systematic understanding & teaching of God’s Word as one cohesive revelation of God to humanity, by God Himself, through the divine inspiration of its human writers. We further believe in and contend for an accurate interpretation of the Bible as a requirement for rightly dividing God’s Word and accurately applying it in real life. This discipline is called hermeneutics. For a basic introduction to this practice and a few foundational principles of sound biblical hermeneutics, you can check out the following online article on biblical interpretation.
( Lesson 6: Principles of Biblical Interpretation | Bible.org )

2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; John 10:35; Matthew 5:18; Luke 16:17; Acts 20:27

ONE GOD

We believe that there is only one God. We believe that the only God is the God of the Bible, as He has revealed Himself to be through it. He is spaceless, timeless and immaterial and as such is the uncaused Cause. He is the Creator of all matter, space, time, plantes, universes, other beings etc…, with no beginning and no end. He is not one of many gods in a line or succession of gods and no person can ever attain godhood in this life or the next.

We reject the notion that God exists only as an idea in the minds of individual people or various religious systems. We reject the idea that anyone or any religious belief system can do anything to alter His nature/character by accepting or rejecting any aspects of who He is and reveals Himself to be. We recognize any such action is making a false god in your own image and attempting to make a god who is suitable for yourself in place of worshiping the True and Living God as He is. Those who worship Him MUST worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Genesis 1 & 2; Deuteronomy 6:4; Job 38-41; Isaiah 43:10-12; Isaiah 44:6-10; Isaiah 45:5-12;  John 4:23-25; Romans 1:18-23; Revelation 1:8

TRINITY

We believe that there is one God who is Triune in nature. God eternally exists as three separate and distinct persons and yet He is One in essence: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe all things were created by Him and for Him. Since all members of the Trinity are equally God, all three persons of the Godhead are worthy of worship.

Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:21-22; Matthew 28:19; Colossians 1:16

The Father is God.
James 1:17-18; Matthew 6:9-10; John 5:26-28

Jesus is God.
John 1:1-3, 14; John 8:54-58; Philippians 2:5-6

The Holy Spirit is God.
Genesis 1:1-2; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16

God is One.
Genesis 1:26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:32; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 1 Timothy 2:5

SON

We believe in the Incarnation of God the Son, eternally existent as God before the creation of anything in this world or universe. The 2nd Person of the Trinity became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ. The Incarnation did not diminish His Deity in any degree, but He did become fully human and simultaneously remained fully God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary. Mary gave birth to Jesus in Bethlehem and He lived a sinless life that we could never live. Jesus’ death was a substitutionary atonement for all mankind. He was raised from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God until His enemies are made His footstool.

John 1:1,14; Philippians 2:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Hebrews 10:12-13

HOLY SPIRIT

We believe the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. We believe the Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, and seals every believer in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is a Person, and He empowers us to live as witnesses for Christ. We believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to His church today, yet those gifts must be operated in a balanced and orderly fashion in accordance with God’s Word. Spiritual gifts are never meant to draw attention to ourselves but are intended to magnify the gospel and glorify God as we aim to build one another up in the faith.

John 14:16-17; John 16:7-11; Titus 3:5-6; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:7-16; Acts 1:8; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-14:33; 1 Peter 4:10-11

HUMANITY

We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in His own image. He created them sinless, equal in value, & dignity with the express intent of living our lives in union with Him as His image-bearers who will bring forth His glory throughout all the earth, as we freely live for Him. We deny the idea of a pre-mortal existence and recognize that God creates a soul/life at the moment of conception.

We believe Adam's sin completely marred God's image in humanity and has subsequently separated humanity from Him, rendering us in need of redemption & reconciliation. Even though sin mares & separates, it never erases God's image from humanity. Therefore we believe all human life is sacred and of inestimable worth from the moment of conception in all its dimensions, this includes pre-born babies, the aged, those who are physically or mentally challenged, or any other stage or condition from conception through natural death and are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. Accordingly, we deny the fact the humans are basically good by nature as this would be in conflict with the teaching of God’s Word and would minimize, if not altogether remove, the need for the substitutionary death of Jesus and would render His humiliating & horrendous death on the cross disproportionate to both the sin & the people He made atonement for.

We believe humanity is only able to correctly image God while living in reconciled union with Christ. Since sin separates us from God, man is incapable of imagining God as originally designed, in full union with Himself and is incapable of reconciling himself to God or saving himself from judgment. The only way humanity can be saved and reconciled back to a living union with their Creator and image God as He intends is through faith in Jesus Christ.

Genesis 1:26-28; Ephesians 5:22-6:4; 1 Timothy 3:1-7

CREATION

We believe God created everything in six literal days. We believe God rested on the seventh day, giving us our basis for a seven-day week. We believe the straightforward language of Genesis gives no room for millions of years or a gap theory. We believe attempts to reconcile Darwinian Evolution with Biblical Creation compromise the gospel itself. The Bible clearly reveals that death, disease, & corruption are the consequences of sin entering the world through Adam and this is the reason God promised to send a Savior. Darwinian evolution is directly opposed to Biblical Creation because death, disease & corruption are viewed as necessary mechanisms for the overall process & progress of life leading up to the evolution of humanity.

If man is the net result of successive evolutionary processes, then death, disease & corruption cease to be the problem from which the Bible says we need redemption. Evolution makes the gospel irrelevant because it undermines the primary reason humanity needs a Savior, which is to rescue us from death, disease, & corruption introduced by sin. On evolution, the negative consequences of sin cease to be negative and are instead viewed as beneficial elements toward human progress which must be embraced.

When Christians attempt to harmonize Darwinian Evolution with Biblical Creation, they unknowingly compromise the gospel and dismiss the very reason Jesus came to the earth; which is to redeem humanity from the sting of death which is sin.

Genesis 1:1-2:3; Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:12-15; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

THE FALL

We believe Adam’s Fall in the Garden introduced death, disease & corruption into the world and the very nature of all humanity itself. While all people are still created in the image of God, Adam’s sin had affected the entire human race. All people are sinners by nature and all choose to sin. Since all people sin, all fall short of the glory of God and need a Savior. Thankfully God has provided humanity with an incorruptible & perfect Savior, Jesus, who is, always has been and always will be eternally existent as God the Son–the 2nd person of the trinity.

We believe salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and there is no good work, save the work of Christ, which is capable of providing salvation.

We believe that God is not willing any should perish but that all might repent and call upon the Lord and be saved.

Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:18-19; Matthew 1:21; 1 John 4:14; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 10:9, 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 1:8

SALVATION

Salvation & the Gospel

We affirm that the Gospel is the good news that God has made a way of salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ for any person. This is in keeping with God’s desire for every person to be saved.

We deny that only a select few are capable of responding to the Gospel while the rest are predestined to an eternity in hell.

Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:1-12; Ezekiel 18:23, 32; Luke 19:10; Luke 24:45-49; John 1:1-18, 3:16; Romans 1:1-6, 5:8; 8:34; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Galatians 4:4-7; Colossians 1:21-23; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:9

Salvation & the Sinfulness of Man

We affirm that, because of the fall of Adam, every person inherits a nature and environment inclined toward sin and that every person who is capable of moral action will sin. Each person’s sin alone brings the wrath of a holy God, broken fellowship with Him, ever-worsening selfishness and destructiveness, death, and condemnation to an eternity in hell.

We deny that Adam’s sin resulted in the incapacitation of any person’s free will or rendered any person guilty before they have personally sinned. While no sinner is remotely capable of achieving salvation through his own effort, we deny that any sinner is saved apart from a free response to the Holy Spirit’s drawing through the Gospel.

Genesis 3:15-24; 6:5; Deuteronomy 1:39; Isaiah 6:5, 7:15-16;53:6;Jeremiah 17:5,9, 31:29-30; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:18-32; 3:9-18, 5:12, 6:23; 7:9; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 6:9-10;15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 20:11-15

Salvation & the Atonement of Christ

We affirm that the penal substitution of Christ is the only available and effective sacrifice for the sins of every person.

We deny that this atonement results in salvation without a person’s free response of repentance and faith. We deny that God imposes or withholds this atonement without respect to an act of the person’s free will. We deny that Christ died only for the sins of those who will be saved.

Psalm 22:1-31; Isaiah 53:1-12; John 12:32, 14:6; Acts 10:39-43; Acts 16:30-32; Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Philippians 2:5-11; Col. 1:13-20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; Hebrews 9:12-15, 24-28; 10:1-18; I John 1:7; 2:2

Salvation & the Grace of God

We affirm that grace is God’s generous decision to provide salvation for any person by taking all of the initiatives in providing atonement, freely offering the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit, and in uniting the believer to Christ through the Holy Spirit by faith.

We deny that grace negates the necessity of a free response of faith or that it cannot be resisted. We deny that the response of faith is in any way a meritorious work that earns salvation.

Ezra 9:8; Proverbs 3:34; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 19:16-30, 23:37; Luke 10:1-12; Acts 15:11; 20:24; Romans 3:24, 27-28; 5:6, 8, 15-21; Galatians 1:6; 2:21; 5; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:2-9; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 4:16; 9:28; 1 John 4:19

Salvation & Regeneration of Sinners

We affirm that any person who responds to the Gospel with repentance and faith is born again through the power of the Holy Spirit. He is a new creation in Christ and enters, at the moment he believes, into eternal life.

We deny that any person is regenerated prior to or apart from hearing and responding to the Gospel.

Luke 15:24; John 3:3; 7:37-39; 10:10; 16:7-14; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 6:4-11; 10:14; 1 Corinthians 15:22; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 6:15; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 3:18

Salvation & Election to Salvation

We affirm that, in reference to salvation, election speaks of God’s eternal, gracious, and certain plan in Christ to have a people who are His by repentance and faith.

We deny that election means that, from eternity, God predestined certain people for salvation and others for condemnation.

Genesis 1:26-28; 12:1-3; Exodus 19:6; Jeremiah 31:31-33; Matthew 24:31; 25:34; John 6:70; 15:16; Romans 8:29-30, 33;9:6-8; 11:7; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 1:4-6; 2:11-22; 3:1-11; 4:4-13; 1 Timothy 2:3-4; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 7:9-10

Salvation & the Sovereignty of God

We affirm God’s eternal knowledge of and sovereignty over every person’s salvation or condemnation.

We deny that God’s sovereignty and knowledge require Him to cause a person’s acceptance or rejection of faith in Christ.

Genesis 1:1; 6:5-8; 18:16-33; 22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; 1 Chronicles 29:10-20; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:32; Psalm 23; 51:4; 139:1-6; Proverbs 15:3; John 6:44; Romans 11:3; Titus 3:3-7; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 11:6, 12:28; 1 Peter 1:17

Salvation & the Free Will of Man

We affirm that God, as an expression of His sovereignty, endows each person with actual free will (the ability to choose between two options), which must be exercised in accepting or rejecting God’s gracious call to salvation by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

We deny that the decision of faith is an act of God rather than a response of the person. We deny that there is an “effectual call” for certain people that is different from a “general call” to any person who hears and understands the Gospel.

Genesis 1:26-28; Numbers 21:8-9; Deuteronomy 30:19; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 8:1-22; 2 Samuel 24:13-14; Esther 3:12-14; Matthew 7:13-14; 11:20-24; Mark 10:17-22; Luke 9:23-24; 13:34; 15:17-20; Romans 10:9-10; Titus 2:12; Revelation 22:17

Salvation & the Security of the Believer

We affirm that when a person responds in faith to the Gospel, God promises to complete the process of salvation in the believer into eternity. This process begins with justification, whereby the sinner is immediately acquitted of all sin and granted peace with God; continues in sanctification, whereby the saved are progressively conformed to the image of Christ by the indwelling Holy Spirit; and concludes in glorification, whereby the saint enjoys life with Christ in heaven forever.

John 10:28-29; 14:1-4; 16:12-14; Philippians 1:6; Romans 3:21-26; 8:29-30; 8:35-39; 12:1-3; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 3:12; Colossians 1:21-22; 1 John 2:19; 3:2; 5:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 13:5; James 1:12; Jude 24-25

Salvation & the Great Commission

We affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His church to preach the good news of salvation to all people to the ends of the earth. We affirm that the proclamation of the Gospel is God’s means of bringing any person to salvation.

We deny that salvation is possible outside of a faith response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and true worshipers MUST worship in spirit and in truth.

Psalm 51:13; Proverbs 11:30; Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 28:19-20; John 4:23-25; John 14:6; Acts 1:8; 4:12; 10:42-43; Romans 1:16, 10:13-15; 1 Corinthians 1:17-21; Ephesians 3:7-9; 6:19-20; Philippians 1:12-14; 1 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Timothy 4:1-5

BAPTISM & THE LORD'S SUPPER

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. It is not required for salvation but it is an act of obedience & an outward expression of an inward surrender to God.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby the church, through the partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer as they reflect on their union with Him and one another all while anticipating His second coming. While baptism and communion are part of biblical obedience to God and affect your fellowship with God, neither one can create or add to a person’s worthiness before God. It is by grace we are saved, through faith, and no works that we do can merit the salvation that God freely offers to all.

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 8:35-39; Romans 6:1-11; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-29; John 17:20-21

GENDER, MARRIAGE & SEXUALITY

We believe God wonderfully and immutably creates each individual as male or female according to their created biology. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe the covenantal union between one man and one woman is designed to reflect the image and nature of God, in a complementary fashion. We believe God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other.  We believe God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, lust, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, transsexuality, bestiality, incest, and the use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. We believe God offers redemption and restoration to all who call upon Jesus, confessing and forsaking their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness.

We deny claiming any identity, sexual or otherwise, which is expressly described as sin in the Scriptures while simultaneously identifying oneself as a Chrisitan. To do so is inconsistent with the Christian life and our new identity in Christ. We believe love always seeks God's best for others and God's best never includes remaining in sin. God's best involves being set free from sin as we turn to Him in truth.

We believe that the Biblical Gospel not only saves a person from the penalty of sin (death), but also saves them from the power (control of a person’s thinking & living) of sin and from the pleasure (ruling of our affections) of sin. We affirm the biblical teaching that when God forgives and regenerates a soul, the transformation is from the inside out. God says that true circumcision is that of the heart and that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The Bible teaches that when we delight in God, He will place His desires within us.

We therefore reject the notion that the biblical Gospel only changes people’s external behavior but leaves their inward desires the same. The Bible is clear that whom the Son sets free is free indeed and that we are to crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. Therefore, we affirm that anyone who claims to be a born-again Christian but continues to protect or cultivate internal sinful desires, sexual or otherwise, is in sin and needs to recognize their false understanding of God’s Word, repent accordingly and understand that any claim of identity in Christ without bearing fruit worthy of repentance is unsupported biblically.

We believe every person is created in the image of God and must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity, regardless of their relationship to Jesus. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual, even while confronting or dealing with sin in others, is to be repudiated and is not in accordance with Scripture.

Genesis 1:26-28; Ephesians 5:22-6:4; 2 Timothy 2:23-26; 1  Corinthians 6:9-11

THE CHURCH

We believe there is one church, the body of Christ, which consists of men and women from every tribe, people, and nation who have truly committed themselves to Jesus Christ by faith. We believe each local congregation of true believers is an expression of this one universal church. We believe the local church plays an important role in the spiritual growth and development of every individual Christian. Therefore, it is important for every believer in Jesus to be connected with a local church body.

Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Matthew 18:15-20; Revelation 5:9, Acts 2:42-47

SECOND COMING

We believe in the premillennial return of Christ, to sit upon the throne of David and rule over the house of Jacob (the nation Israel) and the planet for a literal 1,000 years. We believe God will literally fulfill all the land promises He made to Abraham and his descendants (Israel) during these 1,000 years. We believe that at the end of Jesus Christ’s millennial reign upon the earth He will establish a New Heaven and a New Earth with the New Jerusalem as its capital city and rule the entire cosmos, forever from the New Jerusalem.

Genesis 15:18; Revelation 20:1-10; Revelation 21:1-8; Luke 1:31-33; Isaiah 9:6-7

RESURRECTION

We believe in the resurrection of the dead. We believe the resurrection will extend to all men with some being raised to eternal and everlasting life in the presence of the Lord. While others will be raised to shame and everlasting contempt spending eternity away from the presence of God in hell. We believe the resurrection demonstrates Jesus' intention to redeem everything that was lost in the Garden of Eden. God created man with a physical body and gave him a spirit and called His creation good. We believe the goal of Christ's redemption is not for humanity to be set free from our physical body; the final goal of Christ's redemption is the resurrection of our physical body completely free from the curse of sin so we can enjoy God in the fullness of His presence as Adam once did before the Fall. We believe that God will create a new heaven and earth in which righteousness will dwell where redeemed humanity will enjoy & worship God forever in their resurrected bodies. We believe the resurrected Christ will sit on the throne of God in the New Jerusalem forever.

Daniel 12:2; John 5:25-29; Revelation 21:1-22:5