Statement of Faith

The Bible

The Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, and it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct (John 17:17; II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21).

The Holy Spirit

His personality (John 16:7-15) and deity (Acts 5:3-4); and His work in each believer: baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (I Corinthians 12:13; Rom. 8:9), and filling (Eph. 5:18) to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23).

The Church

One true Church, the body and bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (I Corinthians 12:12-13); and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).

Satan

His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and His people (Rev. 12:1 10), his judgment (John 12:31), and final doom (Rev. 20:10).

The One True God

Existing eternally as three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that these Three are equal in every divine perfection (John 1:1-4; Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14).

Man

His direct creation in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).

Christian Life

A life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom. 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4), settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (I Corinthians 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:17-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil. 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the Elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).

Second Coming

The personal, visible, and imminent return of Christ to remove His church from the earth (I Thess. 4:16-17) before the tribulation (I Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).

The Lord Jesus Christ

His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-3), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14; Matt. 1:18-23), sinless life (Heb. 4:15), substitutionary atoning death (1 John 1:7; II Corinthians 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14-16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).

Salvation

A complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; I Peter 1:18-19).

Ordinances

Christians should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are: (1) baptism of believers by immersion (Matt. 28:19) and (2) communion of the bread and the cup (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Future Life

The conscious existence of the dead (Phil. 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Rom. 14:10-12; II Corinthians 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15).