The
following is our statement of faith.
Please direct any questions to
Pastor Dave.
THE BIBLE
The sole basis of our belief
is the Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments.
We believe that the Bible in it's entirety originated with
God and that it was given through the instrumentality of
chosen men. We hold the Scriptures to be infallible
and inerrant in the original manuscripts. They are
the unique, full and final authority on all matters on
which they bear, and there are no other writings similarly
inspired by God. (Psalm 119.89; Isaiah 40.8; Matthew
5.18; 2 Timothy 3.16-17; 2 Peter 1.20-21)
GOD
We believe in one True God,
eternally existing in three Persons--Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit--each of whom possesses equally all the attributes
of deity and elements of personality.
(Deuteronomy 6.4; Matthew
28.18-20; 2 Corinthians 13.14)
God the
Father
We believe that in the beginning God Father
created out of nothing the universe and all it contains,
thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom, and
goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to
sustain His creation. By His providence He is both
active in the daily life of every Christian and He is
operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive
purposes. (Genesis
1.1; Isaiah 46.10; Ephesians 1.11-19; Hebrews 1.1-4)
God the
Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal second
Person of the Trinity, Who was united forever with a true
human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin
birth. He lived a sinless life, performed signs and
miracles, and died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for
human sin. By His death as a substitute for sinners,
He infinitely satisfied divine justice and accomplished
salvation for all who trust in Him alone. He was
raised from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in
which He lived and died. He ascended to the Father's
right hand where He is Head of the church and intercedes
for believers. He shall return again to earth,
personally, visibly, and bodily, to receive His Kingdom and
to consummate the eternal plan of God.
(Matthew 3.17; John
1.1,14; Luke 1.30-35; Romans 3.24-25; 2 Corinthians 5.21; 1
Corinthians 15.1-4; Romans 8.34; Acts 1.10-11; Hebrews
9.23-28)
God the Holy
Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the eternal
third Person of the Trinity. He was sent by the
Father and the Son into the world to apply to humanity the
saving work of Christ. He enlightens the mind of
sinners, and convicts them of their need for a
Savior. He regenerates them and at the point of
salvation permanently indwells every believer whom He also
seals for the day of redemption. He guides, instructs
empowers and gives gifts to believers for godly living and
service in the body of Christ. (Matthew 28.19-20; John 14.16-26;
John 16.7-15; John 3.5-8; Romans 8.9; 1 Corinthians 12.11;
Galatians 5.22-23)
HUMANITY
We believe that the first humans, Adam and
Eve, were originally created in the image of God, holy and
upright for the purpose of glorifying and enjoying God in
unbroken fellowship. However, at the beginning of
human history, they defied God by breaking the express
command given to Adam in the Garden of Eden. By this
transgression, they were alienated from God, lost all
spiritual life, and suffered the corruption of their
nature, rendering them unable to please God and liable to
eternal punishment. The sin of the first humans,
since they are the parents of the whole race, is imputed to
all their descendants. As a result all individuals
born since suffer these same consequences, are fallen,
sinful, and lost, and are thus in need of the saving grace
of God. (Genesis 3.1-9; Romans 3.10-20,23;
5.12-21; Ephesians 2.1-3)
SALVATION
We believe that God, out of
love for the human race, sent Jesus Christ into the world
to save sinners. Salvation is wholly a work of God's
free grace. It is not the result of any human works,
ordinances, or church membership, and is personally
received through faith and in the finished work of
Christ. Any person who, in simple faith, trusts in
Jesus Christ alone and in what He accomplished on the
cross, refusing to trust in anything else, receives the
gift of eternal life, which, once granted, can never be
lost. The assurance of eternal salvation rests solely
on the promise God makes in His word that everyone who
trusts in Jesus Christ alone possesses eternal life.
(1 Timothy 1.15;
Romans 3.21-25; 1 Corinthians 1.18; Romans 13.11;
Ephesians 2.1-10; Titus 3.3-7; John 5.24; John 10.27-30;
Romans 8.38-39; John 3.16)
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that it is the
obligation of every Christian to grow in spiritual maturity
and holiness through obedience to the Word of God by the
power of the indwelling Spirit. Due to the power of
remaining sin in the believer, progress to maturity is not
automatic. A Christian can, through sin, lose his
fellowship, joy, power, testimony and reward, and incur the
Father's discipline. The relationship of the
believer with the Lord is eternal, being established by the
new birth; fellowship, however is dependent upon obedience
to the Word of God. The indwelling holy Spirit is the
available source of power, comfort, and teaching for all
believers. His power and control are appropriated by
faith, making it possible for the believer to live a life
of Christ like character and to bear fruit to the glory of
the Father. (1 Thessalonians, 4.3; 1 Corinthians
2.10-16; Galatians 5.15-26; Ephesians 5.18; Colossians
3.16; John 15.8; 1 John 1.5-2.2)
THE
CHURCH
We believe that there is one
true and universal church, made up of all those who in
every place acknowledge Jesus Christ as their only
Savior. The Word of God commands believers to gather
together in local, autonomous congregations to devote
themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of the Bible,
the maintenance of holy lives, the observation of the
ordinances of water baptism and Communion, the edification
of the body through the development and use of gifts and
talents, and an active ministry to an unsaved world.
A local expression of the church is found wherever
Christians meet regularly in obedience to these
commands. Under the spiritual oversight of Elders and
the supportive leadership of Deacons, members of the body
of Christ are to work together in love, maintaining unity
of spirit and intent on one purpose—to glorify
Christ. (1
Corinthians 1.2; 12.12-14; Ephesians 1.22-23; Acts 2.42-47;
1 Timothy 3.1-13; Ephesians 4.11-16)
HUMAN
DESTINY
We believe that for all
humankind there is a life to come, a resurrection of the
body, and a future judgment. At physical death, the
believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious
fellowship with the Lord, and the unbeliever into eternal,
conscious separation from the Lord. The bodies of all
the dead shall be raised; some to a resurrection of glory,
some to a resurrection of condemnation. There are two
aspects of the righteous judgment of God:
1. The final judgment of all
humankind at the Great White throne of God, revealing the
depth of sin and the fairness of divine justice in
consigning unbelievers to continue their own rejection of
God in eternal punishment, and,
2. The
judgment of believers at the judgment seat of Christ,
revealing the quantity and quality of works done in the
body, not with reference to salvation, but for the purpose
of bestowing rewards in His Kingdom.
(John
5.28-29; Luke 16.19-31; 2 Corinthians 5.8; 1 Thessalonians
1.6-10; Revelation 20.11-15: 1 Corinthians 3.11-15; 2
Corinthians 5.10)
* We believe that this Statement of
Faith represents an adequate and accurate summary of what
Scripture teaches on these matters. All members shall
refrain from advocating doctrines that are not included in
the Statement of Faith in such a way as to cause divisions.
The Bible references
listed here are to illustrate biblical themes. They
are not intended to be used as isolated proof-texts, nor
are they the only passages which deal with these
objects.