Doctrinal Statement
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God, authoritative, inerrant, and God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God existing in three Persons-- Father, Son and Holy Spirit- eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfection (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:12).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Sprit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His spiritual death on the Cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; that our redemption is made sure to us by his literal physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-25; Romans 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5); that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where, as the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate for believers (Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We hold that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is a person not a force. He convicts the world of the sin of unbelief, restrains evil from its ultimate manifestation, glorifies Christ and guides believers into all truth (John 16:7-14). We believe that at the point of personal faith in Christ the Spirit baptizes each individual to interminable union with Christ. He permanently indwells, seals, and regenerates each believer. It is the duty of each believer to walk by means of the Spirit and neither quench nor grieve Him (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 3:26-29; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 1:12-14; Ephesians 4:30; Ephesians 5:18; Titus 3:5-6; 1John 1:9).
Salvation
We believe that eternal salvation is the gift of God, received upon the sinner's non-meritorious faith in Jesus Christ. Christ's accomplished redemption on the cross provided man's reconciliation to God (John 3:15-16; John 5:24; John 6:40,47; John 20:31; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:24-25; Romans 5:11, 16; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21; Ephesians 2:8-9).
The Personality of Satan
We believe in the personality of Satan who is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Job 1:6-7; Matthew 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17).
The Eternal Security of Believers
We believe that all believers are kept secure forever, meaning that a believer cannot loose his salvation (Romans 8:1,38-39; John 10:27-30; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Hebrews 10:14).
The Church
We believe that the Church, which is not the Body and shall be the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).
The Second Coming of Christ
We believe that the great tribulation will be climaxed by the (premillennial) return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; Matthew 24:15-25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:6).
The Blessed Hope
We believe that the next even in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to receive to Himself the dead in Christ and believers who are alive at His coming, otherwise known as the Rapture or Translation of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14).
The Tribulation
We affirm that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week. The latter half of this seven year period is the time of Jacob's trouble, the Great Tribulation (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 6:19).
Church Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to be observed until His return (Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
The Eternal State
We believe that the soul and human spirit of those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, do at death, immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming, when soul, human spirit, and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory; but the souls of unbelievers, remain after death, in conscious misery, until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the Millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).
The Responsibility of Believers
We believe that the responsibility of the believer is to "grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ," to the end that his life is consistent with the Lord's plan, thus bringing both blessing to the believer and honor to the Lord (2 Peter 3:18)
Spiritual Gifts
Sovereignty
We believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign. He exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as part of, and consistent with, the essence and attributes of deity (1 Chronicles 29:11-12; Daniel 4:35; Psalms 24:1; Ephesians 1:11; 1 Timothy 6:15). However, God in His sovereignty will not violate the free will of man. The free will of man and the sovereignty of God coexist by divine degree (1 Timothy 2:4-6; Romans 5:8-10; Matthew 10:32-33; Matthew 16:24-25; John 3:16,36).
We believe that God the Holy Spirit, in grace and apart from human merit, administers spiritual gifts to believers in this dispensation. Some permanent spiritual gifts in existence today are: pastor-teacher, evangelist, administration, helps, service, exhortation and giving. We further maintain that the temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture. These temporary gifts were apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, healing and working miracles (1 Corinthians 12,13; Ephesians 4:7-12; Romans 12:4-8). Though the spiritual gifts of miracles and healing have ceased, God may and does heal and miraculously intervenes by His direct action (Isaiah 46:10; Matthew 28:18; James 5:16).