THE SCRIPTURES

We believe the Bible to be composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, and we hold them as the sole authority for faith and practice.  We believe them to be the revealed and inspired Word of God, inerrant and infallible, and we believe that God has Providentially preserved His Word (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Matt. 5:18).

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture: that is, the VERY WORDS are FULLY inspired. God used human authors, which were moved upon by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:21), and gave them the exact words to write down. The words of God are preserved for us today in English in the KJV Bible (Ps. 12:6-7; Is. 40:8).
  
 

THE GOD HEAD

We believe in the triune existence of God in three persons-the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Each personality is eternal in being, identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and has the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4, II Cor. 13:14; Matt. 3:16, 17, 28, 29).

 

JESUS CHRIST

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and became man without ceasing to be God. Having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a Virgin (Is 7:14; Matt 1:23), He came in order to reveal God and to redeem sinful man (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35 Phil. 2: 5-11).

  

THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person and convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The Holy Spirit is directly involved in the inspiration of Scriptures and is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth. He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, indwelling in and sealing believers unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit empowers believers for service to God (John 16:8-11; II Cor. 3:6; Romans 8:9; Eph. 1:13, 14, Acts 1:8).

 

ANGELOLOGY

We believe that Satan is a real and personal being and is a fallen angel who is the adversary of Christ and His people. He deceives, entices, and accuses Christians, and his end is the lake of fire.  The holy angels are (Rev. 14:10) "ministering spirits" (Heb 1:14), helping christians and serving God in heaven and on earth (Heb. 13:2; Isa. 14:12-15; II Cor. 4:3, 4; I Peter 5:8; Rev. 12:9, 10; 20:10). 

 

MAN'S CONDITION

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that he sinned, and physical and spiritual death resulted. In Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God and is totally unable to regain its former position (Gen. 1:26; 3:1-24; Rom. 3:23; 5:12; Eph. 2:12).

 

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is a gift of God's grace to whosoever will and is received by repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Salvation is " by grace through faith" plus nothing and minus nothing (Eph. 2:8, 9; Acts 20:21; John 1:12, 3:16; I Pet. 1:23).

  

THE CHURCH

A church is a local group of saved, baptized believers gathered into a local congregation for the purpose of obedience to Christ, edification of the saints, and fulfillment of the great commission (Matt. 28:19,20). We believe that each local church should be self-governing (autonomous) under the headship of Christ, in accordance with the teachings of the New Testament. We believe that the local church is God's program for this age, and that every Christian is bound by Scripture to give his unhindered support to the local church (I Tim. 3:15, Matt. 16:18).

 

PROPHECY

We believe in the personal, imminent, and pre-tribulational return of Christ for His saints known as the Rapture. Following the Rapture, the world will enter a seven-year period of judgment known as the tribulation. After the tribulation, Christ will return to the earth and set up His millenial kingdom, ruling and reigning with a rod of iron for one thousand years (I Thes. 4:16-18; Acts 15:14-18; Rev. 1:11-16; 20:6; II Sam. 7:12-16; Zech. 14:4-11). 

 

SEPARATION

We believe that the church should be separate from the state (Acts 22:21; Rom. 13:1-4), the believer from the world (II Cor. 6:14-18; Col. 3:1-12) and the church from apostasy (II Peter 2; II Tim. 2; Jude). We believe that God's Word clearly teaches that each believer separate from sin and worldly pleasures, especially those which could be a harmful influence to others and could be a stumblingblock to others (I John 2:15-17; Romans 14:21; II Cor. 6:14-17; I Cor. 6:19-20; James 5:12).

 

THE ORDINANCES

We believe that there are two Christian ordinances:

1. Baptism was instituted by the command of Christ and is only for believers after they have been saved (Matt. 28:18-20). Baptism is not a means of "obtaining grace" and is not necessary for salvation, but rather is the first step of obedience after one puts his faith in God. Jesus set the example for us to follow by being baptized in water, and baptism is by immersion to testify of our identification with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-4). 
2. The Lord's Supper, as instituted by Christ, is a memorial, a symbol, and a prophecy to show forth His death until He comes (I Cor. 11).  

SEXUAL IMMORALITY

  1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one's gender by surgery or appearance (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30: Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1: I Cor. 6:9; I Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).
  2. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23).