About Our Lord
Our Statement of Faith
We believe:
(A) The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and the divine and final authority for Christian faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21)
(B) In one God, Creator of all things, infinitely (unbound and immeasurably) perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; I John 1:5; I John 3:5; John 14:16-17; [John 6:27; John 1:1; I Corinthians 3:16])
(C) That Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate. (Hebrews 1:8; I John 5:20; Romans 5:15; Luke 1:35, 24:25-26; Matthew 28:6; Hebrews 7:25)
(D) That the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and during this age to convict men, regenerate the believing sinner, indwell, guide, instruct and empower the believer for Godly living and service. (John 14:16-17; John 16:7-14; Galatians 5:16)
(E) That man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is, therefore, lost, and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can he obtain salvation and spiritual life. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:17-19; Romans 3:23; Titus 3:5)
(F) That the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and, thus, become children of God. (Romans 5:8-9, 4:25; John 1:12)
(G) That those who have made the passageway from death to life through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ can be assured of a permanent abode in heaven based upon the satisfaction of Christ’s atoning death for sin and the irrevocable promise of God. (I John 5:13; Romans 8:32-39)
(H) That water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present age. They are, however, not to be regarded as a means of salvation. (Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 11:24-26; I Peter 3:21; Ephesians 2:8-9)
(I) That the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the Body of Christ of which He is the Head. (I Corinthians 12:13, 27; Colossians 1:18, 24; Acts 2:37-47)
(J) That only those who are, thus, members of the universal church shall be eligible for membership in the local church. (Ephesians 1:1; Acts 11:20-26, 18:8-11)
(K) That Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church and that the local church has the right, under Christ, to decide and govern its own affairs. (Acts 15:19-31; I Peter 5:1-4)
(L) In the personal coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this “Blessed Hope” has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
(M) In the bodily resurrection of the dead; of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
(N) That Satan is a being, the author of sin and the perpetrator of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15)
(O) That God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by the Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
(P) That God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a 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. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5&13, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
(Q) That God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. That the pursuing of divorce (and/or remarriage) for reasons not in accord with biblical principles is regarded as adultery. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-2)
(R) That human life begins at conception and this created life has the right to life. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5, 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1&5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
