Statement of Basic Beliefs
1. Our Belief in God: We believe there is one living and
true God, the self-existent, sovereign, transcendent, perfect, infinite and
eternal Creator of the universe. He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each having a distinct
ministry in relation to His creation and His people.
Psalm 90:2;
Genesis 1:1,26- 27;
Isaiah 42:5, 46:9;
Matthew 28:19;
2 Corinthians 13:14;
Job 38:4-7
A. God the Father is the Supreme Ruler of the universe. He
providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His
grace. Isaiah 45:18;
Romans 9:14-21, 11:36;
Ephesians 1:4, 6, 11, 2:7;
1 Timothy 6:15-16
B. God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the
virgin Mary, He declared His deity among men, died on the cross as the only
complete and sufficient sacrifice for sin, arose bodily from the grave, and
ascended to the Father. He presently sits at the right hand of the Father,
interceding for believers until He returns to rapture them from the world. He
will ultimately return to the earth to rule from the throne of David.Matthew 1:21-23;
Isaiah 9:6;
Luke 1:31-33;
John 1:1-5, 14:10-30;
Ephesians 1:7;
Hebrews 4:14-15;
1 Corinthians 15:3-4;
Romans 1:3-4;
Acts 1:9-11;
Titus 2:13;
1 Timothy 6:14-15
C. God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity.
He convicts, guides, comforts, and teaches spiritual truths according to the
written Word. At conversion, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells and gifts
every believer for the purpose of ministry.
2 Corinthians 3:17;
John 16:7-13;
Acts 1:8;
1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16;
Ephesians 1:13, 5:18;
Galatians 5:25
2. Our Belief in the Word of God: We believe that the
Bible, the 66 Books of the Old and New Testaments, was written by human
authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is literally
the Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit, and inerrant as
originally given by God. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian
belief and life and is the infallible standard of our faith.
2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16-17;
2 Peter 1:20-21;
Psalm 119:105, 160, 12:6-7;
Proverbs 30:5-6;
Isaiah 55:11
3. Our Belief in the Nature of Man: Man was originally
created in the image and likeness of God to live eternally with Him, but
became a sinful creature by personal rebellion against God and perpetuated a
sinful nature to all his descendants. Thus all people are universally sinful
by nature and by choice. They are void of spiritual life and incapable of
saving themselves. They stand under the righteous judgment and wrath of God,
condemned to a literal, eternal, and fiery Hell. To be eternally separated
from God is Hell, while to be eternally united with Him is Eternal Life.
Genesis 1:27;
Psalm 8:3-6;
Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1-2;
Romans 3:23, 6:23;
John 2:25;
Revelation 20:15
4. Our Belief in Salvation: Salvation is a free gift of
God by grace through faith; it is entirely the act of God apart from any
work or merit of man. Ephesians 2:8-9;
Galatians 3:26
A. We believe in God’s Sovereignty and in Human
Responsibility. The facts that God chooses all who come to Him and that man
chooses to come to God are entirely consistent in Scripture. Before the world
began, God in His sovereignty purposed, planned and executed salvation. Man has
the responsibility to receive this salvation and be saved, or reject it and
suffer God’s judgment.
Matthew 11:28;
Isaiah 45:22, 55:7;
Revelation 22:17;
Ephesians 2:8-9;
Romans 10:9-10, 13
B. We believe in the Vicarious Atonement for sins by the
Blood of Jesus Christ. His substitutionary death, "the just for the
unjust," is the only sufficient atonement for the sins of all mankind, yet
effective only for the sins of those who believe.
Isaiah 53:4-7;
1 Peter 3:18;
Romans 6:23;
1 Corinthians 15:3-4;
Galatians 1:4
C. We believe in Regeneration. Regeneration is the act of God
by which the human spirit passes from spiritual death to spiritual life in
Christ, and is born again with a new nature.
John 3:3-17;
1 John 3:1-2;
James 1:18;
1 Peter 1:23;
2 Corinthians 5:17
D. We believe in Justification. Justification is the
declarative act of a Holy God whereby He declares righteous all who, by faith,
trust in Jesus for salvation and eternally changes their standing before Him.
James 2:23;
Romans 3:24, 4:5, 5:1;
Titus 3:7;
2 Corinthians 5:19
E. We believe in Sanctification. At conversion, God sets
apart every believer as a saint. All are commanded to pursue holiness by
following the leadership of the Spirit of God in personally applying the truths
and principles of the Word of God to their lives.
Corinthians 1:2, 30;
Romans 8:29;
Philippians 3:10, 1:6;
Hebrews 10:10, 14
F. We believe in Eternal Security. Because believers are kept
by the grace and power of God and not their own self-effort, salvation can never
be lost; thus all believers shall spend eternity in the glorious and heavenly
presence of God.
John 10:29;
2 Timothy 1:12;
Hebrews 7:25;
1 Peter 1:3-5;
Romans 8:29-39
5. Our Belief in Jesus Christ’s Second Coming: We
believe that Jesus Christ will literally return from Heaven in a personal,
visible and glorious fashion. We believe that His return is the Blessed Hope,
for which all believers should continually watch and pray, and that it signals
the consummation of the age and the final disposition of all creation. We also
believe that the time of His return is unrevealed but always imminent.
Acts 1:11;
Titus 2:13;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-17;
Mark 13:35-37;
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
6. Our Belief in the Church:
A. We believe in the Importance of the Local Church. A New
Testament church is a local congregation of born-again, baptized believers
united together to proclaim the Good News and exalt the Lord Jesus.
Matthew 16:18;
Ephesians 5:25-27;
2 Corinthians 6:16
B. We believe in the Autonomy of the Local Church. A New
Testament church has Jesus Christ as its only Head and is free to govern itself
apart from ecclesiastical interference. Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 6:1-7
C. We believe in the Two Ordinances of the Local Church.
Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water as a public profession of
personal faith in Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is the sharing of the bread
and the cup by the assembled church as a memorial to the broken body and shed
blood of Jesus Christ. Romans 6:3-5;
Matthew 28:18-20, 26:26-29;
1 Corinthians 11:23-30
7. Our Belief in Stewardship: We believe that God, the
Creator and Owner of all things, has entrusted to us as Christians our lives,
time, talents, influence, material wealth, and all things whatsoever we possess.
As a steward of these things, we are to administer them under the will of God
for the purposes of Jesus Christ. In definite expression of this stewardship, we
are to contribute systematically and proportionately of the gifts He has given
to us. Through these gifts, we support our Church and its mission.
Psalm 24:1;
1 Chronicles 29:11;
1 Corinthians 16:2;
Leviticus 27:30;
2 Corinthians 8:12, 9:6-7;
Exodus 35:22
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