What We Believe

The Scriptures: We believe the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the verbally and plenarily inspired word of God.  The scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life.  The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man.  The scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammmatical-historical meaning.  The King James Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church.  (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

 God: We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Ghost - each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.  (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28: 19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Jesus: 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 Ghost and born of Mary (a virgin), in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.  (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.  (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)

 Holy Ghost/Spirit: We believe that the Holy Ghost is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.  (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)

We believe that the Holy Ghost is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.  (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

We believe that God bestows spiritual gifts to every believer.  God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the church to do the work of the ministry.  (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Ghost, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing through human instruments, were temporary.  Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Ghost.  Ultimate deliverance of the sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection; however, God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing.  (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)

The Fall of Man: We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

Salvation of Man: We believe that salvation is the GIFT of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins.  We believe that all sins are forgivable. (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)

Eternal Security: We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God's power and remains secure in Christ forever.  (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5)

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's word. However the Bible clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

Adoption: We believe the scriptures teach that adoption is a gracious act by which the Father, for the sake of Christ, accepts believers to the estate and condition of children, by a new and spiritual birth; sending the Spirit of Adoption into their hearts, whereby they become members of the family of God, and entitled to all rights, privileges, and promises of children; and if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ to the heritage of all saints on earth, and an inheritance reserved in Heaven for them.(Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 3:26; 4:5-7; Ephesians 1:5; I John 3:1; Hebrews 12:7; I Peter 2:9.)

Church: We believe that the local church, which is to consist of only born-again believers.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament.  (Acts 14:27; 20:17; 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper as the scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age.  (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Separation: We believe that believers should maintain a godly testimony and live in such a way that their lives do not bring reproach upon their Saviour or His church. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations. We stand against any and all worldly philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of biblical Christianity. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

Second Coming: We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will call up the saved prior to the 7-year period known as the great tribulation. At the end of that 7-year period, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish his earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

Eternal Beings: We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.  (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)

We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.  (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3;21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)

We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)

Satan: We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause 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 20:10)

Creation: We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God's creation of the earth in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Day-Age Theory, and the Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)

Sexuality: We believe the scriptures teach God has clearly commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged outside of a marriage between a man and a woman; that marriage is exclusively defined by God in His Holy Word as the covenanted physical union of one man (natural born male) and one woman (natural born female); that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, pedophilia, and pornography are sinful perversions; that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis2:24; 19:5-7,13; 26:8-11; Leviticus18:1-30; Romans1:26-29;
I Corinthians5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians4:1-8; Hebrews13:4.)

Abortion: We believe the scriptures teach that human life begins at conception and that an unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We believe any teaching stating that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental wellbeing of the mother is unacceptable.(Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1,5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44.)

Family: We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in standing before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and in the church; that the husband is called to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders of the church.(Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; I Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5,12.)

We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society; that the husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, and the wife is to submit herself to the scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the Headship of Christ; that children are an heritage of the Lord; and that parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through a consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including scriptural corporal correction.(Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; I Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; I Peter 3:1-7.)