|
|
|
|
About
Us - Our Beliefs
The sole basis of our belief is the Bible, God's
infallible, written Word, the 66 books of the
Old and New Testaments. We believe that it was
uniquely, verbally, and fully inspired by the
Holy Spirit, and that it was written without error
(inerrant) in the original manuscripts. It is
the supreme and final authority in all matters
on which it speaks. It is the final Word from
God to man and there is no new revelation being
given to men which supercedes, contradicts, adds
to, or detracts from the recognized canon. We
accept those areas of doctrinal teaching on which,
historically, there has been general agreement
among all true Christians.
We explicitly affirm our belief in the basic Bible
teachings as follows:
- God
- There is one true God, eternally existing
in three persons–Father, Son, and Holy Spirit–each
of whom possesses equally all the attributes
of Deity and the characteristics of personality
(Deut. 6:4; Num. 6:24-26; Isa. 48:16; Matt.
3:16, 17; 28:18-20; John 14:16, 17, 23,
26; 15:26).
- God is spirit. He is self-existent. He
is infinite and eternal in His being, the
creator and sustainer of all of creation,
and is the redeemer of all who receive His
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as Lord and
Savior, and He is judge of all mankind.
He is sovereign. He is complete and perfect
in all His attributes (Gen. 1:1-2:25; Psalm
90:2; Ex. 3:14; Deu. 33:27; Psalm 135:6;
John 4:24).
- God admonishes His people to assemble
together regularly for worship, participation
in ordinances, edification through the Scriptures,
mutual encouragement, and for being equipped
for service (Heb. 10:25; Eph. 4:11-16).
- Jesus Christ
- Jesus Christ is God, the Living Word,
Who became flesh through His miraculous
conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin
birth. Hence, He is perfect Deity and true
humanity united in one person forever (John
1:1, 14; Matt. 1:18-21 {Isa. 7:14}; Luke
1:26-33, 35).
- He lived a sinless life and voluntarily
atoned for the sins of men by dying on the
cross as their substitute, thus satisfying
divine justice and accomplishing salvation
for all who trust in Him alone (John 1:11,
12; 6:37; 8:28, 29, 36, 46; Luke 9:51; 10:17;
Eph. 1:4; Heb. 1:1-3).
- He rose from the dead in the same body,
though glorified, in which He lived and
died (Luke 24:36-42; John 10:17, 18; 20:19,
20; 1 Cor 15:1-34).
- He ascended bodily into heaven and sat
down at the right hand of God the Father,
where He, the only mediator between God
and man, continually makes intercession
for His own (Acts 1:9-11; Col. 3:1; Heb.
7:25; 10:12; 1 Peter 3:22; 1 Tim. 2:5; Rom.
8:34; 1 John 2:1, 2).
- Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church,
His body, which is composed of all those,
living and dead, who–starting at Pentecost–have
been joined to Him through saving faith
(John 1:11, 12; Acts 2:1-4; Eph. 1:22, 23;
5:23; 1 Thess. 4:13-18).
- Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit is the third person of
the Triune God. He is one in nature and
essence with God the Father and Jesus Christ
(Isa. 48:16; Matt. 28:19; John 14:16, 17,
23; 15:26).
- The Holy Spirit has come into the world
to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply
the saving work of Christ to men. He convicts
and draws sinners to Christ, imparts new
life to them, continually indwells them
from the moment of spiritual birth, and
seals them until the day of redemption.
His fullness, power, and control are appropriated
in the believer's life by faith (John 14:16,
26; 15:26; 16:7-11, 13-15; ROM 8:9; Eph.
4:30).
- There is only one "baptism" in the Holy
Spirit, accomplished at salvation, whereby
the believer is identified with Christ and
is permanently and completely indwelt by
His Spirit. There is no second act of grace
or special anointing for releasing gifts
or revelation. He fills and controls believers
who daily are surrendered to Him (Mark 1:8;
Acts 1:5; Luke 3:16; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph.
5:18).
- The Bible
- The Bible–the Old and New Testaments–is
the Word of God, and, as such, is verbally
inspired, inerrant in the original autographs,
authoritative, infallible, and wholly reliable.
The Scriptures are the only guide and rule
of faith and conduct for the believer (Matt.
5:18; John 10:35; 17:17; Psalm 119:89; 2
Tim. 3:16, 17).
- Our responsibility is to learn them, obey
them, and conform to their requirements
in all of life. The Bible is God's final
revelation to man. It is not to be added
to, taken away from, or altered in any way
(2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 2:21; Deu. 4:2;
Prov. 30:5, 6; Rev. 22:18, 19).
- Man
- Man was originally created in the image
of God. He sinned by disobeying God; thus,
he was alienated from his Creator. The historic
fall of Adam brought all mankind under divine
condemnation (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7, 16, 17;
3:6, 16-19, 23, 24; Rom 5:12, 17-19; 1 Cor.
15:22).
- Man's nature is utterly corrupted, and
he is thus totally unable to please God.
Every man is in need of regeneration and
renewal by the Holy Spirit. Man has no possible
means of salvation within himself through
good works (Gen. 6: 12; Rom 3:23; 5:12;
1 Cor. 2:14; 1 John 5:19; Eph 2:8, 9; Titus
3:5; Gal. 2:16).
- Salvation
- The salvation of man is wholly a work
of God's free grace and is not the result,
in whole or in part, of human works or goodness
or of religious ceremony. Salvation is received
only through personal faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, as a man will repent and believe
the gospel. God imputes His righteousness
to those who put their faith in Christ alone
for their salvation, and thereby justifies
them in His sight (John 1:11, 12;14:6; Mark
1:15; Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5-7; Rom 3:20-28;
4:16-25; Gal. 2:16; 3:24).
- It is the privilege of all who are born
again of the Spirit to be assured of their
salvation from the very moment in which
they trust Christ as their Savior. This
assurance is not based upon any kind of
human merit, but is produced by the witness
of the Holy Spirit, who confirms in the
believer the testimony of God in His written
Word (John 1:11, 12; 3:14-18, 36; 14:16;
5:24; Rom 8:16-18; Titus 3:5-7; Heb. 13:5,
6; 1 John 5:11-13; Rev. 6:9-11).
- The Christian Life
- Every believer is called to so live in
the power of the indwelling Spirit that
he will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh,
but will bear fruit to the glory of God
(John 15:16; Rom 12:1, 2; Gal. 5:16-23).
- It is the will of our Lord that believers
publicly affirm their commitment to Him
and their identity with His people through
obedience to His command to be baptized
by immersion in water. This ordinance has
no bearing upon salvation, but–as an act
of obedience–is a logical consequence of
salvation (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8:36-39;
Eph. 2:8, 9; 1 Peter 3:21).
- The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers
to proclaim the gospel throughout the world
and to disciple men of every nation. Fulfilling
of the Great Commission requires that all
worldly and personal ambitions be subordinated
to a total commitment to "Him Who loved
us gave Himself for us… " (Rev. 1:5; Matt.
28:18-20; Eph. 4:1-3; Col. 1:10, 11; 1 Thess.
2:12; Phil. 2:3, 4).
- The Church
- The church was founded at Pentecost with
the coming of the Holy Spirit, and consists
of all who have truly repented of their
sins and have received the Lord Jesus Christ
as personal Lord and Savior. The church
is manifested as believers gather together
for worship and service. The only members
of the true church are those who are in
Christ (Matt. 16:18; John 14:16; Acts 2:1-5;
Heb. 10:25; 2 Cor. 5:17).
- Jesus Christ is the head of the church,
His body, and, as such, has sole authority
over its functioning. He is to be obeyed
in everything, since He is Lord of all (Eph.
1:22; 4:15; Col. 1:18; 1 John 4:2, 3; ROM
10:9, 10, 13; Acts 10:36; Phil. 2:11).
- Things to Come
- At physical death the believer enters
immediately into the eternal, conscious
presence of the Lord and awaits the resurrection
of his body to everlasting glory and blessing
(2 Cor. 5:6-8; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess.
2:1-14).
- At physical death the unbeliever enters
immediately into eternal, conscious separation
from the Lord and awaits the resurrection
of his body to everlasting judgment and
condemnation (Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:22-24;
2 Thess. 1:6, 8, 9; Rev. 20:11-15).
- Jesus Christ will return in the air before
the great tribulation for His church, to
take His own–the living and the dead–home
to be with Him forever (1 Cor. 15:51-58;
1 Thess. 4:13-18; 2 Thess. 2:1-10).
- Jesus Christ will come again to the earth–personally,
visibly and bodily–to consummate history
and the eternal plan of God (John 14:1-3;
Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:30; 25:31-33, 41,
46).
|
|
|
|
|
|