Statement of Faith

The Bible
The Bible is the complete, verbally-inspired, authoritative Word of God, comprised of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, and wholly without error as originally given by God. The Holy Scriptures speak with final authority concerning salvation, truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind.
(Psalm 19:7-8; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)

The One True God
There is one true God, Creator, and Lord of all. He is revealed in the Bible and eternally exists as three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
(Gen. 1:1; Ps. 90:2; Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19; Ac. 17:24; 2 Cor. 13:14)

The Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ (the Son) is fully God and exists eternally as the second person of the Trinity. He took on human flesh and was conceived by virgin birth. He led a sinless life, died a substitutionary death, and was raised to life in the flesh. He ascended into heaven where He presently ministers until He comes again.
(1 John 1:1-3; John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:6-8; Matt. 1:18-23; Heb 4:14-16; 2 Cor. 5:21; Luke 24:36-43; Heb. 7:25; Acts 1:11)

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is fully God and exists eternally as the third person of the Trinity. He is at work in each believer: baptizing and indwelling at the moment of regeneration and filling to empower for Christian life and service. He is also at work convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

(Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 5:18; Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8, Gal. 5:22-23; John 16:7-15).

Mankind

God created man and woman sinless and in His image. Adam’s sin of rebellion marred this image and brought both physical death (the soul’s separation from the body) and spiritual death (the soul’s eternal separation from God’s benevolence) into the human race.  People are wholly unable to save themselves from this death. As such, a new birth brought by Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation.

(Gen. 1:26-28; James 3:9; Gen. 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12, 19; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; Rom. 8:6-8; Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12; John 1:12; John 3:3-5)

Salvation

The salvation brought by God is complete and eternal by His grace alone, received as the free gift of God through personal faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work, as He declares believers righteous in Him.

(Rom. 5:1; Eph, 2:4-9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Pet. 1:18-21; Heb. 10:14)

The Church

God is the primary authority by which the church exists as an ecclesiastical body according to the Holy Scriptures. There is one true church, the body and bride of Christ, composed of all believers. Believers assemble and organize into local churches for worship, for edification, and for world-wide gospel witness. Each local church is autonomous but cooperates in fellowship and work.

(Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32; 1 Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 4:11-16)

Christian Life

The Christian life is one of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world, manifested by speaking the truth, maintaining the sanctity of the home, settling differences between Christians in accordance with the work of God, not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all people, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, and maintaining a life of prayer, including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord.

(Rom. 12:1-2, James 5:12, Eph. 5:22-6:4, 1 Cor. 6:1-8, Rom. 12:17-21, Gal. 5:22-23, Eph. 6:18, Phil. 4:6, James 5:13-18)

Ordinances

Believers are called to observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ which are the baptism of believers and the communion service. Although not necessary for salvation, believers observe the ordinances as an expression of their faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-4, Matt. 26:26-28, John 13:1-17, 1 Cor. 11:20-34, Jude 12)

Satan

Satan is a created angel who fell as a result of his rebellion toward God. He is a deceiver, murderer, and a liar. He is God’s adversary who tempts and accuses the saints. Jesus overcame Satan upon His resurrection, and Satan is now a defeated adversary who faces final doom.

(Gen. 3:1; Luke 10:18, Eze. 28:13-16; John 8:44; Rev. 12:9-10; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; 1 Thess. 3:5; Matt. 4:1-3, Heb. 2:14; Rom. 16:20; Rev 20:10)

Second Coming and Future Life

Jesus Christ’s second coming is imminent, and He will come again to earth in a glorious, physical return. He will resurrect every soul and judge all the peoples of the world. Believers will receive their reward from God and will enter into eternal life. Unbelievers will be condemned to eternal punishment.

(Acts 1:10; Matt. 24:30; John 5:28-29; Matt. 25:31-32; Rev. 20:11-15; Matt. 25:46)

Gender

God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. A person’s gender corresponds to the biological sex God assigns that person at conception. Men and women are to obediently embrace the gender God has assigned to them and express their masculinity or femininity in a God-honoring manner. Rejection of one’s gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

(Gen. 1:26-27; Ps. 139:13; Romans 1:24-27; Mark 10:6; Deut. 22:5)

Marriage

The church of Jesus Christ only acknowledges marriage as the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union for life, as delineated in Scripture. Because God has so ordained and established marriage, it cannot be redefined or expanded by any human or earthly authority.

(Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:4-9)

Sexuality

God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other.  All other sexual activity (including, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexual or bisexual behavior, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is immoral, sinful, and offensive to God.

(1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5, Heb. 13:4, Matt. 15:18-20, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:31)

​

The Love of Christ

Just as God so loved the world and sent His only Son, we are called to love all people. Thus, we are to afford biblical compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity to all regardless of one’s station, beliefs, or circumstances in life.

(John 3:16; 1 John 4:11; Rom. 12:16; Jas. 2:1-4; Lev. 19:15)