WHAT WE BELIEVE
Statement of Beliefs
Regarding the Word of God. The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit and they constitute the Divine Rule of Christian faith and practice. 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17
Regarding God. There is only one God, who is infinitely perfect-the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things-and who is the only proper object of worship. Deuteronomy 32:6; Colossians 1:15-17; Matthew 4:10 There are three distinct Persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All are undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory. Matthew 28:19; 1 John 5:7-8
Regarding Jesus Christ. As the second Person in the Godhead, Jesus Christ is God and was made manifest in the flesh through a virgin birth. Therefore, He is truly and properly God, and truly and properly Man. By His physical suffering and death, He made atonement for sin once and for all. By His resurrection, there is eternal life for all who believe. Hebrews 2:10, 7:27; 1 Corinthians 15:16-17
Regarding Heaven and Hell. While heaven is the eternal, blissful home for the righteous, hell is the destination of everlasting punishment for the wicked. Revelation 7:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10; Jude 7
Regarding Salvation through Jesus Christ. Since the fall of our first "parents," Adam and Eve, Man is entirely unable in his own strength or ability to find salvation and reconciliation with God. Man is wholly dependent on God's grace and mercy. Romans 5:12-14; Ephesians 2:8 Salvation comes by God's grace, not by works. It depends upon repentance, faith in God through accepting the lordship and saving act of Jesus Christ, the cleansing by the shed blood of Jesus and the regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Romans 3:22-26, 5:8; 8:9-11; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8 Neither ritual, tradition, ceremony nor rite can replace conversion, relationship with God, or true worship, and that nothing less than the Lordship of Christ upon a life is the mark of a Christian. Galatians 3:1-5; John 4:23-24; Colossians 2:8
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Regarding the Holy Spirit. As the third Person in the Godhead, the Holy Spirit is God and He seals our salvation in Christ, guaranteeing our divine inheritance. Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30 It is the privilege of all believers, in response to the command of God's Word, to receive the power of the Holy Spirit to live holy and victorious lives, and that the Holy Spirit operates through gifts, ministries and manifestations to glorify Jesus through His Body to the world. Acts 2:37-39; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11
Regarding Water Baptism. Baptism, or full immersion in water, is an act of biblical obedience that is a symbolic sign of the believer's death, burial and resurrection in Christ Jesus. Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-4
Regarding the Church. At the time of His ascension into Heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ gifted the Church with living ministry expressions of Himself through apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the building up of the Body of Christ and the equipping of the believers to the work of service. Ephesians 4:11-13 It is the commission of the Church to go into the whole world to preach the gospel and extend the Kingdom of God, knowing that "this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached to the whole world for a witness to all nations, and then shall the end come." Matthew 24:14; 28:18-20 Instituted by Jesus with His disciples, the Lord's Supper is to be continued in the Church, and in doing so, the she "proclaims the Lord's death until He comes," serving as a memorial of Christ's suffering and death, and as a prophecy of His coming. Through the celebration, we discern and acknowledge the Body of Christ in its totality, unity and authority. 1 Corinthians 10:15-17; 11:23-26
Regarding Jesus Coming Again. The Bible speaks of a physical, triumphant return of Jesus Christ to an overcoming and glorious Church. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18