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The Bible

 

The Bible is inspired by God and is infallible, never wrong as originally given. The Bible is the supreme, absolute, and final authority for correct believing. (1Tim. 3:16-17; 2Pet. 1:20-21; John 17:17; Is. 40:8)

 

The Trinity - God eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

 

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:13)

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The Father

 

We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, knowledge, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He actively and mercifully guides the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Exodus 34:6-7, John 3:16, John 4:23-24, Ephesians 1:3)

 

The Son, Jesus Christ

 

We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, is the one and only Son of God. Jesus Christ is the foundation of our faith (1Cor3:11). Jesus is the Christ, God’s anointed one, the Messiah (Jn. 20:31). He was born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18-20; Lk. 1:35) and lived a sinless life (2Cor. 5:21). He is God’s word in the flesh (Jn. 1:14) and the express image of God (Heb. 1:3). Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father God (Jn. 14:6). Jesus paid for the sins of the world by his substitutionary sacrifice on the cross (Rom. 3:25-26; 1Jn. 4:9-11). God raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand (Eph1:20). Our blessed hope is for the imminent (1Thes. 5:2) personal return of our living Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20; Tit2:13) and our gathering together unto him (1Cor. 15:51-52; 1Thes. 4:16-17) before judgment of the world (1Thes. 1:10; 5:9; Rev. 3:10).

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The Holy Spirit

 

The Holy Spirit is sent from the Father and the Son to enable us to live a holy life and empower the church to bear witness to Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, co-equal with the Father and the Son. The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus by convicting unbelievers of their need for Christ; giving new birth to those who put their faith in Jesus; and indwelling, sanctifying, leading, teaching, and empowering believers for godly living and service. We believe that all Christians are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4; 8:14-17; 19:1-7), and that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the Church as divine provisions central to spiritual growth and effective ministry. These gifts are to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to biblical guidelines (John 3:3-8, John 14:15-27, John 16:5-15, Romans 8:9-17, 1 Corinthians 12-14, Galatians 5:16-26, Ephesians 5:18-21).

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You Must be Born Again

 

Sin is the condition of being separated from God and the effects that it produces. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23), and the consequence of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). But God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). When anyone declares that Jesus is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be saved (Rom. 10:9). People receive the Holy Spirit when they hear and believe this message of truth (Eph. 1:13). Thus, every believer is born again of the Holy Spirit (1Pet. 1:23), and has become a child of God (Rom. 8:14, 16) and a member of the Body of Christ (1Cor. 12:27).

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What Believers Do

 

Born again believers endeavor to follow Jesus Christ in our daily life (Col. 2:6). We turn away from the sinful lives we lived before and seek to become more like Jesus Christ (Rom. 6:18; 2Cor. 5:17). We grow in Jesus Christ by renewing our minds (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23) in God’s word (Matt. 4:4; 2Tim. 2:15), walking in the love of God (Eph. 5:2), and worshipping God. We perform good works, not to be saved, but because we are saved already (Eph. 2:8-10; Heb. 12:24; James 2:26). We seek to win others to Christ by connecting with people and lovingly sharing the message of truth (1Pet. 3:15).

 

Water Baptism

 

Water baptism is a public confession that a person has been born again. Being submerged in water symbolizes our identification with the death and burial of Jesus. Rising out of the water symbolizes our being raised together with Jesus to new life (Rom. 6:4-11; Col. 2:12).

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Lord's Supper

 

The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s sacrifice and consists of two elements: bread and fruit of the vine. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ that was broken for our healing. The cup symbolizes Christ’s blood that was shed for forgiveness of sins (Is.53:4-6, Ps. 103:3; Luke 22:19-20; Matt. 26:26-29; 1Cor. 11:23-25; 1Pet. 2:24; James 5:15; Ps. 103:3).

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Marriage and Sexuality

 

We affirm the Biblical standard of marriage being between one man and one woman and that sex is to be expressed only within the confines of a marriage relationship. (Gen. 2:23-24; Mark 10:6-8; 1Cor. 7:2)