Statement

of Faith

1. The Holy Scriptures

We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of the Scriptures. By this is meant a miraculous guidance of the Holy Spirit in their original writing, extending to all parts of the Scripture equally applying even to the choice of words, so that the result is the very Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. Moreover, it is our conviction that God has exercised such singular care and providence through the ages in preserving the written Word that the Scriptures as we now have them are in every essential particular as originally given and contain all things necessary to salvation. By Scriptures is meant the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament always accepted by historical, fundamental Christian churches. (2 Timothy 3:16 -17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

2. The True God

We believe that there is only one living and true God, infinite in every excellence, that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, yet one in substance and equal in every divine perfection. (Exodus 20:2-3, 1 Corinthians 8:6, 1 John 5:7)

We believe in the absolute Deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ: that He was divine as no other man can be, being very God of very God, existing from all eternity coequal with the Father and the Spirit; that He never ceased to be God for one instance and that His humiliation did not consist of laying aside His deity; that as a man He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. (Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:26-38, John 1:1-2, 1 John 5:20).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, coequal with the Father and Son and of the same substance and nature, that He convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment, bears witness to the truth, is the agent of the New Birth, and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer, and indwells every true Child of God. (John 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 1:13-14)

3. The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, whose end is the Lake of Fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:12-19, Matthew 25:41, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, 1 Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:9-10, Revelation 20:10)

4. The Creation

We accept the Genesis account of Creation as literal and historical and believe that man came by direct creation of God, as a fully complete man, and not by evolution, and this occurred in a six-day week, each day having twenty-four (24) hours. (Genesis 1-2, Colossians 1:16-17)

5. The Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not only by constraint, but of choice, and therefore under just condemnation without defence or excuse. (Genesis 3:1-6, Romans 5, 10:1-9; Ephesians 2:1-10)

6. The Virgin Birth

We believe that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born of Mary a Virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of woman, and that He is both the Son of God and God the Son. (Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:18, 23, 25, Luke 1:35, John 1:4)

7. The Redemption from Sin

We believe that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is through the redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, when He voluntarily took upon Him a human body and nature, yet without sin, and by His suffering, death, and resurrection made full satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of man through His blood, that the blessings of this salvation are given on the grounds of grace to all who believe, confess, and in faith accept these offers of mercy. (John 1:1-3,14, John 3:1-7, Hebrews 10:4-14, Acts 16:30-33)

8. The New Birth

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the Word of God, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life. (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, 19, 1 John 5:1, John 3:6-8, Acts 16:30-33, 2 Peter 1:4, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13, James 1:18)

9. Salvation by Grace

We believe that salvation is obtained by Grace through Faith; that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part of whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by faith and personal acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. Apart from Christ there is no possible salvation. (Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9-13, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7)

We believe that all who take Christ as their Saviour are born from above and are eternally secure in Christ. (John 10:28-29, Romans 8:15-39, Philippians 1:6).

10. The Church

In the universal sense: We believe the universal church consists of all those who, in this age, have been born of the Spirit of God and have by that same Spirit been baptized into the body of Christ (Romans 12:4-5, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 20, 27, Colossians 3:15) That the term is used in this universal sense is evident because Christ spoke of building his church, not churches (Matthew 16:18). Membership is not, however, hereditary or by compulsion, but by a personal decision of faith in Christ.

In the local sense: We believe the local church is a congregation of professed believers in any one locality. A truly Christian local church consists of saved persons who are obedient to the Lord's ordinances (Acts 2:41-42, Acts 11:20-26, 1 Corinthians 6:11). Without doubt, there are many unsaved people who are members of local churches upon false profession of faith in Jesus. But these are known to the Lord (Revelation 2:13-15), and He does not regard them to be His people. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that the one and only Head is Christ through the Holy Spirit. We hold that it is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, of polity, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Acts 20:17-28, Ephesians 1:22, Ephesians 4:11-12, Ephesians 5:23-24, Colossians 1:18, 2 Timothy 3:17)

11. Baptism & The Lord's Supper

We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, one time backward, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, as a testimony to our death to sin and resurrection to a new life, and that it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the commemoration of His death until He come and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination. (Acts 8:26-39, John 3:23, Romans 6:3-5, Matthew 3:16, Colossians 2:12, 1 Corinthians 11:23-28)

12. The Eternal State of the Saved & The Lost

We believe in a Heaven and a Hell. Heaven is the place of eternal conscious joy for all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. Hell is the place of eternal conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire for all who reject Jesus Christ and His completed work on the cross for our redemption. (John 14:1-6, Psalm 16:11, Philippians 1:21, 23, Psalm 9:17, John 8:24, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:10-15, Romans 1:19-20, Acts 4:12)

13. Civil Government

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that government leaders are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth. (Exodus 18:21-22, 2 Samuel 23:3, Romans 13:1-7, Matthew 22:21, Acts 23:5, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-15)

14. The Resurrection, The Personal, Visible, Premillennial Return of Christ, & Related Events

(a) We believe in the Bodily Resurrection. (Matthew 28:6-7, Luke 24:39, Mark 16:6, John 20:27, 1 Corinthians 15:4, Luke 24:2-6)

(b) We believe in the Ascension. (Acts 1:9-11, Luke 24:51, Mark 16:19, Revelation 3:21, Hebrews 12:2

(d) Of the Return of Christ: We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ: that He will come before the seven year Tribulation period to catch away His Church, coming only into the air, and that He will come with His Church at the close of the Tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His Kingdom on earth. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 19:11-21, John 14:3, Acts 1:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, James 5:8, Hebrews 9:28)

(e) We believe in the Resurrection of the Righteous Dead. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 1 Corinthians 15:52)

(f) We believe in the Change of the Living in Christ, also known as the Rapture. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Philippians 3:20-21)

(g) We believe in the Judgment Seat of Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15, Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 12:36)

(h) We believe in the Millennial Reign of Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:25, Isaiah 32:1, Isaiah 11:4-5, Psalm 72:8, Revelation 20:4, 6)

(i) We believe in the White Throne Judgement. (Revelation 20:11-15)

(j) We believe in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (Revelation 21:1-5)

15. Separation & Sanctification

We believe that the Scriptures clearly teach nonconformity to the world for every believer; that born-again people should be separated from the world unto Christ; that it is clearly commanded of God to all believers to live lives of separation from all worldly and sinful practices and to be holy as He is holy. We believe that positional sanctification is to be progressive throughout the entire life-span of a believer here on earth. God's provision for holy living is in the believer's identification with Christ in His death, resurrection, and ascension; the indwelling person and power of the Holy Spirit, and the believer's yieldedness to Him; and the powerful Word of God. (Colossians 3:1-4, 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, Titus 2:14, 1 Peter 1:14-16, Colossians 1:13, 2 Corinthians 7:1,3,18, 2 Peter 3:18, Romans 6:1-14, John 17:17, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 John 2:15-17, Romans 12:1-2, James 4:1-4)