Doctrine

1. The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (the sixty-six canonical books) to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. God has divinely preserved the Greek and Hebrew texts so as to make His will explicitly known and obeyed (II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:20,21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12,13).

2. The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and each having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14).

3. The Person and Work of Christ

a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1,2; Luke 1:35).

b. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mankind as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that the sufficiency of this atoning sacrifice to accomplish the redemption and justification of all who trust in Him, is assured by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24,25; 4:25; Ephesians 1:7; I Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 2:9; I Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; II Peter 2:1).

c. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our high priest, He fulfills the ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate (Acts 1:9,10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1,2).

4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

a. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13,14).

b. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers in all truth; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; I John 2:20,27; Ephesians 5:18).

5. The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26,27; Romans 3:22,23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).

6. Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ, who's precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8-10; 1:7; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18,19).

7. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

a. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5).

b. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; and that it is the responsibility of believers not to use their Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. Such "liberty" is clearly forbidden in Scripture (Romans 13:13,14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

8. The Two Natures of the Believer

We believe that every believer possesses two [2] natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Romans 6:13; 8:12,13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9).

9. Separation

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1,2; 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John vv. 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:11).

10. The Standard for Sexuality

We believe that God has instituted the marriage union, made up of one man and one woman, and that any intimate sexual activity outside of that union is sin. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God's holy standard (Genesis 2:24; 19:5-13; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4).

11. Missions

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness, by life and by word, the truths of Holy Scripture, seeking to proclaim the gospel to all mankind and to baptize and to teach all converts through the local church. If sound local churches are not present, then every effort must be taken to establish a church for the purpose of propagating the gospel, baptizing future converts and instructing the saints (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:19,20; II Corinthians 5:19,20).

12. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

a. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts, that the permanent gifts are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today, and that the temporary gifts (tongues, the working of signs and miracles) gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and its authority became established (I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:3,4).

b. We believe that God does hear and answer, in accord with His will, the prayer of faith for the sick and afflicted (John 15:7; I John 5:14,15).

13. The Church

a. We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:25-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2).

b. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11).

c. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1-4; I Corinthians 3:9,16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4).

d. We believe in the ordinances of believer's water baptism and the Lord's supper as scriptural means of testimony for the Church age (Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 2:41,42; 18:8; I Corinthians 11:23-26).

14. Dispensationalism

We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three [3] of these (the age of law, the age of the Church, and the age of the millennial kingdom) are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture (John 1:17; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:24,25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6).

15. The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the original fall, that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6,7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

16. The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that "Blessed Hope" (the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones), and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1:10; 5:9; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6; 3:10).

17. The Eternal State

a. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men: the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28,29; Revelation 20:5,6,12,13).

b. We believe that at death, the souls of the redeemed are absent from the body and present with the Lord where in conscious bliss, they await the resurrection of the Church when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16,17).

c. We believe that after death, the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery until the second resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude vv.6,7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).