what we believe
(A) The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the
verbally and plenary inspired Word of God.
The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and
therefore are the final authority for faith and life.
The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and
divine revelation of God to Man.
The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal
grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning
shall be determined by the pastor.
We further believe that God gave the words of Scripture by
inspiration without error in the original autographs, that He has promised
to preserve His Words, and that the best translation of the preserved Word
of God in the English language is the Authorized Version (
(B) 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 are
divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His
purpose. Three of these
dispensations--the law, the church, and the kingdom-- are the subjects of
detailed revelation in Scripture (Gen. 1:28;
1Cor. 9:17; 2Cor.
3:9-18; Gal.3:13-25;
Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10;
Col. 1:24-25,27; Rev.
20:2-6).
(C) The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons-- Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit-- each
co-eternal in being,
co-identical in nature, co-equal
in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut.
6:4; Matt. 28:19;
2Cor. 13:14;
(D) The Person and Work of Christ
(1) 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 men (Isa. 7:14;
9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2,14;
2Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5;
Phil. 2:5-8).
(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption
through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious,
substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His
literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36;
Rom. 3:24-25; 1Peter 2:24;
Eph. 1:7; 1Peter 1:3-5).
(3) 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 1:9-11; Heb.
9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1John
2:1-2).
(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spiri
(1) 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; Rom. 8:9; 1Cor.
12:12-14; 2Cor. 3:6;
Eph. 1:13-14).
(2) We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to
understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and
duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1
John 2:20, 27).
(3) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual
gifts to every believer. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the
assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1
Cor. 12:4-11,28; Eph. 4:7-12).
(4) We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as
speaking in tongues and the gift of healing,
were temporary. We believe that
speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or
filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from
sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the
resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of
believers for physical healing (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8, 14:21-22).
(F) 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 human 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 (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23;
5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19).
(G) Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and
received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood
was shed on
(H) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
(1) 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; Rom.
8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).
(2) We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in
the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which,
however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the
flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13-14;
(I) The Church
(1) We believe that the local church, which is the body and the
espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons (1 Cor.
12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27).
(2) 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; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
(3) We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any
external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15; Rom. 16:1,4;
(4) We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the
Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age (Matt.
28:19-20;
(J) Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring
reproach upon their Savior and Lord.
God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all
worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations, and to refrain
from all immodest and immoderate appearance, piercings, and bodily markings.
(
(K) The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that “blessed hope,” the personal, imminent return of Christ
Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period.
At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly
return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was
promised to the nation of Israel (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1
Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4: 13-18; Titus 2:13, Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
(L) The
(1) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to
eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matt.
25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13).
(2) We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent
from the body and present with the Lord, where they consciously await their
bodily resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be
glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43;
(3) We believe that the souls of the unbelievers remain, after death,
in conscious punishment and torment 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 and torment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark
9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).
(M) The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the
Fall of Man; 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; Isa.
14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).
(N) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods of
time called days. We reject
evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as
unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Ex. 20:11).
(O) Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of
three basic institutions: 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state.
Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the
authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word.
God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and
balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution
has the right to infringe upon the other.
The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their
respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (
(P) Human Sexuality
(1) We believe that God has
commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a
marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality,
bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful
perversions of God's gift of sex.
We believe that God disapproves and forbids any attempt to alter
one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13: Gen.
26:8-9, Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb.
13:4).
(2) We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man
and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2;
(Q) Family Relationships
(1) We believe that men and
women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained
distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and
the church. The husband is to
be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders (pastors and
deacons) of the church.
Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the
church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18;1
Tim. 2:8-15, 12)
(2) We believe that God has
ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.
The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her
husband as the church submits to the leadership of Christ.
Children are a heritage from the Lord.
Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and
moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and
appropriate discipline,
including Scriptural corporal correction.
(Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18;
22:15; 23:12-13; Mk. 10:6-12;
(R) Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of
the spouses dies. Divorce and
remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication.
Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold
positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian
service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon
(Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
(S) Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is
a living human being. Abortion
constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life.
Abortion is murder. We
reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth
defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental
well-being of the mother are acceptable (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16;
Isa. 44:24; 49:1,5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44).
(T) Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward
fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers and those
who oppose us. We are to deal
with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly.
God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the
threat of the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or
obtaining personal justice.
Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray
for any person who engages in such sinful actions.
(Lev.19:18; Matt. 5:44-48;
(U) Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits
against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes.
We believe that the church possesses all the resources necessary to
resolve personal disputes between members.
We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for
injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is
pursued without malice or slander.
(1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
(V) Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the
Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every
nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of
Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not
wait for them to come to us (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John
20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20).
(W) Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel.