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God
God is and has always been. God is the Creator of all things. He is perfect in all things, the greatest of these being love. He is the all powerful, everywhere at one time God. God created man for His own pleasure and seeks a personal relationship with us, offering redemption from our utterly sinful self-centered nature and earthly sin, through His infinite forgiveness and mercy. God chooses us but, because He gave us free will, we must also choose Him in order to access this relationship with Him. We believe there is only one God, Creator and Lord of everything, infinitely perfect, all powerful, all knowing and eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Trinity).
Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:16-17, 16:23-27; 2Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:4-6
God the Father…
We believe that God the Father is Creator and Ruler of all. He is compassionate, loving and just toward all people, and is faithful to keep His promises. He hears and answers prayer. He calls all people to believe in Him and saves from sin and eternal death each person who comes to Him through his son, Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1; Matthew 7: 7, 12: 50; Ephesians 4: 6; 2Corinthians 6:18; 1Timothy 2: 4-5; Exodus 34: 5-7
Jesus Christ, God the Son…
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He came to earth fully God and fully man through a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a sinless life and voluntarily died on the cross in our place as full payment for the sins of all people. Through His crucifixion, Jesus bore the punishment of our sin, so that we could have a relationship with the Father. We believe Jesus Christ to be the one and only way to the Father. He arose bodily from the dead on the third day to demonstrate His power over sin and death, and ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, where He is the only One who is able to provide access and reconciliation between God and people. He will return personally and visibly to earth, and those who have believed in Him will be united with God eternally in Heaven.
Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 24:1-8; John 1:1-5, 3:16, 3:18, 11:25, 14:6-7, 14:9-11, 14:16; Romans 1:3-4, 5:8-11, 6:23; 1Corinthians 15:3-6; 2Corinthians 5:17-21; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-25; Revelation 19-20; Titus 2:13-14; Acts 1:9-11
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man, Christ Jesus.
God, the Holy Spirit…
The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity. At the time of salvation, the Holy Spirit of God is deposited within the new believer, giving him a new heart, bringing him from spiritual death to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit provides a bridge of communication between the believer and God, the Father. God tells us that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things. As we grow in knowledge of the Lord, we learn to better hear, recognize and understand the Voice of God speaking through His Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, Counselor and Helper sent for believers. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit who reveals God's truth to the world and dwells in believers to empower them for godly life and service.
John 14:15-17, 25-26; 15:26; 16:5-15; Acts 1:8; Corinthians 12:4-31
Ezek. 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
A Gift of Grace
Salvation, or our spiritual rescue from sin and death, is a gift of grace, through faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. It is by divine grace we are saved, but it is also something we must choose. This amazing gift is offered to man by God, but as with any gift, if we do not accept it, we cannot enjoy its benefits.
We believe every person is disobedient to God's desires and plans. Any disobedience to God, regardless of how large or small is characterized as "sin". "Sin" literally separates each person from God, which is spiritual death. Spiritual death is not God's desire. People can be united with God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and through Him alone. Jesus died for sinners. Anyone who accepts and believes in Jesus' death for his or her personal sins and desires to have Him as Lord of their lives, is forgiven for every sin. Upon this personal decision, God re-establishes a personal relationship with that person and promises eternal life.
Romans3:23, 3:24, 5:12, 5:16, 6:23; Psalm 51:4-5; John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 10:43; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:13-14; 1John 5: 11-13
Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
John 10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture ... I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
God-Breathed Scripture
We believe that the Bible, composed of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired word of God. Without error in the original writing, What the Bible says happened, really happened, every miracle, every event, in every one of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments is true and trustworthy. The Bible was given by God through chosen people and thus reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabulary of human writers. The Bible is the full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice; there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. The Bible's truth is timeless and speaks to our everyday lives.
Luke 21:33; 24:44; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12; 2Timothy 3:15-17; 1Peter 1:25; 2Peter 1:19-21
Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Baptism
We believe Christian baptism to be an ordinance for believers only, by immersion only, and as a symbolic act, not having any power in itself. The act of baptism represents what Christ did for the believer through His death, burial, and resurrection. It depicts what Christ did for the believer, providing a "new birth", enabling death to the old life and newness of life in which to walk. Baptism gives testimony to a salvation already received; it is not a requisite for salvation. It is an act of obedience to Jesus Christ.
Perseverance of the Saints
We believe that true believers will not fall away and, thereby, lose their salvation. This is sometimes called, "Once saved, always saved." It doesn't mean the believer won't stumble, but refers to an inward pull that will not allow him to quit the faith.
Church
We believe that all those, anywhere, who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord make up the one true church. The purpose of a local church is to organize Christians to reach unbelievers with the message of salvation, serve as a corporate body for worship of God, provide fellowship for Christians with each other, develop the gifts and talents of Christians for godly service, and practice baptism and communion. We believe baptism and communion are God's ordinances to be observed by believers in Jesus Christ, but not to be regarded as means of salvation.
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38-47; Colossians1:18; Hebrews 10:13-17, 24-25; 1Corinthians 11:23-26, 12:12-13
Faith and Practice
Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where scripture is silent. Rather each believer is to be led in these areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible. By adhering to God's Word and seeking Him, we can best observe His greatest commandments, which are to love Him and others.
Romans 12:2,14; 1Corinthians 8:9, 10:23, 11:1; Proverbs 3:4-5; Mark 12:29-31; Deuteronomy 6:5
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