What We Believe
The Scriptures
We accept the Bible, including the 39
books of the Old Testament and the 27 books
of the New Testament, as the written Word of
God. The Bible is the only essential and infallible
record of God's self-disclosure. It leads us
to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
Being given by God the Scriptures are both fully
and verbally inspired by God. Therefore, as
originally given, the Bible is free of error
in all it teaches. Each book is to be interpreted
according to its context and purpose and in
reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through
it in living power. All believers are exhorted
to study the Scriptures and diligently apply
them to their lives. The Scriptures are the
authoritative and normative rule and guide of
all Christian life, practice, and doctrine.
They are totally sufficient and must not be
added to, superseded, or changed by later tradition,
extra-biblical revelation, or worldly wisdom.
Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed,
confession, or theology must be put to the test
of the full counsel of God in Holy Scripture.
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God Is Triune
There is one God: infinite, eternal, almighty,
and perfect in holiness, truth, and love. In
the unity of the godhead there are three persons,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal,
co-eternal. The Father is not the Son and the
Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly
Deity. One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -
is the foundation of Christian faith and life.
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God the Father
God the Father is the Creator of heaven
and earth. By his word and for his glory,
he freely and supernaturally created the
world of nothing. Through the same Word
he daily sustains all his creatures. He
rules over all and is the only Sovereign.
His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted.
He is faithful to every promise, works
all things together for good to those
who love him, and in his unfathomable
grace gave his Son Jesus Christ for mankind's
redemption. He made man for fellowship
with himself, and intended that all creation
should live to the praise of his glory.
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Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of
God, was the eternal Word made flesh,
supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary. He was perfect
in nature, teaching and obedience. He
is fully God and fully man. He was always
with God and is God. Through him all things
came into being and were created. He was
before all things and in him all things
hold together by the word of his power.
He is the image of the invisible God,
the first-born of all creation and in
him dwells the fullness of the godhead
bodily. He is the only Savior for the
sins of the world, having shed his blood
and died a vicarious death on Calvary's
cross. By his death in our place, he revealed
the divine love and upheld divine justice,
removing our guilt and reconciling us
to God. Having redeemed us from sin, the
third day he rose bodily from the grave,
victorious over death and the powers of
darkness and for a period of forty days
appeared to over five hundred witnesses,
performing many convincing proofs of his
resurrection. He ascended into heaven
where, at God's right hand, he intercedes
for his people and rules as Lord over
all. He is the Head of his body, the Church,
and should be adored, loved, served, and
obeyed by all.
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The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of
life, convicts the world of sin, righteousness
and judgment. Through the proclamation
of the gospel he persuades men to repent
of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord.
By the same Spirit a person is led to
trust in divine mercy. The Holy Spirit
unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith,
brings about the new birth, and dwells
within the regenerate. The Holy Spirit
has come to glorify the Son who in turn
came to glorify the Father. He will lead
the Church into a right understanding
and rich application of the truth of God’s
Word. He is to be respected, honored,
and worshipped as God the Third Person
of the Trinity.
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Man
God made man - male and female - in his
own image, as the crown of creation, that
man might have fellowship with him. Tempted
by Satan, man rebelled against God. Being
estranged from his Maker, yet responsible
to him, he became subject to divine wrath,
inwardly depraved and, apart from a special
work of grace, utterly incapable of returning
to God. This depravity is radical and
pervasive. It extends to his mind, will
and affections. Unregenerate man lives
under the dominion of sin and Satan. He
is at enmity with God, hostile toward
God, and hateful of God. Fallen, sinful
people, whatever their character or attainments,
are lost and without hope apart from salvation
in Christ.
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The Gospel
Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news
is revealed in his birth, life, death,
resurrection and ascension. Christ's crucifixion
is the heart of the gospel, his resurrection
is the power of the gospel, and his ascension
is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death
is a substitutionary and propitiatory
sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies
the demands of God’s holy justice and
appeases his holy wrath. It also demonstrates
his mysterious love and reveals his amazing
grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator
between God and man. There is no other
name by which men must be saved. At the
heart of all sound doctrine is the cross
of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege
that redeemed sinners have of glorifying
God because of what he has accomplished.
Therefore, we want all that takes place
in our hearts, churches and ministries
to proceed from and be related to the
cross.
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Man's Response to the
Gospel
Man’s response to the gospel is rooted
and grounded in the free and unconditional
election of God for his own pleasure and
glory. It is also true that the message
of the gospel is only effectual to those
who genuinely repent of their sins and,
by God's grace, put saving faith in Christ.
This gospel of grace is to be sincerely
preached to all men in all nations. Biblical
repentance is characterized by a changed
life, and saving faith is evidenced by
kingdom service or works. While neither
repentance nor works save, unless a person
is willing to deny himself, pick up his
cross, and follow Christ, he cannot become
his disciple.
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Man's Inheritance
Through the Gospel
Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided
by grace alone, through faith alone, because
of Christ alone, for the glory of God
alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance
and looking to Christ and his substitutionary
death receives the gift of eternal life
and is declared righteous by God as a
free gift. The righteousness of Christ
is imputed to him. He is justified and
fully accepted by God. Through Christ's
atonement for sin an individual is reconciled
to God as Father and becomes his child.
The believer is forgiven the debt of his
sin and, via the miracle of regeneration,
liberated from the law of sin and death
into the freedom of God's Spirit.
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Sanctification
The Holy Spirit is the active agent in
our sanctification and seeks to produce
his fruit in us as our minds are renewed
and we are conformed to the image of Christ.
Though indwelling sin remains a reality,
as we are led by the Spirit, we grow in
the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping
his commandments and endeavoring to so
live in the world that all people may
see our good works and glorify our Father
who is in heaven. All believers are exhorted
to persevere in the faith knowing they
will have to give an account to God for
their every thought, word and deed. The
spiritual disciplines, especially Bible
study, prayer, worship and confession,
are a vital means of grace in this regard.
Nevertheless, the believer’s ultimate
confidence to persevere is based in the
sure promise of God to preserve his people
until the end which is most certain.
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Empowered
by the Spirit
In addition to effecting regeneration
and sanctification, the Holy Spirit also
empowers believers for Christian witness
and service. While all genuine believers
are indwelt by the Holy Spirit at conversion,
the New Testament indicates the importance
of an ongoing, empowering work of the
Spirit subsequent to conversion as well.
Being indwelt by the Spirit and being
filled with the Spirit are theologically
distinct experiences. The Holy Spirit
desires to fill each believer continually
with increased power for Christian life
and witness, and imparts his supernatural
gifts for the edification of the Body
and for various works of ministry in the
world. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit
at work in the church of the first-century
are available today, are vital for the
mission of the church, and are to be earnestly
desired and practiced.
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The Church
God by his Word and Spirit creates the
Church, calling sinful men out of the
whole human race into the fellowship of
Christ's Body. By the same Word and Spirit,
he guides and preserves that new redeemed
humanity. The Church is not a religious
institution or denomination. Rather, the
Church universal is made up of those who
have become genuine followers of Jesus
Christ and have personally appropriated
the gospel. The Church exists to worship
and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. It also exists to serve him by
faithfully doing his will in the earth.
This involves a commitment to see the
gospel preached and churches planted in
all the world for a testimony. The ultimate
mission of the Church is the making of
disciples through the preaching of the
gospel. When God transforms human nature,
this then becomes the chief means of society's
transformation. Upon conversion, newly
redeemed men and women are added to a
local church in which they devote themselves
to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper
and prayer.
All members of the Church universal are to be a vital
and committed part of a local church. In this context
they are called to walk out the New Covenant as the
people of God and demonstrate the reality of the kingdom
of God. The ascended Christ has given gift ministries
to the church (including apostles, prophets, evangelists,
pastors and teachers) for the equipping of Christ's
body that it might mature and grow. Through the gift
ministries all members of the Church are to be nurtured
and equipped for the work of ministry. Women play a
vital role in the life of the church but in keeping
with God’s created design, they are not permitted “to
teach or to have authority over a man” (1 Tim. 2:12).
Leadership in the church is male. In the context of
the local church, God's people receive pastoral care
and leadership and the opportunity to employ their
God-given gifts in his service in relation to one another
and to the world.
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Sacraments of the Church
Water baptism is only intended for the individual who
has received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning
work and become his disciple. Therefore, in obedience
to Christ's command and as a testimony to God, the
Church, oneself and the world, a believer should be
immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual demonstration
of a person's union with Christ in the likeness of
his death and resurrection. It signifies that his former
way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts
a person’s release from the mastery of sin.
As with water baptism, the Lord’s Supper is to be observed
only by those who have become genuine followers of
Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s
body and the shedding of his blood on our behalf, and
is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian
life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning
benefits of Christ’s death. As we partake of the Lord’s
Supper with an attitude of faith and self-examination,
we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive
spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our
unity with other members of Christ’s body.
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The Consummation
The Consummation of all things includes the visible,
personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection
of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ,
the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment
of Christ's kingdom in the new heavens and the new
earth. In the Consummation, Satan with his hosts and
all those outside Christ are finally separated from
the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment,
but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and
reign with him forever. Married to Christ as his Bride,
the Church will be in the presence of God forever,
serving him and giving him unending praise and glory.
Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled
and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God
who makes all things new.
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