What We Teach/Believe

All of us are theologians (learners/disciples of God). And we are continually working out our theology – it is being demonstrated in how we live [James 2:14-26]. Our beliefs about God, the Gospel, and ourselves will be seen in what we do. The following are our non-negotiables.

We believe the Bible is God's written revelation to man. It is composed of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament. It is verbally inspired in every word, and absolutely inerrant in the original documents. We affirm the infallibility, sufficiency, and authority of Scripture. We affirm its supreme infallibility in all matters of faith and conduct. [II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31-32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32]

 We believe that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons -- the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each equally deserving worship and obedience. [Genesis 1:1 & 26; John 1:1 & 3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24: Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6]

 We believe in God, the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that he concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that he hears and answers prayers and that he saves from sin and death all that come to Him through Jesus Christ. [Luke 10:21-22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 2:5-6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6]

We believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe that He is not only true God but also a true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from a virgin. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven His priestly intercession on behalf of his people, and His personal visible return from heaven. [Matthew 1:18-25, 20:28; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 5:6-8, 6:9-10, 8:46, 9:5; II Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30-31, Ephesians 1:4, Acts 1:11; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Timothy 3:16; Colossians 1:15-20]

We believe the Holy Spirit is a person and is fully God. As the supernatural and sovereign Agent in regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers them for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption. [John 14:16-17 & 26, 15:26-27, 16:9-14; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 12-14; Galatians 5:22-26]

We believe that every person is a sinner by nature and by choice and is, therefore, under condemnation. We believe that those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that the salvation of man, who is sinful and lost, is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God when the repentant sinner -- enabled by the Holy Spirit -- responds in faith. This salvation is wholly of God, by grace, on the basis of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. All Christians are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever. [John 1:12-13, 3:14-21, 5:24, 8:12, 10:26; Romans 3:21-26; 5:19, 8:1; 1 John 1:9, 5:1; 1 Corinthians 15:13-17; II Corinthians 5:17, 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:4]

 We believe that God has established His Church in the world, one and the same in all ages, and now, under the Gospel, has endowed it with the ministry of the Word and the holy sacraments of Baptism, the Lord’s Supper and prayer; in order that through these means, the riches of His grace in the gospel may be known to the world, and by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in them that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated to His people. [Matthew 16:18, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8, 2:42, 8:1, 11:22, 15:13-21, 20:28; Hebrews 10:23-25; Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:19-23; 1 Corinthians 1:11-173:9-16, 6:19; II Corinthians 6:16; 1 Timothy 3:15]

We believe that Jesus is reigning at the right hand of the Father until all His enemies are beneath His feet, the last enemy being death. He will return again to judge the living and and the dead, raise the just and unjust, and swallow up death in victory. [Psalm 110:1; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26, 50-55].

Jesus gave the church two visible symbols (sacraments) as reminders of His life, death, and resurrection. These two sacraments are: Baptism and Communion. Baptism and Communion are both a means of grace, outward expressions, or signs by which Christ communicates to His people the truths of His redemption. [Acts 2:41, 8:12, 10:47-48, 16:14-15; Colossians 2:11-12; Romans 6:1-11; Galatians 3:2, 5, 24-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30; Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:17-20]