STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Old and New Testament Scriptures are the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments 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 and the Board of Elders. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)


Dispensationalism. We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life that 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. (Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)


The Trinity. 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; 2 Cor. 13:14)


The Person and Work of Christ.

  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; John 1:1-2, 14)

  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. (Rom. 4:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 2:24)

  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. (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2)


The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.

  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; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:13-14) 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. (I Cor. 2:10-14; Eph. 5:18)

  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 church to do the work of the ministry. (1 Cor. 12:4-11)

  We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Tongues were a sign to the early church and the non-believers. It was not inaudible sounds but known languages. We do not support the modern day tongues movement. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, although God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:1-4))


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. Man is totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Eccl. 7:20; Isa, 64:6; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:1-3)


Salvation. We believe that salvation is the gift of God offered to all mankind by His grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable. (John 1:12-13; 3:16-18; 6:47; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)


The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.

  We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God's power and remains secure in Christ forever. (John 5:4; John 6:37-40; 10:28-30; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 Pet. 1:3-5)

  We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the complete assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. (I John 5:10-13; Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)


The Church

  We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again believers. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25- 27)

  We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. (Matt. 16:15-18; Acts 15:41; 20:17, 28; Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

  We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or controls, and any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies this church affiliates with to further the objectives stated in the Purpose Statement are not authoritative in matters of church practice or belief. (Acts 15: 1-31; 20:20; 1 Cor. 3:9, 5:1-13; 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)

  We believe there are two Christian ordinances, water baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. Baptism signifies that the believer has died with Christ, has been buried with Him, and has risen to walk in newness of life with Him. The Lord's Supper is a memorial feast at which believers worship the Lord and remember and proclaim His death until He returns. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; 8:36-38; 1 Cor. 11:17-34)


Separation. We believe that believers should maintain a godly testimony and live in such a way that that their lives do not bring reproach upon their Savior. 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 appearances. We stand against any and all worldly philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of Biblical Christianity. (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 5:58, 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14, 7:1 1 John 2:15-17)


The Second Coming of Christ – Rapture & 1000 Year Millennium. 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, for a period of 1,000 years, which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:1-11; 1 Thess. 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:1-6)


The Eternal State.

  We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)

  We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17)

  We believe that the souls of 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. (Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Rev. 20:11-15)

The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, 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. (Isa. 14:12-15; I Peter 5:8-9; Rev. 20:10)


Creation. We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God's creation of the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Job 38 – 41; Col. 1:15-17)

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. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to our faith at which time we must obey God rather than the state. (Deut, 6:5-9; Mark 12:17; Acts 4:18-10, 5:28-29, 40-42; Rom. 13:1-7)

AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH

  The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teachings of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature, whether print or electronic, used in the church shall be in complete agreement with the Statement of Faith.

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