1.  Of the Bible

We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and our only authority in faith and practice.  II Tim. 3:16; II Peter 1:21.

2.  Of God

We believe there is one true God, the Creator and Redeemer of heaven and earth, and that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are co-equal in every divine perfection and exercise distinct but harmonious ministries in redemption.  John 1:1-23; John 14:16; I Cor. 8:6.

3.  Of Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is Deity from all eternity, and that through virgin birth He took to Himself a perfect human nature.  He is therefore God and man, the two natures belong inseparably united in one glorious person.  Luke 1:35; John 1:1-14.             

4.  Of Satan

We believe that Satan is an unholy but powerful person, the enemy of God and man, whose destiny is the lake of fire.  Matt. 4:1-3; Rev. 20:2,10; I Peter 5:8.     

5.  Of Creation

We believe the Biblical record of creation to be literally accurate and that man came into being by direct creation and not by the process of evolution.  Gen. 1& 2; Acts 17:24-26; Heb. 11:3.

In light of God’s creative design, we believe that the Bible teaches that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman and that sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the bounds of a Biblically defined marriage.  Any other form of marriage or sexual intimacy is immoral and a perversion of God’s gracious will.  Genesis 2:18, 24, 25; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:24-29; 7:2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20: 7:1-5; Ephesians 5:22-33; Hebrews 13:4.

6.  Of the Fall

We believe that man was created in the image of God and that by free choice he transgressed the known will of God, and became a sinner by nature and choice.  Gen. 1:26-27; Rom.5:6, 12; Rom 3:23.

7.  Salvation

We believe that salvation was provided by the grace of God and that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his sacrificial, substitutionary death upon the cross; that he was bodily resurrected from the dead and became, at his ascension, our intercessor before the Father.  Tit. 3:5; I Cor. 15:3-4; Heb. 7:25.    

8.  Regeneration

We believe that man must be born again by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and that by this act the sinner is made partaker of the Divine Nature.  John 3:5; I Pet. 1:23; II Pet. 1:4.

9.  Conversion

We believe that conversion is the act in which man turns in faith and repentance to God.   Acts 21:21; John 3:16; Mark 1:15.

10.  Justification

We believe that justification is the act whereby an individual places his faith in the finished work of Christ and is declared righteous by God.   Tit.3:5, 7; Rom. 5:1.

11.  Sanctification

We believe that sanctification has three aspects; First, that at the moment of salvation the believer is set apart unto God.  Second, that progressive sanctification is a process whereby the Holy Spirit maintains and strengthens the new nature in the believer and whereby the believer, in submission to the Word of God and the Spirit of God grows in grace and holiness in life.  Third, ultimate sanctification will be accomplished and glorification of the soul and body at the Rapture.  Heb. 10:10; II Pet. 3:18; John 17:17; Rom. 8:30.

12.  Eternal Security Of The Believer

We believe that the child of God is kept by the power of God and therefore is eternally secure and should rejoice in this assurance.  Perseverance is the mark of a true child of God.  John 6:39; I John 5:13; John 8:31.

13.  Separation

                                          A.  Ecclesiastical Separation

                         We believe that the local church is to remain separate in its collective worship from all groups who do not hold to the fundamentals of the faith; verbal plenary inspiration of the Scripture, Virgin Birth of Christ, His vicarious atonement, the total depravity of man.  II Cor. 6:14-17.

                                           B.  Personal Separation

                         We believe that each individual Christian is to remain separate from the world; in the desire to place material things first in their lives, in the pursuit of the lusts and fashions of the world, and being joined with unbelievers in marriage.  Matt. 6:24, 33; Rom. 12:2; I John 2:15; II Cor. 6:14; I Cor. 7:39.

14.  Of The Church

                                             A.        Universal

                         We believe the church, the body of Christ, to be composed of all genuine believers in Jesus Christ, and that is an organism rather than an organization.  Matt. 16:15-18; I Cor. 12:25-27; Eph. 5:25-32.

                                             B.           Local

                         We believe a local church to be an organized body of baptized believers who meet regularly for the purpose of worship, observance of the ordinances, and the proclamation of the gospel.  I Thess. 1:1; I Tim. 3:1-13; I Pet. 5:2.

15.  Of the Ordinances

We believe that the ordinances authorized in the New Testament by the command of Christ are two:

          1.  The Lord's Supper which is a memorial service in which believers partake of bread and fruit of the vine to show forth our Lord's death "Until he come".  Mark 14:22-25; Acts 2:42; I Cor. 11:26.             

          2.  Baptism, which is the immersion of a believer in water as a symbol of his identification by faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and of the newness of life in which it is now expected we shall walk.  Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:41; Rom. 6:1-10.

16.  Of The Return Of Christ And Resurrection of Saints

We believe that Christ will return bodily as He ascended to heaven, and that at the time of His return, the redeemed of all ages will be resurrected and the living believers caught up with Him in the air, and that after the tribulation the millennial kingdom will be established.  We believe that the resurrection will be literal and bodily.  I Cor. 15:1-23; I Thess. 4:13-18; Rev.20:4-6.

17.  Of Final Judgment

We believe that at the close of the kingdom period the unbelieving dead will be raised and all unbelievers shall appear before God's judgment throne, whence they proceed to that state called the second death, and that place called the lake of fire.  John 3:36; Rev. 20:11-15.

 

Adopted September 17, 1970
updated October 2017

with updates and amendments April 2023

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