Section 2.01 – Statement of Faith: Essentials for Church Membership
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God (Matt 5:18; 2 Tim 3:16-17). We hold the Bible to be inerrant. In the original writings, the Word of God is infallible, God-breathed, and the complete and final authority for faith and practice (2 Pet 1:20-21). We believe the whole of Scripture must be interpreted according to its original meaning.
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, Creator of all (Gen 1:2, Col 1:16), eternally existing in three distinct persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:14), yet one in being, essence, power, and glory, having the same attributes and perfections (John 10:30).
God the Father
God the Father reigns with sovereign care over all His creation. He directs the course of human history according to His good pleasure. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. (Deut. 32:6; 1 Chron. 29:10-13; 1 Cor. 8:6; Phil. 2:13; 1 Tim. 1:17; 1 John 3:20, 4:7-8)
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God, the express image of the Father, through whom all things were created. Jesus, without ceasing to be God, became man in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:18; Col 1:15). We believe that God the Son became incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ; that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and was born of the virgin Mary; that He is truly God and truly man; that He lived a perfect, sinless life; that all His teachings and utterances are true (Isa 7:14; Matt 1:23). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for all mankind (1 John 2:2) as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice (Isa 53:5-6). We hold that His death is effectual for all who believe that our justification is grounded in the shedding of His blood (John 1:12; Acts 16:31;Rom 5:9; Eph 1:7); and that His death is attested by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Matt 28:6; 1 Pet 1:3). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven in His glorified body (Acts 1:9-10) and is now seated at the right hand of God as our High Priest and Advocate (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe in the deity (Acts 5:3-4) and the personality of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-11). He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) and indwells believers (Rom 8:9). He is the agent by whom Christ baptizes all believers into His body (1 Cor 12:12-14). We believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to each member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:11).
Satan and Evil
We believe in the personality of Satan. He is a fallen angel who led a great company of angels into rebellion against God (Isa 14:12-17; Ezek 28:12-15). He is the great enemy of God and man. Those fallen angels, referred to as demons, are his agents in the prosecution of their unholy purposes. He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:10).
Angels
We believe in the reality and personality of angels. We believe that God created an innumerable company of these spiritual beings who were to be His messengers (Neh 9:6; Ps 148:2; Matt 24:31; Luke 1:19; Heb 1:14). Scripture does not indicate that humans become angels when they die.
Man
We believe that man came into being by direct creation of God and that man is made in the image and likeness of God. He purposefully created humans male and female. Therefore, biological gender is fixed and determined by God, not individual choice (Gen 1:26-27; 2:7).
Sin
We believe the human race sinned in Adam (Rom 5:12), and sin is universal in man (Rom 3:23). We believe that man inherited a body of sinful flesh (Ps 51:5), that he became alienated from God (Col 1:21), that he became spiritually dead, and that of himself, he is utterly unable to remedy his lost estate (Eph 2:1-5, 12). We believe that all men are guilty and in a lost condition apart from Christ (Rom 2:1; 3:10-18; 8:3).
Salvation
We believe that salvation involves the reconciliation of our relationship with God (repentance and restoration). Salvation is the free gift of God provided through His grace and the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Christ shed His blood to accomplish justification through faith, propitiation to God, redemption from sin, and reconciliation of man. We receive this gift at the prompting of His Spirit when we believe in Him. This is not a simple cognitive belief but rather involves entrusting ourselves to Him. Through faith, Christ’s righteousness is substituted for our sin and brings us into a right relationship with God (Rom 3:23; 6:23; 10:9-13; John 6:44; Eph. 2:8-9).
Sanctification
We believe that the Scriptures disclose several aspects of sanctification. In addition to God’s work of bringing sinners to Christ, they are set apart to God. This is positional sanctification and refers to their standing. They then undergo a process whereby the Holy Spirit quickens their affections, desires, and attitudes, enabling them to respond in faith to live a life of victory over sin. This is progressive sanctification and refers to their state (2 Cor 3:18; 7:1; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 4:22-29; 5:25-27; Col 3:10). At the second coming of Christ their standing and state will be brought into perfect accord. This is prospective, or ultimate sanctification (1 Thess 5:23; 1 John 3:2).
The Church
We believe that the Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, began at Pentecost and is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons (Acts 2:1-42; 11:15; 1 Cor 12:12- 14; 2 Cor 11:2; 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 Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 28:28; Rom 16:1, 4; 1 Cor 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet 5:1-4).
We believe in the ordinances of believer’s water baptism by immersion as a testimony and the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance in this age of Christ’s death for the Church (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:8; 1 Cor 11:23-26).
We believe the primary mission of the Church is to glorify God through obedience to the two Greatest Commandments and the Great Commission. It is the obligation of the saved to witness, by word and life, to the truths of Holy Scripture. The gospel of the grace of God is to be preached to the entire world (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor 5:19-20). Converts are to be taught to obey the Lord and to testify concerning their faith in Christ as Savior in water baptism and to honor Christ by holy living and observance of the Lord’s Supper (Matt 22:37-40, 28:19-20; Romans 15:5-6; 1 Cor 11:23-29).
Things to Come
God, in His own perfect timing, will bring the world to its completion. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will Himself visibly return in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous, because they have not repented and believed the gospel, will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous will rise in glorified bodies and will dwell forever with the Lord (Matthew 16:27, 24:27; John 5:28-29, 11:25- 26; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 20:1-22:13).
Marriage
Marriage is not instituted by government, but by God. We uphold the sanctity of marriage as a God-ordained covenant between one man and one woman, where sexual relations are both honored and affirmed by God (Gen 1:27-28, 2:24-25). The Bible teaches that all sexual unions, in all forms, outside of biblical marriage, are sinful (Heb 13:4).
Family Relationships
We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and for women in the family and in the church. The husband is to be the leader of the family and is to lay down his life for his wife and for his family in the same way that Christ laid down His life for the Church. Men are to be leaders (pastors, elders, and deacons) of the church; therefore, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church (Gal 3:28; Col 3:18-19; I Tim 2:8-15; I Tim 3:1-13; Eph 5:22-30).
Section 2.02 – Statement of Faith: Further Essentials for Church Teaching
Spiritual Gifts and Healing
The Son of God sovereignly assigns the place of the ministry of the gifts in the body, and the Father provides the power in the outworking of the gifts (1 Cor 12:4-6). Each believer is to exercise his spiritual gift(s) for the common good to the building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:11- 16). We believe that all spiritual gifts must be exercised under the direction of the Holy Spirit in a fitting and orderly way, according to Scripture. Further, we believe that tongues cannot be expressed in public gatherings unless the interpretation is clear and edifying to the body (1 Corinthians 14:26-40). We believe that God can still heal, if He chooses, but believers cannot expect to be healed or delivered from every ailment.
Eternal Security
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:1, 38-39; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24). We believe that it is the privilege of all who are born again to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word (Rom 8:16; 1 John 5:13).
Section 2.03 – Authority of the 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 the church believes. The church does believe, however, that the Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible. Some doctrines are essential to agree upon for membership, while others are essential for teaching. These essentials are labeled as such. Agreement with section 2.01 of the Statement of Faith shall be required by all church members. Additionally, all literature, materials, etc. utilized by this church shall be in complete agreement with the Statement of Faith in its entirety.
