Doctrinal Statement
This church believes that the Bible is the only source of authority for all matters of faith and practice. On the basis of the Scriptures:
The Holy Scriptures
We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the written revelation of God. We teach that the Bible is verbally inspired in every word by the Holy Spirit, inerrant in the original documents, and is the infallible and authoritative Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). We teach the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture, which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 31:17). We believe that His Word is the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men and the divine and final authority for all Christian faith and life (Revelation 22:18-19, Psalm 19:7-9).
God
We believe that there is but one living and true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14), coequal, consubstantial, equally deserving of worship and obedience.
God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1, 30), who added humanity to His deity, becoming the God-man, emptying Himself in becoming a man without divesting Himself of any of His Divinity (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 2, 14). We believe that Jesus Christ accomplished redemption for believing sinners through the shedding of His blood and His sacrificial death on the cross and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and redemptive (John 10:15; Romans 3:24, 25; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24, I John 2:2). Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead on the third day and ascended to the Father’s right hand, where He presently mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural agent of regeneration who convicts men of sin and gives spiritual life to the sinner who repents of his sin as he is enabled by the Holy Spirit to respond in faith to the divine provision of salvation. The Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling them at the moment of salvation, sanctifying, instructing, and empowering them for service, and sealing them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13, 14; Titus 3:5).
We believe that the Holy Spirit sovereignly administers spiritual gifts to believers at the moment of regeneration and that these gifts are discovered through sanctification and are for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10, 11). We teach that speaking in tongues, the working of sign miracles, and healing in the first century church were temporary sign gifts and are not for the church today (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). They were for the purpose of pointing to the person of Jesus Christ and authenticating the authority of the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of other believers (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4).
Man
We believe that Adam was created by God in His image, free of sin. Adam was tempted and committed the sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God. Because of Adam’s sin, man lost his innocence; inherited original sin; incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death; became subject to the wrath of God; and became inherently corrupt and totally incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace and the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:1-19; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-12, 23; 5:12; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3).
Salvation
We believe that salvation consists of the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness is the gracious, unmerited gift of God, accomplished only through the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ’s death on the cross, and is received by faith alone, apart from works (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Titus 3:5).
The Church
We believe that the church, the body and bride of Christ, distinct from Israel, consists of all those who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion and are united together in the body of Christ, of which He is the head. These believers are eternally secure and are kept by the power of God (1 Corinthians 10:32; 12:12-13; Matthew 16:16-18; Colossians 1:18; John 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6).
We believe that the two ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord’s table (Communion). Baptism is by immersion, and is the believer’s act of obedience, as a sign of identification with Christ and His church. Communion is the celebration of the Lord’s death until He comes, and is preceded by careful self-examination. Baptism and communion are ordinances only and are not to be regarded as a means of salvation (Acts 2:41-42; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32).
Last Things
We believe that the return of Jesus Christ at the Rapture is imminent and personal. He will meet His church in the air, and “so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We teach that the Rapture is pretribulational and after the seven-year period of tribulation, Christ will visibly return with the saints to occupy the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33) and establish His 1,000-year kingdom reign upon the earth (Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6).
We believe that those who have died in Christ will experience a bodily resurrection, being raised to eternal life and blessedness in heaven, and that non-believers will be physically raised to stand judgment, where they will be relegated and condemned to Hell for eternal and conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26).