Doctrine

The Bible
We believe the Bible is God’s written revelation to man, comprised of sixty-six books, given to us by inspiration of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:7-14; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). We believe the Bible is an objective, propositional revelation (1 Cor. 2:13; 1 Thess. 2:13), verbally inspired in every word (2 Tim. 3:16), infallible and absolutely inerrant in the original manuscripts.

God
We believe there is only one living and true God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5-7; 1 Cor. 8:4), who is an infinite, all-knowing Spirit (John 4:24), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19-20; 2 Cor. 13:14), each equally deserving worship and obedience.

God the Father God the Father, who is the first person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Ps. 145:8-9; 1 Cor. 8:6). He is the Creator of all things (Gen. 1:1-31; Eph. 3:9).   As the only absolute and omnipotent ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption (Ps. 103:19; Rom. 11:36).  His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind.  As Creator He is Father to all men (Eph. 4:6), but He is Spiritual Father only to believers (Rom. 8:14; 2 Cor. 6:18).  He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass (Eph. 1:11).  He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (1 Chr. 29:11).  In His sovereignty He is neither author nor approver of sin (Hab. 1:13; James 1:13), nor does He lessen the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures (1 Peter 1:17).  He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own (Eph. 1:4-6); He saves from sin all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own (John 1:12; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5; Heb. 12:5-9).God the Son God the Son, who is the second person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine attributes, and in these He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father (John 10:30; 14:9).  God the Father created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operations (John 1:3; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2).  Jesus Christ was born of a virgin due to the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit and thus was kept free from the pollution of sin (Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23-25; Luke 1:26-35). Jesus was God incarnate (John 1:1, 14). It is not enough to affirm that Christ is “God-like.” The Scriptures clearly teach that Christ is wholly equal with the Father in His Person and His work.  Philippians 2:6, (“Christ existed in the form of God”) declares in the most express manner possible that Jesus is to be all that God is, He possess the whole fullness of attributes which make God God (cf., Col. 1:15, 19; Col. 2:9). In the incarnation (the Son of God assuming human nature; cf. John 1:14; 1 John 4:2), Christ surrendered only the prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind.  In His incarnation, the eternally existing second person of the Trinity accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became the God-man (Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:9).  Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness (Mic. 5:2; John 5:23; 14:9-10; Col. 2:9).  The purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God, redeem men , destroy sin, death, and the devil, and rule over God’s kingdom (Ps. 2:7-9; Is. 9:6; John 1:18, 29; Phil. 2:9-11; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:17; 7:25-26; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 3:5, 8; 4:9). In the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity laid aside His right to the full prerogatives of coexistence with God, assumed the place of a Son, and took on an existence appropriate to a servant while never divesting Himself of His divine attributes (Phil. 2:5-8).  The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross.  His death on the cross was voluntary, vicarious, propitiatory, redemptive, and efficacious (John 10:15; Acts 20:28; Rom. 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Pet. 2:24; Rev. 5:9-10).  On the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the believing sinner is freed from the punishment, the penalty, the power, and one day the very presence of sin; and he is declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God (Rom. 3:25; 5:8-9; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18). The believer’s justification is made sure by Christ’s literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Jesus is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He presently and continually mediates as our Advocate and High-Priest (Matt. 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Rom. 4:25; 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1). In the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, God confirmed the deity of His Son and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross.   Jesus’ bodily resurrection is also the guarantee of a future resurrection life for all believers (John 5:26-29; 14:19; Rom. 4:25; 6:5-10; 1 Cor. 15:20, 23).  The Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whom God will judge all mankind (John 5:22-23).  He will judge all believers for the purpose of giving them eternal rewards not condemnation (1 Cor. 3:10-15; 2 Cor. 5:10).  He will judge all the living inhabitants of the earth at His glorious return (Matt. 25:31-46), and He will judge the unbelieving dead at the Great White Throne (Rev. 20:11-15).  Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and Man (1 Tim. 2:5).  Thus, salvation comes only through the Lord Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).  He is the head of the body, the church (Eph. 1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18).  He is the coming King who will reign on the throne of David (Is. 9:6-7; Ezek. 37:24-28; Luke 1:31-33).    God the Holy Spirit God the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Trinity, is a divine person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect (1 Cor. 2:10-13), emotions (Eph. 4:30), will (1 Cor. 12:11), eternality (Heb. 9:14), omnipresence (Ps. 139:7-10), omniscience (Is. 40:13-14), omnipotence (Rom. 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13).   In all the divine attributes He is coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial with the Father and the Son (Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; 1 Cor. 12:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; and Jer. 31:31-34 with Heb. 10:15-17).   The work of the Holy Spirit is to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind.  The Holy Spirit was sovereignly active in creation (Gen. 1:2, the incarnation (Matt. 1:18), the written revelation (2 Pet. 1:20-21), and is sovereignly active presently in salvation (John 3:5-7).  A unique work of the Holy Spirit in this age began on the day of Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ (John 14:16-17; 15:26) to initiate and complete the building of the body of Christ.  His activity includes convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and transforming believers into the image of Christ (John 16:7-9; Acts 1:5; 2:4; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18; Eph. 2:22). The Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), baptizing all believers into the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:13).  The Holy Spirit permanently indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers all believers for service, and seals all believers unto the day of redemption (Rom. 8:9-11; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13).  The Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guided the apostles and prophets into all truth as they committed to writing God’s revelation, the Bible (2 Pet. 1:19-21).  Every believer possesses the permanent, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be continuously filled (controlled by) the Spirit (Rom. 8:9-11; Eph. 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).  The Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints in the church.  The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but glorifies Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18).

Man
We believe man is created by God is His image and likeness (Gen. 2:7, 15-25; James 3:9) for the purpose of glorifying God and enjoying God’s fellowship (Isa. 43:7; Col. 1:16; Rev. 4:11). We believe that man, because of disobedience to the will of God, fell from his innocence, inherited a totally corrupt nature with no power, ability, or will to restore himself to God (1 Kings 8:46; 2 Chron. 6:36; Rom. 3:11-18, 23, 8:6-8; Eph. 2:1-3). In the fall, man incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death (Gen. 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 3:23; 6:23a; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8). Thus, all men are sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration (Ps. 14:1-3; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:9-18; 5:10-12).  

Salvation
We believe salvation is wholly of God (Jonah 2:9;
Rom. 4:5; 8:33), by grace, based upon the merits of Christ’s redemption upon the Cross, and not on the basis of human merit (John 1:12; Eph. 1:4-7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). We believe Jesus, who was born of the Virgin Mary, is the only mediator between God and man (Matt. 1:20-25; 1 Tim. 2:5). We believe that a believing sinner is saved only by faith in the literal, physical death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:25; 5:8-9; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:8). We believe that all who are saved are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 5:24; 6:37; 10:27-30; Rom. 5:9-10; 8:1,31-39; 11:29; 1 Cor. 1:4-9; Eph. 4:30; Heb. 7:25; 13:5; 1 Pet. 1:4-5; Jude 24).

The Church
We believe the church, which began on the day of Pentecost, is a unique, spiritual organism, made up of all born-again believers, designed by Christ of which He is the head (Eph. 2:11-3:6; 4:15; Col. 1:18). We believe the ultimate purpose of the church is to glorify God (Eph. 3:21) by building herself up in the faith (Eph. 4:13-16), advancing the Gospel to the entire world (Matt. 28:19; Acts 1:8), and exalting its risen Lord and Savior (Rom. 11:33-36).

Eternity
We believe in the literal, physical, second coming of the Lord Jesus to this earth, the total defeat and destruction of satan and his demons, the physical resurrection of the unsaved to judgment and eternal punishment and the physical resurrection of the redeemed to an eternal state of glory where they will enjoy fellowship with God and one another forever (Job 19:25-26; Dan. 12:2; John 17:3; Matt. 25:31, 41; Luke1: 32-33; Rev. 20:1-15; 21-22).