STATEMENT OF FAITH
What We Believe
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THE WORD OF GOD
Because of Scripture’s divine origin, it is inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and sufficient (Matthew 5:18,24:35). Everything that the Bible teaches is true, accurate, and reliable (John 17:17). It contains no falsehood or errors (Hebrews 6:18). The words of Scripture bear the weight of God Himself. When Scripture speaks, God speaks. Therefore, the Bible is binding in all that it teaches. Everything we need for life and godliness has already been revealed by God through His Word (2 Peter 1:3). While God did not reveal everything about Himself in Scripture, everything a person needs to know to be reconciled to God and live a life that pleases Him may be found in the Bible. Ministries must be built upon the Word of God, carried out according to the Word of God, and evaluated through the lens of the Word of God. This includes teaching and preaching, worship, giving, evangelism, missions, mercy ministries, and any other ministry the church or church members may be involved with.GOD
There is only one living and true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4) who is an infinite, all-knowing Spirit (John 4:24). He is perfect in all His attributes or characteristics. He is one in essence yet exists eternally in three Persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) – each of whom equally deserves worship and obedience.
God the Father
God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9). He is the only absolute and all-powerful Ruler in the universe (Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9, Psalm 103:19, Romans 11:36), completely sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption (Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36). As Creator He is Father to all men (Ephesians 4:6), but His spiritual fatherhood is exclusive to believers only (Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18). God the Father is completely sovereign, yet He is neither the author nor approver of sin (Habakkuk 1:13; John 8:38-47). Neither does His sovereignty negate the accountability and responsibility of man (1 Peter 1:17; Rom. 9:19-20). He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own (Ephesians 1:4-6). He saves from sin all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ.
God the Son
Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity, possesses all the divine attributes in their fullest measure (Colossians 1:19). He is fully equal to God the Father and is of the same essence as the Father (Philippians 2:6).
Through the incarnation, God the Son became man. When Jesus did this, He temporarily set aside His divine prerogatives while never ceasing to be God. Jesus added all the attributes of humanity to His eternal divine attributes (Philippians 2:7-8). Thus, Jesus is simultaneously 100% God and 100% human (Colossians 2:9).
From the human perspective, the incarnation culminated in the virgin birth of Jesus through Mary, who had other children conceived naturally after Jesus (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23, 25; 13:55-56; Luke 1:26-35). The purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God, redeem men, and rule over God’s kingdom (Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:29; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 7:25-26; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
The Lord Jesus accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24). On the basis 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. He is declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God (Romans 3:25; 5:8-9; 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18).
Salvation is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 4:25; 8:34; Hebrews 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; Romans 1:4; 4:25; 6:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23).
Prior to His Second Coming, Jesus Christ will receive the church unto Himself at the rapture. His Second Coming will be with His church in glory, and He will then establish His millennial kingdom on earth (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20).
It is through the Lord Jesus Christ that God will judge all mankind (John 5:22-23):
- Believers (1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10)
- Living inhabitants of the earth at His glorious return (Matthew 25:31-46)
- Unbelieving dead at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15)
As the sole Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), the Head of His Body the church (Ephesians 1:22; 5:23; Colossians 1:18), and the coming universal King, who will reign on the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:31-33), Jesus is the final Judge of all who refuse to place their trust in Him as Lord and Savior (Matthew 25:14-46; Acts 17:30-31).
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is a divine Person who is eternal, underived, and possesses all the attributes of personality and deity. This includes intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), will/volition (1 Corinthians 12:11), eternality (Hebrews 9:14), omnipresence (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (Isaiah 40:13-14), omnipotence (Romans 15:13), and truthfulness (John 16:13). In all the divine attributes He is fully equal to, and is of the same essence as the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Jeremiah 31:31-34 with Hebrews 10:15-17).
The work of the Holy Spirit in the church age began at 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 (1 Corinthians 12:13). The broad scope of His divine 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; Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:22).
The Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). He also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers believers for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13).
Every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled with (submit to the control of) the Spirit (John 16:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).
He also administers the spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit does not seek to glorify Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays. He is intent on glorifying Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).
He sovereignly distributes His gifts to all believers. In the early days of the church, He gave two types of spiritual gifts—miraculous gifts and ministering gifts. The miraculous gifts of divine revelation (such as tongues and prophecy) and healing were given temporarily in the apostolic era for the purpose of confirming the authenticity of the apostles’ message (Hebrews 2:3-4; 2 Corinthians 12:12). With the New Testament revelation now complete, Scripture is the sole test of the authenticity of a man’s message, and the confirming gifts of a miraculous nature are no longer necessary to validate a man or his message (1 Corinthians 13:8-12). Miraculous gifts can even be counterfeited by Satan so as to deceive even believers (1 Corinthians 13:13-14:12; Revelation 13:13-14).
While the miraculous gifts have ceased with the completion of the New Testament, God is sovereign and may allow a special revelation of the Gospel particularly where the gospel is forbidden or unavailable. This is not the norm, and we do not expect nor promote such signs. Any claims of special revelation must be soberly evaluated in light of the warning in Revelation 22:18, “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book.”
The ministering gifts were given to equip believers for edifying one another. These non-revelatory equipping gifts are the only gifts in operation today (Romans 12:6-8). While no one possesses the healing gifts today, God does hear and answer the prayer of faith and will answer in accordance with His own perfect will for the sick, suffering, and afflicted (Luke 18:1-6; John 5:7-9; 2 Corinthians 12:6-10; James 5:13-16; 1 John 5:14-15).
MAN
Man was personally and immediately created by God in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God (Genesis 2:7, 15-25; James 3:9).
God’s intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God, enjoy God’s fellowship, live his life in the will of God, and by this accomplish God’s purpose for man in the world (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11).
Because Adam sinned by disobeying the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. With no inherent ability to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost. Man’s salvation is thereby wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8).
As descendants of Adam, all of humanity inherits a corrupt nature due to Adam’s sin. The sole exception to this is Jesus Christ. All men are thus sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration (Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23; 5:10-12).
SALVATION
Salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19). Regeneration. Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit where He imparts new life (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5). It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit. He uses the Word of God (John 5:24) to convict a repentant sinner, enabling such a person to respond in faith to the Gospel. Genuine regeneration is manifested by fruits worthy of repentance as demonstrated in righteous attitudes and conduct. Good works are the proper evidence and fruit of regeneration (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10), and will be experienced to the extent that the believer submits to the control of the Holy Spirit in his life through faithful obedience to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:17-21; Philippians 2:12b; Colossians 3:16; 2 Peter 1:4-10). Election. Election is the act of God by which, before the foundation of the world, He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 1:1-2). Sovereign election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Savior and Lord (Ezekiel 18:23, 32; 33:11; John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12; Revelation 22:17). Nevertheless, since sovereign grace includes the means of receiving the gift of salvation as well as the gift itself, sovereign election will result in what God determines. All whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith, and all who come in faith the Father will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; James 4:8). The unmerited favor that God grants to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of their own part or to God’s anticipation of what they might do by their own will, but is exclusively of His sovereign grace and mercy (Ephesians 1:4-7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:2). Justification. Justification before God is an act of God (Romans 8:33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Isaiah 55:6-7) and confess Him as sovereign Lord (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2:11). This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man (Romans 3:20; 4:6) and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ (Colossians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24) and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21).THE CHURCH
All who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual Body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), also referred to as the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 19:7-8), of which Christ is the Head (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18).
The formation of the church, the Body of Christ, began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21, 38-47) and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
The church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all born-again believers in this present age (Ephesians 2:11-3:6), and is distinct from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32).
The establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:23, 27; 20:17, 28; Galatians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1) and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies (1 Corinthians 11:18-20; Hebrews 10:25).
The one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18). Church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor- teachers; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5). The congregation is to submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
The local church is autonomous, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (Titus 1:5). It is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith. Each local church, however, through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture, should be the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. The elders should determine all other matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government as well (Acts 15:19-31; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4). The purpose of the church is to glorify God (Ephesians 3:21) by building itself up in the faith (Ephesians 4:13-16), by instruction of the Word (2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16-17), by fellowship (Acts 2:47; 1 John 1:3), by keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42) and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world (Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8; 2:42). All saints are called by God to the work of service (1 Corinthians 15:58; Ephesians 4:12; Revelation 22:12).
Two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42). Christian baptism by immersion (Acts 8:36-39) is public identification of a believer with Christ. It is a picture of a believer’s union, by faith, in the death and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:1-11). It is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the visible Body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42). Baptism does not lead or contribute to one’s salvation. It is simply an act of obedience expressing one’s faith in Christ.
The Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of Jesus’ sacrificial death, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28-32). The elements of Communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ—they do not become His actual flesh or blood by some mystical means.