What We Believe

 

The Holy Scriptures

We believe that the Holy Scriptures were written by men and supernaturally inspired; that it has truth without any admixture of error for its matter and, therefore, is and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; and that it is the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried. By "the whole Bible" we mean the collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation, which, as originally written, does not only contain and convey the Word of God but is the very Word of God. By "Inspiration" we mean that the books'--in such a definite way--writing was 
supernaturally and verbally inspired. We further believe that the original manuscripts are no longer in existence, but that God supernaturally and providentially has preserved His Word from the beginning to this very moment. Inspiration without preservation would be meaningless. 

We also believe that the King James version of the Bible is the divinely preserved Word of God for the English-speaking people. 

We believe the Holy Bible to be the absolute and final rule of faith, doctrine and practice for the believer and that every believer must come under its authority in order to be obedient to God. 

Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 59:21; Matthew 5:18, 24:35; I Peter 1:23, II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21 Acts 1:16, 28:25; Psalm 119:89, 105, 130, 160; Luke 24:27; John 17:17; luke 24:44-45; Proverbs 30:5-6; Romans 3:4; I Peter 1:2-3; Revelation 22:19; John 12:43; Isaiah 8:20; Ephesians 6:17; Romans 15:4; Luke 16:31; Psalm 19:7-11; John 5:39, 45-47
 

The True God

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and Earth. He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; All three equal in divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption and in the accomplishment of His eternal plan and purpose. 

Exodus 20:2-3; Genesis 17:1; I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; John 4:24; Psalms 83:18, 90:2, 147:5; Jeremiah 10:10; Exodus 15:11; Revelation 4:11 I Timothy 1:17; Romans 11:33; Mark 12:30; Matthew 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 2:10-11; Ephesians 2:18; Philippians 2:5-6; II Corinthians 13:4
 

1. God the Father 

God the Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is the Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Genesis 1:1, 2:7, Ex. 3:14, 6:2-3, 15:11, 20:1; Lev. 22:2; Deut. 6:4, 32:6; I Chron. 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isa. 43:3, 43:15, 64:8; Jer. 10:10, 17:13; Matt. 6:9, 7:11, 23:9, 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24, 5:26, 14:6-13, 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom. 8:14-15; i Cor. 8:6; Gal 4:6, Eph. 4:6, Col. 1:15; I Tim. 1:17; Heb. 11:6, 12:9; I Peter 1:17; I John 5:7

2. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and completed the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature, identifying Himself with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. 

Gen. 18:1; Psalm 2:7, 110:1; Isa. 7:14, 53; Matt. 1:18-23, 3:17, 8:29, 11:27, 14:33, 16:16, 16:27, 17:5, 17:27, 28:1-6, 28:19; Mark 1:1, 3:11; Luke 1:35, 4:41, 22:70, 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29, 10:30, 10:38, 11:25-27, 12:44-50, 14:7-11, 16:15-16, 16:28, 17:1-5, 17:21-22, 20:1-20, 20:28; Acts 1:9, 2:22-24, 7:55-56, 9:4-5. 9:20; Rom. 1:3-4, 3:23-26, 5:6-21, 8:1-3, 8:34, 10:4;1 Cor. 1:30, 2:2, 8:6, 15:1-8, 15:24-28; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Eph. 1:20, 3:11, 4:7-10; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:13-22, 2:9; 1 Thess. 4:7-10; 1 Tim. 2:5-6, 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Heb. 1:1-3, 4:14-15, 7:14-28, 9:12-15, 9:24-28, 12:2, 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25, 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9, 3:2, 4:14-15, 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Rev. 1:13-16, 5:9-14, 12:10-11, 13:8, 19:16

3. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, or holy ghost, is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. Using Acts 1:8 as our criteria for evaluation, we believe that the evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is boldness to witness for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Gen. 1:2; Judg. 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11, 139:7; Isa. 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt. 1:18, 3:16, 4:1, 12:28-32, 28:19; Mark 1:10, 1:12; Luke 1:35, 4:1, 4:18-19, 11:13, 12:12, 24:49; John 4:24, 14:16-17, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 2:38, 4:31, 5:3, 6:3, 7:55, 8:17, 8:39, 10:44, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6, 19:1-6; Rom. 8:9-11, 8:14-16, 8:26-27; 1 Cor. 2:10-14, 3:16, 12:3-11; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30, 5:18; 1 Thess. 5:19; 1 Tim. 3:16, 4:1; 2 Tim. 1:14, 3:16; Heb. 9:8, 9:14; 2 Peter 1-21; 1 John 4:13, 5:6-7; Rev. 1:10, 22:17. 

SATAN OR THE DEVIL

We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but, through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels and is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man's great tempter, the enemy of God and Jesus Christ, the accuser of the brethren, the author of all false religions, the chief source of the present apostasy, the lord of the anti-Christ, and the author of all of the powers of darkness; however, he is destined to a final defeat at the hands of God's Son and the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and for his angels as well as all of the unbelievers of the ages.

Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Matthew 25:41; II Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Ephesians 2:2; John 14:30; I Thessalonians 3:5; I Peter 5:8; Matthew 4:1-3; Zechariah 1:3; I John 3:8, 4:3; Matthew 19:11, 16-20; Revelation 12:7-9, Revelation 20:1-3, 10; II Corinthians 11:13-15; II John 6; Mark 13:21-22; I John 2:22; II Thessalonians 2:8-11.

SALVATION

The New Birth

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is the new creation in Jesus Christ; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth, the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith in newness of life.

John 3:3, 6-8; II Corinthians 5:17, 19; Luke 5:27; I John 5:1; Acts 2:41; Acts 16:30-33; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13; John 1:12-13; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9

Free-ness of Salvation

We believe in God's electing grace that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel, which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.

I Thessalonians 1:4; Colossians 3:12; I Peter 1:12; Titus 1:1; Romans 8:29-30, 10:13; Matthew 11:28; Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17; John 6:37; Isaiah 55:6-7; Acts 2:38; John 3:15-16; I Timothy 1:15; I Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 2:4-5; John 3:18, 36; John 5:40.

Justification

We believe that the great Gospel benefit which Christ secures to such as believe in Him provides justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life; that justification declares the sinner righteous through the merits of Jesus Christ; that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood; and that His righteousness is imputed unto us.

Acts 13:39; Isaiah 53:11; Zechariah 13:1; Romans 4:18; 5:9, 11; Romans 8:1; Titus 3:5-7; Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38.

Repentance and Faith

We believe that repentance and faith are solemn obligations and also inseparable graces wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and being convinced of the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time, we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confess Him as our only and all  sufficient Saviour.

Acts 2:37-38, 20:21; Mark 1:15; Luke 12:8; Luke 18:13; Romans 10:9-10, 13; Psalm 51:1-4, 7; Isaiah 55:6-7.

Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever; and that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; but that God's Word also clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.

John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; Romans 6:1-8.

The Church

We believe that a church of Christ is a congregation of baptized   believers associated together by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that it is to be given a sacred preeminence over all institutions of human origin; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe that the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission; first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; and third, to teach and instruct as He has commanded.

We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only Superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is Scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final

Acts 2:42; 6:5-6, 14:23, 15:23, 20:17-28; I Corinthians 5:11-13; I Corinthians 6:1-3, 11:2; 12:4, 8-11; 16:1-2; I Timothy 3:1-13; Matthew 28:19-20; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:22-23; I Peter 5:1-4; Jude 3-4; II Corinthians 8:23-24; Malachi 3:10; Leviticus 27:32; Acts 15:22, Matt. 16:15-19, 18:15-20.

Baptism and the Lord's Supper

We believe that Christian baptism is the Immersion in water of a born again believer in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority and approval of the local church to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, as it pictures our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the observing of the Lord's Supper. We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of the Lord's death; the unleavened bread symbolizing His broken body and the fruit of the vine (unfermented grape juice) symbolizing His blood. It is to be done at our Lord's command in remembrance of His death until He comes. The Lord's Supper is to be observed by the members of the local church only, and only after solemn self-examination, to commemorate together the atoning love of Christ.

Acts 2:41-42, 8:36-39; Matthew 3:6; John 3:23; Rom. 6:3-5; Matthew 3:16, 28:19-20; Colossians 2:12; I Corinthians 11:23-25; Luke 22:19.

The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is coming again in the air at any moment to catch up all born again believers and to reward their service; the unbelievers left behind will go through a period called the Tribulation, after which Christ shall return visibly to the earth to set up His kingdom of 1,000 years of righteous rule; after this, the unbelievers of all ages will stand at the Great White Throne to be judged and cast into the lake of fire, separated from God forever, while the believers spend eternity in the fullness of joy and in the presence of our Lord forever.

Matthew 24:27, 42; 25:13, 28:6-7; Luke 1:32; 24:39, 51; John 2:1, 20:27; I Corinthians 15:4, 25, 42-44, 51-52; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2, 4-6; Acts 1:9, 11; Mark 16:19; Revelation 3:21; Hebrews 8:1; 6, 12:2; I Timothy 2:5; I John 2:1; John 14:3; Hebrews 2:17, 5:9-10, 9:28; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Psalm 72:8; Philippians 3:20-21; Isaiah 9:6-7, 11:4-5, 32:1; Revelation 20:1-6.