ABOUT SCRIPTURE:

We teach that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God, are inerrant and infallible in whole and in part as written by the Biblical writers, are the complete word of God, and are the supreme and final authority.

1. We teach that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired of God. Inspiration is that particular work of God by which the Holy Spirit, becoming the co-author of Scripture, supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture without excluding their human intelligence, individuality, and literary style, through whom God's own complete and coherent message to men was recorded in perfect accuracy and the very words of the Bible bear the authority of this divine authorship.
2. We teach that the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments comprise the totality of Scripture; that is, there is no other special revelation to be added to the canon which the church has historically recognized by the enablement of the Holy Spirit.
3. We teach that the original documents of Scripture were inerrant (expressing the words of God completely and accurately) and infallible (having no error in fact, doctrine, and history).
4. We teach that Scripture is the final authority on all matters. Hence, we must submit to it. There is one interpretation of Scripture, which is determined by God, and is the same interpretation for all. Although portions of Scripture may vary in degree of clarity, Scripture is essentially perspicuous. Scripture never contradicts itself.
5. We teach the literal grammatical-historical method of interpretation. It is the duty of every believer to search and to study diligently the Scriptures depending on the Holy Spirit who illuminates Scripture's significance.
6. We teach the sufficiency of Scripture for all matters of faith and practice. Scripture is intended to change lives for God's glory.

ABOUT THE TRINITY:

We teach that the one true God is perfect in all of His attributes, is the Creator and Sovereign Ruler of the universe, and is eternally existing in one essence, yet three co-equal Persons - the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three, although distinct in function, are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections, and being worthy of precisely the same worship, confidence, and obedience.

1. We teach that the one triune God has no beginning and no ending, completely separate from His creation. God is one in essence, yet eternally existing as the Father, Son, and Spirit.
2. We teach that each member of the Trinity is called God in Scripture. Scripture declares the Father as God. Scripture declares the Son as God. Scripture declares the Spirit as God. We teach that the Father, Son, and Spirit are in perfect fellowship as a Tri-unity.

ABOUT GOD THE FATHER:

We teach that God the Father orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. As Creator He is Father to all men, but He is spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty He is neither author nor approver of sin, nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own. He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him, and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.

ABOUT JESUS CHRIST:

We teach that Jesus Christ, the eternal Word of God, was made flesh - conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary and so is one person with two natures, fully God and fully man. We believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross at Cavalry for our sins and rose from the dead on the third day. We teach the bodily resurrection of our Lord, His ascension into Heaven, and His present life there as High Priest and Advocate for us at the right hand of the Father.

1. We teach that Jesus Christ is indeed God with us, conceived by the Holy Spirit without human agency, born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man.
2. We teach that Jesus is the eternal Word of God, the second person of the triune God, who existed in perfect face-to-face fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity past. At the appropriate moment in time, the Word was made flesh and became a man. And He remains both God and man.
3. We teach that Jesus Christ died upon the cross for sinners, that He was buried with the tomb sealed and guarded, that He arose bodily on the third day, and that He was seen by numerous eye witnesses before ascending into Heaven to be seated at the right-hand of the Most High, waiting until His enemies are made His footstool and being our Advocate and appointed High Priest.
4. We teach that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one can come to the Father but through Him. There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT:

We teach that God the Holy Spirit is one of the three co-equal persons of the triune God, manifesting His Personhood through intellect, knowledge, mind, emotions, and will. In His ministry to the church, the Holy Spirit indwells each believer upon salvation, seals him unto the day of redemption (death or rapture), and sanctifies him throughout this period of time. We believe that only the Holy Spirit can open a man's heart and mind to receive the word of God and that this is done as the Holy Spirit empowers the preaching and teaching of the gospel.

1. We teach that the Holy Spirit is the agent of spiritual birth.
2. We teach that the Spirit regenerates, indwells, seals, and baptizes into the Church body all believers.
3. We teach that the believer’s life is strengthened and guided by the Spirit. The believer is commanded to be filled or controlled by the Spirit, so that the characteristics of Christ-likeness will be evident in a fruitful life.
4. We teach that the Holy Spirit enables the spreading of God’s word in testimony, preaching, and practical living .
5. We teach that the Spirit enables progressive sanctification in a life characterized by obedience to Christ. The Holy Spirit gifts each believer for service that builds the church body of Christ.

ABOUT MANKIND:

We teach that mankind was created in the image of God by His direct act on the sixth day of Creation and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race. Though created in an original state of holiness, Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden and incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death; that is, separation from God. All human beings are born with an inherited sin nature and are sinners in thought, word, and deed. All people therefore justly deserve God's eternal condemnation.

1. We teach that man is born in sin and in this complete depravity is guilty before God for not conforming to God’s moral law. Although a man might have choice as to which sinful acts to commit, he cannot stop sinning. There is no one righteous and no one who seeks after the true and living God. Even our righteousness (the best we can do) is contaminated with sin. Man is enslaved to sin and cannot free himself.
2. We teach that man is born with an eternal soul/spirit in unity with a physical body.
3. We teach that mankind is incapable of saving himself.
4. The image of God in mankind, though marred by the fall into sin, was not obliterated. Because of the image of God in mankind, the Bible upholds the sanctity of human life and the equality of the human race.

ABOUT CREATION:

We teach that in the beginning God created the entire physical universe out of nothing in a period of six sequential earth-rotation days and that He rested on the seventh day, being done. This creation was complete and pristine, free of sin and death, and within the age of man.

1. We teach that God is absolutely separate from His creation and is self-sufficient in need of nothing.
2. We teach that God is the Creator of the entire physical universe and all of its contents as well as the spiritual realm of angels. All things are accountable to God.
3. We teach that although certain attributes of God can be deduced by examining the creation (God’s general revelation), this derived understanding cannot be elevated to the same level of authority as Scripture. Indeed, mankind has consistently misinterpreted the evidence because of man’s hatred of the true God.
4. We teach that the history chronicled in Genesis is accurate and literal; hence, the Flood of Noah was universal and destroyed all mankind and all land creatures except those kept alive in the ark. This flood destroyed the world that then was and has made a significant impact upon the natural world.

ABOUT MARRIAGE:

We teach Biblical standards for marriage and human sexuality. We teach that marriage is a gift created by God and is designed to be a lifelong covenant relationship between one man and one woman under God and that Scripture opposes any form of sexual intimacy outside this relationship.

1. We teach that Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, equal before God as persons and yet distinct in their manhood and womanhood.
2. We teach that the headship of the family resides in the husband as established by God as part of the created order before the fall of man and is not a result of sin.
3. We teach that all believers must honor the Lord in body and in spirit; namely, living completely faithful to a spouse or living a pure life in the gift of singleness.
4. We teach that a man and a woman become one flesh when joined in marriage and are inseparable in God’s eyes.

ABOUT SALVATION:

We teach that all who repent of their sins, receiving by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit, and thereby become children of God and heirs of eternal life. We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace through faith on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. We teach that regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given. It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation.

1. We teach that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again (born from above) by the Holy Spirit, are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and become the beloved children of God and heirs of everlasting life. This new birth is the work of the Holy Spirit by which He creates within a person a new nature, a new heart, and a new spirit. Faith is a gift of God and is produced by the Word of God.
2. We teach that man is totally passive in this work of regeneration. Prior to this, the man is actually dead in sin and cannot respond to God. Man is not by nature a seeker; the only seeker is God. Even our faith is a gift of God.
3. We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice acceptable to God the Father, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. Jesus took our sins and placed them upon Himself. Any one who calls upon the Lord in repentance and believes in his heart that God has raised Him from the dead receives salvation. Apart from Christ, there is no salvation.
4. We teach that Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins; that is, He satisfied the wrath of God that would otherwise have been directed toward us.
5. We teach that salvation is the result of the completed work of Christ. Salvation is by grace alone, not grace plus works. However, genuine faith necessarily leads to a changed life evidenced by good works done in the power of the Holy Spirit.
6. We teach that at the moment of regeneration, the believer is instantly justified; that is, declared righteous and he has peace with God. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the believer.
7. We teach that sanctification is a life-long process whereby the Holy Spirit matures the believer and enables a life of personal holiness and a walk of obedience to the will of God. As members of His family, we not only have fellowship with our Father in Heaven, but we are being transformed by the Holy Spirit into the image of Christ, and when Christ returns we will be completely changed in body and spirit to be like Jesus Christ. This experience of the life of Jesus Christ within us now by the presence of the Holy Spirit and forever ours in the presence of Jesus Christ is “eternal life”.
8. We teach that all who are truly born from above and received the Spirit of Christ are “kept by the power of God” and “sealed by the Spirit”, therefore, are incapable of losing their salvation.
9. We teach that a person, having been moved by the Spirit of God, comes to salvation in Christ by
   • Admitting his sinful ways and desiring to turn from them in repentance and be delivered from the judgment they bring (Romans 3:10, 23; Act 3:19).
   • Acknowledging that Christ died for sinners on the cross and that God raised Christ from the dead (Romans 5:8; Romans 10:9; John 11:25).
   • Receiving Christ as the only means of eternal life (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 6:40).
   • Appropriating Christ’s rightful claim as both Lord and Savior of his life (Romans 10:9; Philippians 2:10-11)

ABOUT THE CHURCH:

We teach that the Church is the Body of Christ and the bride of Christ, comprised of all Spirit-baptized believers in heaven or on earth. The Body of Christ exists under the authority of Christ's headship mediated through the Scriptures in each local congregation. The local church is the visible expression of the body of Christ in any one place on earth, comprised of believers who have been baptized by water as a symbol of regeneration.

We teach that the church exists to glorify God through worship, prayer, evangelism of the lost, edification of the believers, fellowship, and ministry. The church has a mission to proclaim the Scriptures to all the world, all of its endeavors organized under the headship of Christ, guided by a plurality of elder leadership and supported by the wise stewardship of God's people in each local congregation. Each member of the body has a God-given gift to be used in service to the body to encourage proper Christian living. We teach that the ordinances of the Church given by our Lord are Baptism (Immersion) and the Lord's table (Communion).

1. We teach that the formation of the church began on the Day of Pentecost and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture. The church is distinct from Israel.
2. We teach that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ, whose authority is mediated to the church through the Scriptures. Christ designates elders to lead the local congregation as servants of Christ. These elders make all decisions by unanimity. The Biblical qualifications for elders and deacons are found in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
3. We teach that each member of the body of Christ has a spiritual gift distributed by the Holy Spirit as God wills to be used for the proper functioning and edification of the church. All members are to declare and make known God’s truth through the totality of their lives, in addition to the formal proclamation of the Word of God. Some gifts mentioned in the New Testament (such as prophecy, healing, miracles, and tongues) were for the purpose of authenticating the messengers of God’s revelation and these gifts ceased with the completion of Scripture.
4. We teach that baptism is the outward demonstration of the believer’s inner regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Baptism itself has no saving benefit, but should be the desire of every new believer to identify himself with his Savior before His church. The pattern of the book of Acts indicates the widespread practice of water baptism for believers.
5. We teach that communion (the Lord’s table) calls each believer to remember the death of our Savior upon the cross until He comes again. The bread and cup are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, although participation in the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer. Hence, every believer must examine himself prior to taking communion so that he would not do so in a manner that is unworthy.
6. We teach the primacy of proclaiming God’s Word in our worship.

ABOUT ANGELS:

We teach that in the beginning God created spiritual beings called angels, all of whom were originally holy and were created to serve God and to worship Him. Before the fall of man as chronicled in Genesis 3, Satan rebelled against God and incurred judgment upon himself and numerous other angels who aligned themselves with him. These fallen angels are called demons. Righteous angels are confirmed in holiness as ministers for God.

1. We teach that all angels are created beings, hence are not to be worshiped.
2. We teach that angels, although very powerful beings, are not divine and are not all-powerful. All angels (both holy and fallen), like all men, are accountable to God and subject to Him.
3. We teach that Satan is a defeated foe of God, defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As a result of Christ’s victory, Satan and the other demons shall be eternally punished in hell at the close of the millennial kingdom.

ABOUT LAST THINGS (Eschatology):

We teach the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We teach the bodily resurrection of the saved and unsaved, the fellowship of the saved in heaven, and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost in hell.

1. We teach that at physical death there is no loss of our immaterial consciousness, that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ. The souls of the redeemed will receive resurrection bodies at the time of the rapture.
2. We teach the imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ when all believers on earth will be raptured (caught up) to meet Him in the air. All believers should be waiting expectantly for that blessed day when we shall see our Savior face to face. This hope motivates us to live lives that would bring glory to our Lord.
3. We teach the futurist interpretation of Revelation; namely, that Revelation chapters 4-19 describe events in the tribulation period, future to the Church Age.
4. We teach that the rapture of the church will occur just prior to the seven-year tribulation period, which is the last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks of years. Then the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world, climaxing in the physical return of Christ in glory to the earth to establish the millennial kingdom, after which comes the eternal state when all the redeemed will dwell in the presence of the Holy God.
5. We teach the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.

In summary we teach the fundamental tenets that fueled the Protestant Reformation:

• sola Scriptura (Scripture alone),
• sola fide (by faith alone),
• sola gratia (by grace alone),
• solus Christus (Christ alone), and
• Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be the glory).