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About Us
What We Believe...
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament
to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God. The
Scriptures are inerrant in the original writings, infallible and
God-breathed, and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life.
The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and
Divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted
according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues
of interpretation and meaning shall be the official and only translation
used by the church.
(2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural,
literal sense reveal Divinely determined dispensations or rules of life
which define man's responsibilities in successive ages. These
dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are Divinely ordered
stewardships by which God directs man according to his purpose. Three of
these dispensations--the law, the church, and the kingdom--
are the
subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture.
(Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18; Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10;
Col. 1:24-25,27; Rev. 20:2-6)
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally self-existent,
omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, holy, merciful and just, creator of
the
heavens and the earth, manifesting Himself in three persons -
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each co-eternal in being,
co-identical in
nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and
perfections.
(Gen. 1:1,26; Deut. 4:35, 6:4; Matt. 28:19-20; John 10:30, 14:10, 26;
2 Cor. 13:14; Col. 2:9)
The Person and Work of The Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became
man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived
by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and
redeem sinful men.
(Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5;
Phil. 2:5-8)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
redemption through His death on the cross as a representative,
vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, whose blood was shed on Calvary
for the forgiveness of our sins; and, that our justification is made
sure by His literal,
physical resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:3-5)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to
Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High
Priest,
He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate.
(Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
The Person and the Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that He is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness,
and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration,
baptizing all believers into the body of Jesus Christ, indwelling and sealing
them unto the day of redemptions.
(John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; I Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)
We believe that He is the Divine teacher who assists
believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures,
and that it is
the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit.
(Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of
spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists,
pastors,
and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that
they can do the work of the ministry.
(Rom. 12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:7-12)
We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit,
such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing were temporary.
Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of baptism or
filling of the Holy Spirit. Though God frequently chooses to answer the
prayers of believers for physical healing, the ultimate deliverance of
the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation
in the resurrection.
I Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
The Total Depravity of Man.
We believe that man was created in the image and
likeness of God; but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a
sinful nature,
and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved,
and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
(Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought
to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our
sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are
forgivable.
(John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; I Pet. 1:18-19; Matt.
12:31-32, I John 1:9)
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept
by God's power and are secure in Jesus Christ forever.
(John 6:37-40;
Rom. 8:1; 38-39;
1 Cor. 1:4-8; I Pet. 1:4-5)
We believe that it is the privilege of believer's to
rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of
God's Word, which; however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty
as an occasion to the flesh.
(Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
The Church
We believe that the local church is composed of
regenerated, baptized believers voluntarily united together for the
purpose of worship, edification, fellowship of believers, spiritual
growth, and service.
(Eph. 4:11-16; I Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of
local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament
Scriptures.
It has been commissioned by Jesus Christ to propagate the
Gospel unto the uttermost parts of the earth.
(Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15; Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32;
I Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of
any external authority or control. That the church has absolute right of
self government, free from interference of any hierarchy of individuals
or organization; and that the one and only superintendent is Jesus
Christ.
On all matters of membership, policy of government, benevolence,
the will of the local church is final.
(Acts 2:41-47, 4:33-37, 5:1-20' 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4;
I Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Pet. 5:1-4)
We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as
the only two Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this
age.
(Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Cor. 11:23-26)
Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a
manner as to not bring reproach upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His local
Church. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy,
all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations,
and to
refrain form all immodest and immoderate appearances, piercing, and
bodily markings.
(Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17;
2 John 9-11; Lev. 19:28; I Cor. 6:19-20)
Missions
We believe, because all men everywhere without Jesus
Christ are lost and bound for eternal punishment (John 3:36), and
because men cannot believe in Him of whom they have never heard (Romans
10:14), that we are debtors to all men and have the responsibility of
taking the Gospel to them. Jesus left us the command that we should all
be witnesses for Him (Acts 1:8). We should take the news of the Gospel
to every place where men can be found (Matt. 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15; Luke
24:46-48; John 20:21). We believe that to carry out this command we must
ourselves be witnesses by life and word (2 Cor. 3:2,3) to tell all lost
men about Jesus Christ. We must support by prayer (Col. 4:2,3) and
financial aid, to those who go out under sound missionary agencies to
represent us in other parts of the world.
Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that
portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his
local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe
as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other
offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the
relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a
Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or
offering once the gift has been made.
(Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal.
6:6; Eph. 4:28; I Tim. 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
The Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal,
imminent return of Jesus Christ who will rapture His church prior to the
seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus
Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish
His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of
Israel.
(Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; I Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18;
Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the
saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting
punishment.
(Matt. 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at
death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in
conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul,
and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17; Rev.
20:4-6)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after
death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second
resurrection, which will occur after the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus
Christ, when the should and body reunited, they shall appear at the
Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire,
not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment
and torment.
(Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26;
2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
The Personality of Satan
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan. We
believe he is the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man;
that
he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be
eternally punished in the Lake of Fire.
We are to resist the devil by
putting on the Whole Armor of God.
(Job 1:6-8; 2:3; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41;
Eph. 6:10-18; Jam. 4:7; I Pet. 5:8-9; Rev. 20:10)
Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six
literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory,
the
Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of
origin.
(Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all
authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the
church, and
3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities,
but all (Including the authorities themselves) are answerable
to God and
governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical
responsibilities and balanced those
responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the
other.
The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in
their respective Biblically assigned
spheres of responsibility under
God.
(Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; I Pet. 2:13-14)
Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others,
not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not
believers and those who oppose us. We are to deal with those who oppose
us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring
up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of
violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal
justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to
love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions.
(Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10,
13:8-10; I Cor. 13: Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; I John
3:17-18)
Ordinances
We believe that Jesus Christ gave only two ordinances
to the church. We believe that neither of them is necessary in order to
be saved,
but we take part in them, because we are saved.
The Lord's Supper
We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of
what He did for us on the Cross, and that we are showing the Lord's
death till He comes. We also believe that in taking part in the Lord's
Supper that we are demonstrating our hope for His return.
(Matt. 26:29; I Cor. 11:26)
We believe that the Lord's Supper is for believers
only.
(Matt. 26:18, 26-29; John 13:31)
We believe that the Lord's Supper should be conducted
in an orderly fashion.
(I Cor. 11:17-22)
We believe that partakers should examine themselves
before taking part in the Lord's Supper, and ensure that they have no
unconfused sin in their lives.
(I Cor. 11:27-32)
We believe in "open" communion. We allow any believer,
whether they are a member of this Church of not, to take part in the
Lord's Supper. The Scripture used for conducting the Lord's Supper is
Matthew 26:17-30 and I Corinthians 11:17-34.
Believer's Baptism
We believe that all Christians should be baptized
according to the Scriptures. First, Christians are commanded to be
baptized.
(Matt. 28:19, John 14:15, Acts 10:47-48) Second, because
we are following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Mark 1:9-11,
Matt 3:17) By being baptized, we are making a public profession of our
decision to follow Jesus,
and that we have taken part in His death,
burial, and resurrection. (Rom. 6:2-4)
We believe that baptism is for believers only.
(Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41, 8:12, 18:18; Rom. 10:9)
We believe that total immersion is the scriptural mode
of baptism.
(Matt. 3:16; Col. 2:12; Acts 8:36,38) |
