Doctrinal Statements

The Holy Scriptures

We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of 66 books which constitute the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and unalterable special revelation of God, and our final authority. We believe in the normal, literal, and consistent interpretation of the Scriptures; and a dispensational understanding of God’s progressive revelation. (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

The Godhead

We believe in the one triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe 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, and lived a sinless life. He came that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice sufficient for the sins of the whole world, and our justification is verified by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24; 1 John 2:2) We believe 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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2)

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who in this present age convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; who regenerates and baptizes into the body of Christ those who believe; and who indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and it is the privilege of believers to be filled with, and their duty to walk in, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God; in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited asinful nature, and became alienated from God; and mankind is totally depraved and unable to remedy itslost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)

Salvation and Security

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for all people and all who trust Him are saved by grace through faith on the grounds of His shed blood, accepted in the beloved, kept by God’s power, and thus secure in Christ forever. (John 1:12; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5, 18-19) We believe every saved person is a new creation with provision made for victory over sin through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The sin that is present in us is not eradicated in this life. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9) We believe it is the privilege of believers 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. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; 1 Peter 2:13-20)

Human Sexuality

Sexual intimacy is a wonderful gift of God that is only to be expressed between a man and a woman within the love and bonds of marriage. Therefore, we believe that any other form of sexual intimacy is both immoral and a perversion of God’s gift. (Genesis 2:24-25; Proverbs 5:18; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; Leviticus 18:1-30; Proverbs 6:32; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Romans 1:26-27)

Unity and Separation

We believe the saved should be separated unto the Lord Jesus Christ, necessitating holy living in all personal and ecclesiastical associations and relationships. We believe the Scriptures teach us to cooperate wherever possible with Christians, churches, and organizations that hold to the historic doctrines of the Christian faith and have a philosophy of ministry that is compatible with ours. It is the servant-leader’s responsibility to endeavor to maintain the unity of the faith and the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace and love while separating from those who, though professing Christ, have clearly deviated from the historic doctrines of the Christian faith or are engaging in unethical or immoral behavior. (Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:7-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 4:1-3, 13; Colossians 3:12-17; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 3:10; 1 Peter 3:8-9; 2 John 9-11) We believe the Scriptures teach that disciples of Jesus Christ should be holy and consecrated to the Lord Jesus Christ and obedient to His commands, being spiritually insulated from the world system but not isolated from unbelievers. Further, Christians must not misuse their liberty in violation of their consciences, as a stumbling block to others, or as a license for fleshly impulses or ensnaring habits. (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; I Corinthians 6:12, 19-20, 9:19-23; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:14; James 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:9, 16-17; 1 John 2:15-17)

The Church

We believe the Church, which began with the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, is the body and bride of Christ. It is the spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age. (Acts 2:1-36; 1 Corinthians 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27) We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

Ordinances

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ established two ordinances for the Church in this present age. These are believer’s water baptism, practiced by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper, observed as a memorial of His death. (Acts 8:12, 35-39; 10:47-48; 1 Corinthians 1:14; 11:23-34)

Missions

We believe that Christ commissioned individuals in the church to make disciples from among all nations, to baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to observe all things whatsoever He has commanded. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ gives the Church evangelists and pastor-teachers. These gifted men are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:7-14) We believe the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers for Christian service and the edification of the Church. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11) We believe the church age was initiated through the ministry of the apostles and prophets accompanied by sign gifts to confirm their message. These sign gifts gradually ceased by the time of the completion of the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31, 13:8-10, 14:1-28; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 2:3-4) We believe God hears and answers prayer in accord with His own will for healing of the sick and afflicted. (John 14:13-14, 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15)

Dispensationalism

We believe the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations, which define man’s responsibility in successive ages. A dispensation is not a way of salvation, but a divinely ordered stewardship by which God directs man according to His purpose. (John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10, 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24- 25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2-6) We believe salvation is always by grace through faith regardless of the dispensation in which the believer may have lived. God’s purpose of salvation by grace through faith alone has always been based upon the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 11:6; 1 Peter 1:10-12)

Creation

We believe the triune God, by a free act and for His own glory, without the use of existing materials or secondary causes, brought into being – immediately and instantaneously in six literal days by the word of His mouth – the whole visible and invisible universe. (Genesis 1:1-27; Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 104:25-26; Isaiah 40:21-31; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:16-17)

The Personality of Satan

We believe Satan is a created being, the author of sin, the tempter in the fall, the declared enemy of God and man, and the god of this age. He shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12- 17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10)

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in the personal, imminent, pretribulational and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. We believe that at the end of the seven-year tribulation He will return to earth with the saints in power and glory to reign for a thousand years. (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18, 5:9; Titus 2:13; Revelation 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. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13) We believe 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 and glorified to be forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6) We believe the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul 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. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)