Doctrinal Statement

The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is supernaturally inspired, so that it is inerrant in the original manuscripts and preserved by God in its verbal and plenary inspiration, so that it is a divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life.

We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.

The Godhead

We believe there is one, and only one living and true God, and infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of Redemption.

We believe that God is self-existent, eternal, and everlasting.

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is both true God and true man.

We believe He existed in eternity, that He appeared and ministered in the Old Testament, that He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life while performing many miracles.

We believe He died on the cross, shedding His blood, and suffering the full penalty of divine wrath for sinful man.

We believe that He was buried, and on the third day He arose bodily from the dead.

We believe that He ascended bodily into heaven where, at the right hand of the Father, He now intercedes as the only mediator between God and those who believe on Him.

We believe He is coming again to rapture the Church and will return literally to earth after the Tribulation to set up His millennial kingdom.

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit actively ministered in the Old Testament through creation, revelation, and in a special selective manner with men. The Holy Spirit was active in all aspects of Christ’s life, from His birth to His death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit today has a prime ministry in salvation as He convicts, regenerates, indwells, baptizes (this baptism occurs at salvation and is not a subsequent or second work of grace), and seals the new believers. The Holy Spirit gifts, controls, teaches, guides, assures, and prays for believers.

We believe the Holy Spirit fills believers in response to yieldedness with the goal of conforming them to the image of Christ.

The Devil or Satan

We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, the Devil, and that he was created by God as an angel but through pride and rebellion became the enemy of his Creator; that he became the unholy god of this age and the ruler of all the powers of darkness.

We believe he was conquered by Christ on the cross and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire.

The Creation

We believe in the Biblical account of Creation, including angels, physical universe, and man, and that this is a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate, creative acts of God, without any evolutionary process.

We believe that the six creative days of Genesis 1 were literal twenty-four hour days.

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, parents of the human race. By voluntary transgression man fell from his sinless state, in consequence of which all men are now sinners by nature and by choice, utterly devoid of the holiness required by God, positively inclined to evil, and therefore under just condemnation to eternal judgment and everlasting existence separated from God and without defense or excuse.

Salvation

We believe that Christ died, was buried, and rose again for the whole world and that salvation of sinners is divinely initiated, wholly of grace, and accomplished only through the mediatorial work of the Son of God. We believe in salvation by grace through faith: that salvation is the free gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man, but received only by genuine repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have as a present possession the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness, and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that this salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation.

Grace and the New Birth

We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation; that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; 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 and newness of life.

Justification

We believe that justification is the judicial act of God, wherein He declares the believer righteous because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, and that it is given not because of works but only through faith in the Redeemer’s blood.

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the divine setting apart of the believer unto God, accomplished in a threefold manner: first, an eternal act of God, based upon redemption in Christ, establishing the believer in a position of holiness at the moment he trusts the Savior; second, a continuing process in the saint as the Holy Spirit applies the Word of God to the life; third, the final accomplishment of this process at the Lord’s return.

Separation

We believe in personal separation from all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, influences, and associations which bring reproach upon the Savior and which hinder a Spirit-filled life.

We believe the Bible commands separation from all forms of ecclesiastical liberalism, apostasy, and compromise, including any organization which would unite believers with the unsaved in a secretive manner.

Security of the Saints

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.

We believe that 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.

The Local Church

We believe in the importance of the local church: that a New Testament church is a local assembly of born-again immersed believers united by covenant to practice the New Testament ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper; to meet together for prayer, fellowship, teaching, and a united testimony.

We believe its Scriptural offices are pastor (elder, bishop) and deacon whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures.

We believe in the independence and autonomy of the local church; that each New Testament church is free to govern itself without outside interference and is directly accountable to God.

The New Testament Church Ordinances

We believe the two church ordinances given to the local church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper; that baptism is by immersion of believers in water to show forth our identification with the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, through Whom we died to sin and rose to a new life.

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is the partaking of the bread and the cup by the believer as a continuing memorial of the broken body and shed blood of Christ until He comes.

The Righteous and the Wicked

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only those who are justified by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse; and this distinction holds among men both in and after death.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all dead; the saved to a life of eternal glory and blessing in heaven with God; the unsaved to eternal judgment of conscious suffering in the Lake of Fire.

Civil Government

We believe civil government is of divine order and planning for the general orderliness and well-being of mankind.

We believe the powers that be are ordained by God, and all governments owe their power, right to rule, and existence to God.

We believe civil government is to punish the evil-doer and give praise unto those that do well.

We believe government has the biblical responsibility to practice capital punishment.

We believe we are to pray for our civil leaders, honor them, obey the law of the land, and render unto the government its due taxes.

We believe in submitting to every ordinance and law of civil government, except when government would tell us to do things opposed to the will and Word of God.

We believe that civil government has no right to legislate or seek to control matters of religious faith or practice.

Future Events

We believe in the imminent “blessed hope”, the rapture of the church before the Tribulation, when “the Lord shall descend from heaven” to catch up His bride to meet Him in the air and to participate in the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Marriage of the Lamb in heaven; that the Tribulation will begin on the earth subsequently, culminating in the literal return of Christ to earth at the end of the Tribulation, the setting up of His millennial reign which is followed by the eternal state, including the new heaven and the new earth.

Marriage and the Home

We believe that the family was the first institution God provided for mankind, and that marriage is a sacred relationship and honorable for all. Marriage is used as an emblem of the union of Christ and His Church.

We believe marriage is a permanent covenant before God and man and between one man and one woman and any other arrangement is unbiblical.

We believe God’s design is for a married couple to never be separated by divorce.

We believe men and women are of equal value and standing in God’s sight, but by God’s design the man is to be head of the family.

We believe it is the responsibility of parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord while practicing loving discipline.

We believe that single believers are to marry only in the Lord.

Sexual Relationships

We believe that the Bible specifically places man and woman in a Biblical, God-commanded relationship and that God instituted the marriage relationship between man and woman, and the creation of the Biblical family. We therefore hold that it is totally against the command and teaching of the Word of God to in any way change or pervert this order. Thus, we must Biblically conclude that homosexuality, lesbianism, and any other contra-biblical relationships are contrary to the Word of God, and we do not accept these as an alternate life-style.