Beliefs and Values
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21; John 17:17). Though Scriptural truth is spiritually discerned (I Cor. 2:13, 14), it is not subjective or a matter of personal opinion (II Peter 1:20). Ultimately, its reliability rests on the promises of God that it is powerful, will endure, and will accomplish what God pleases (Isaiah 40:8, 55:11; Matthew 5:18; Hebrews 4:12).
THE TRINITY
We believe in one God eternally existing in three equal persons -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who have the same nature and attributes, but who are distinct in office and activity (Matthew 28:19; II Cor. 13:14). God is immutable (Psalm 102:26, 27; Mal. 3:6), eternal (Psalm 90:2, 15a; Isaiah 57:15), omnipotent (Psalm 115:3), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-12), omniscient (Psalm 147:5), and too holy to look upon sin (Habakkuk 1:13). Yet, He is not wishing that any should perish (II Peter 3:9). He is the Lord of history, declaring the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and working all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11).
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God (John 1:1; 17:5, Hebrews 13:8) became man without ceasing to be God (Hebrews 2:17, 18; John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:5-10), having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Luke 1:35), in order that He might reveal God (John 8:19; 14: 7, 9) and redeem sinful man (Gal. 3:13; 4:4, 5). We believe that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice (II Cor. 5:21). We believe that our redemption and salvation are guaranteed by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 4:25; I Cor. 15:1-4, 17, 20).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, where as High Priest He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy for His people (Hebrews 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25; I John 2:1-2).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that God-the Holy Spirit is a person (John 14:16, 17, 26) who convicts people of sin (John 16:8), regenerates those who receive Christ as savior (John 3:5-8), baptizes them into the church (I Cor. 12:13) the body of Christ, indwells them permanently (Romans 8:9; I Cor. 6:19), seals them unto the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13, 4:30) and fills those yielded to Him (Eph. 5:18). To those who live in submission to the Spirit, He leads, gives assurance and prays for them (Romans 8:14, 16, 26). He also bestows spiritual gifts on each one in order to equip for ministry and edify the church (Eph. 4:11, 12). These gifts are not for personal gratification (I Cor. 14:12), but for the benefit of the believing community and the world.
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is a gift of God (Romans 5:15, 6:23) and is received by man through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin (II Cor. 5:21) We believe that man is justified by grace through faith apart from works (Romans 3:21-28; Gal. 2:16; Eph.2:8-10; Titus 3:5). We believe that all true believers, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever (Romans 8:1, 38-39; John 10:27-30) having been called according to His purpose and grace that was given us in Christ before there was time (II Tim. 1:9).
THE CHURCH
We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22, 23; II Cor. 11:2), is a spiritual organism, made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Eph. 2:19-22, 3:6-10, 4:4, 5; Col. 1:18; Hebrews 12:23). We believe that the Church began at Pentecost (John 7:39; Acts 2:4) and that a believer is placed into the Church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 12:13).
We believe that the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality (Romans 16:1-5, 23; I Tim. 3:5) for the purposes of worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, and to be equipped for Christian service (Acts 2:42, Eph. 4:11-13).
