“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12
THE GODHEAD – TRINITY
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these three Persons are equal in every Divine Attribute and that they have distinct but harmonious offices in the work of Creation, Providence and Redemption.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; John 17:21-22; I Timothy 3:16; Romans 8:9-11; John 14:16; II Corinthians 13:14)
The Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayers, and He saves from sin and eternal death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(I Chronicles 29:10-12; I Corinthians 8:6; John 6:37-40; John 16:23, 24)
The Son
We believe in the eternal existence of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His miracles and His teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death for the sins of all people, His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven, His perpetual intercession for believers, and His personal, visible return to earth.
(John 1:1, 2; John 1:14; Romans 3:24, 25; I Peter 2:21-24; I John 2:1, 2; Acts 1:9-11; Acts 10:39-41)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the absolute and essential Deity and Personality of the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. We believe furthermore that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the Day of Redemption.
(Genesis 1:2; John 16:7-13; Acts 1:5-8; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12, 13; Ephesians 1:13, 14)
THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books comprising the Old and New Testaments were inspired word for word by the Spirit of God and as originally written were entirely free from error; and that the Bible is the final authority in all matters on faith and practice and the true basis of Christian union.
(II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19-21; John 17:17)
SATAN
We believe that Satan is a person who was once holy and who enjoyed heavenly honours, but, through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty God, he fell, drawing him a host of angels; that he is now the prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world.
We hold him to be man’s great tempter; the enemy of God and His Christ; the accuser of the saints; the author of false religions; the inspirer of all apostasy and the chief of all powers of darkness. He is, however, destined to final defeat at the hands of God’s Son, to suffer eternal punishment in a place prepared for him and his angels.
(Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 25:41; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 12:8-10; John 8:44; John 14:30; I Peter 5:8)
MAN
We believe that man was created by God in His own image and likeness; that, by choice, he fell from innocence into sin; that by so doing, he incurred the wrath of God which resulted in physical and spiritual death. We believe that Adam’s entire posterity, excluding Christ, is born with an inherited sinful nature and is, therefore, alienated from God. We believe that man is wholly inclined to all evil and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.
(Genesis 1:26, 27; Genesis 3:1-6; Isaiah 53:6; Acts 17:24-28; Romans 3:1-12; Romans 6:12-19; Ephesians 4:18-24)
SALVATION
We believe that salvation was purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and that His blood alone can take away sin. We believe that salvation is made available to us, only by the grace of God through faith; that it is imparted to us when we are born again by the Spirit of God, by whom we are sealed until the Day of Redemption.
We further believe that salvation is provided for the whole human race, for God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
(John 3:3-21; Romans 5:1-9; Ephesians 1:1-7; Titus 2:14; I Peter 2:24; I John 5:11-13)
FUTURE THINGS
We believe in the imminent, personal, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the resurrection of the just and the unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgment and conscious, eternal punishment of the unsaved.
(John 14:2, 3; I Thessalonians 4:16, 17; Acts 1:10, 11; I Corinthians 15; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 20:10; Revelation 1:7)
THE ETERNAL STATE
We believe in Heaven. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for those who love Him and that He will one day take them to be with Him forever. We believe that He has rewards waiting for those who have served Him faithfully. We are convinced of the eternal security of every believer regenerated by the Spirit of God. We believe in Hell. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all persons who ever lived, the saved to eternal life and happiness, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
(Matthew 25:31-36; John 5:28, 29; John 11:25, 26; John 14:2, 3; I Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:11-15)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the true Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is the fellowship of all believers in Him, and that the local church is a company of baptized believers voluntarily associated for the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, the propagation of the faith and the observance of the ordinances. We believe that the local church is an autonomous body, exercising its own divinely given gifts, precepts and privileges under the Lordship of Christ, the great and only Head of the Church. We believe that its officers are Pastors (Elders, Bishops) and Deacons.
(Acts 2:41-47; I Corinthians 1:2; I Corinthians 12:4, 8-11; Ephesians 4:11-13; Romans 12:6-8; Acts 20:17, 28)
ORDINANCES
We believe that there are only two ordinances for believers regularly observed in the New Testament.
Baptism
Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water, whereby he obeys Christ’s command and sets forth his identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. It is not essential to salvation, but it is essential to all who desire to obey the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 8:12; Romans 6:1-16)
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that the observance of the Lord’s Supper is the privilege and solemn responsibility of all who truly believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe that it was instituted by the Lord as a memorial of His crucified body and shed blood on the cross at Calvary. We believe that this special remembrance is to be observed “till He comes again.” We believe that only the saved are to partake of the Lord’s Supper and that they should carefully and prayerfully examine themselves, confessing all known sin before partaking of the bread and the cup.
(Acts 2:41, 42; I Corinthians 11:23-30; Mark 14:22-25)
CHRISTIAN SERVICE AND SEPARATION
We believe in the priesthood of all believers; that each believer is responsible to the Lord Jesus Christ for his work for Him and his walk before Him. We believe that all Christians should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon the Lord. The Christian should separate himself from all religious apostasy, all sinful pleasures, practices and associations condemned by God.
(I Corinthians 3:9; Romans 12:11; Hebrews 12:28, 29; Romans 12:1, 2; II Corinthians 6:14-18; I John 2:15-17; I Peter 2:9)
LORD’S DAY
We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, and that in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise.
(Acts 20:7; I Corinthians 16:2)
CHURCH AND STATE
We believe in the entire separation of church and state.
(Matthew 22:15-22; Acts 4:18-20; Acts 5:29)
CIVIL GOVERNMENT AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
We believe that Civil Government is of Divine appointment for the interest and good order of society. Those in authority are to be prayed for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the laws of God. We believe in religious liberty; that every man has the right to practice and propagate his beliefs.
(Titus 3:1; Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17; Joshua 24:15)
