What we believe

The Scriptures

We believe every word of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (Isaiah 40:8; Matt. 5:18; Mk. 13:31; John 16:12, 13; II Tim. 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20-21).

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons (Father,Son and Holy Spirit) co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal inpower and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Lk 3:21, 22; II Cor. 13:14; I Peter 1:2).

The Person and work of christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, becameman, 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 redeemsinful men (Lk 1:30-35; John 1:1, 2, 14, 18; Phil 2:5-11). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a substitutionary and complete sacrifice for the sins of all, not a select few, and that those who believe in Him are saved, and this on the ground of His shed blood. We do not believe that Christ's atonement for the sins of mankind was limited in any sense. (Rom. 3:24-28, 5:8-10; I Tim. 2:5-6; 2 Peter 2:1; I John 2:1-2).

The Person and work of The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person who convicts the world ofsin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, at the time of conversion, indwells, regenerates, baptizes and seals unto the day of redemption allthose who receive Christ (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Cor. 12: 12-14; IICor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13, 14). We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled(controlled by) with the Spirit (John 16:13; Eph. 5:18; I John 2:20, 27).

THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, butthat, in Adam's sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and becamealienated from God; and that man is totally depraved, and of himself, utterlyunable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26, 27; Romans 3:10-23, 5:12; Gal. 3:22; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).

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 sins (Eph. 1:7; Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18, 19).

THE ETERNAL SECURITY AND ASSURANCE OF BELIEVERS

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38, 39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5). 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 excuse to sin. (Rom. 13:13, 14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-14).

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification, which is separation unto God, is three-fold: positionally, the believer was sanctified at his conversion by virtue of hisunion with Christ; progressively, he is continually being sanctified throughthe Word as he walks in the Spirit, thereby overcoming the lusts of the fleshand producing the fruit of the Spirit; ultimately, he will be completely conformed to the image of Christ when he sees his Savior face to face (John 17:17; Eph. 5:25, 26; Col. 3:1-4; Heb. 10:14; I John 3:1-3).

Missions

We believe that it is the privileged responsibility of the saved to. witness bylife and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim theGospel to all mankind (Matt. 28:18-20;' Acts 1:8; II Cor. 5:18-20).

The MINISTRY AND SPIRITUAL GIFTS

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and that He has given each believer at least one spiritual gift to be exercised to edify the whole body of Christ. We believe that the miraculous 'sign gifts' ceased with the apostolic age. (I Cor. 12:4-11; I Cor. 13:8; II Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-13). We believe that God heals in answer to believing prayer with or without means in accord with His sovereign discretion and will and that healing cannot be claimed on the same unconditional basis of faith as salvation is claimed. The fact that God does not heal is not necessarily an indication of unbelief or of sin in the believer's life. (John 15:7; James 5:14-15).

The Church and the ordinances

We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, composed of all who are born again during this age of grace, which began at Pentecost and will be terminated at the rapture; that this church universal is to gather together as local churches or assemblies after the pattern of New Testament doctrine and practice, including the observance of the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper; and that God performs the ministry of His church through its members to whom He has given gifts for the purpose of edifying the Body of Christ. (Acts 2: 1-47; Rom. 12:1-8; I Cor. 11:23-32; I Cor. 12:1-31; Eph. 1:22-23). We believe and seek to maintain the unity of the one Body by gathering under the uniting banner of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and no other name; that the government of the assembly is vested in elders and deacons; and that neither Acts, wherein is recounted the incipient activities of the Church, nor the epistles which explain apostolic doctrine and provide correction of malpractice, afford any support for the idea of a "pastor" or "one-man ministry'! in the local assembly. (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:12,13; Eph. 4:3; Phil 1:1).

THE Second advent of christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again personally and bodily; that first, He will come in the air prior to the seven-year Tribulation, hence at any moment, to receive the Church, His Body, unto Himself in Heaven: and that following the literal fulfillment of the Great Tribulation spoken of by the prophets, He will return visibly to the earth with His saints to inaugurate His millennial kingdom of universal peace and righteousness. (Acts 1:11; I Cor.15:51-58; I Thess. 4:13-18; II Peter 3:1-13; Rev. 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 everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29;John 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; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 3:21; I Thess. 4:16, 17; Rev. 20:4-6). We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, 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 in the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Lk 16: 19-31; II Thess. 1:7-9; Jude verse. 6, 7; Rev. 20:11-15).

THE personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of thefall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Job 1:6, 7; Isa. 14:12-17; IPeter 5:8; Rev. 20:10). We have set forth the preceding statements of belief in order to furnish information to any who might be interested as to what is generally held by this assembly of Christians.