The Scriptures

We believe that the Bible in the original writings, consisting of sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, was given by Divine inspiration and is the complete, inerrant Word of God (1 Thes. 2:12; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21); that it constitutes the only perfect rule and final authority in all matters pertaining to Christian faith and practice (Isa. 8:20; Acts 17:11; Heb. 4:12).

The Godhead

We believe that there is one God, Who created the universe in six solar days, eternally existent in three co-equal Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, having the same attributes and perfections, Who is True Holiness, Eternal Power, Infinite Love, Perfect Justice, and Absolute Truth (Genesis 1:1; Lev. 19:2; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 1:20, Rom. 3:26; 1 Tim. 2:5; Titus 1:2; I John 4:3,9).

Jesus Christ

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, His conception by the Holy Spirit and birth of the virgin Mary, His sinless life, His miracles, the infallibility of His teachings, His substitutionary sacrifice through His shed blood on the cross, His literal bodily resurrection, His literal bodily ascension to the right hand of the Father where He ever liveth to make intercession for His saints, His coming for His saints, and His return to reign in power and glory (Matt. 1:18-23, Matt. 28:6; John 1:1, John 1:14, John 7:18; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; Heb. 4:15, Heb. 7:25; Zech. 14:4-9).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person Who moved holy men to write the Scriptures, Who illuminates the believer to understand Scriptures, Who convicts of sin, Who quickens believers in the new birth, Who seals believers and is the earnest of our inheritance, Who indwells the believer, Who baptizes the believer into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation, and Who fills the believer with power for holy living and service (John 14:16-17, John 16:8-11, John 16:14; 2 Peter 1:21; John 3:5-7; Rom. 8:11; Eph. 1:13-14, Eph. 5:18;).

Spiritual Gifts

The Holy Spirit bestows one or more gifts on each member of the body according to His own will (1 Cor. 12:4-11, 1 Cor. 12:28-30; 1 Peter 4:10). Initially, some of these gifts were for use as signs for confirmation of the spoken word of the disciples (Mark 16:20; Heb. 2:4). With the completion of the written Word of God in the New Testament Scriptures, these miraculous gifts (such as the ability to speak in other languages without having learned these languages, the power to receive and communicate divine revelations, and the ability to perform supernatural healings and other miracles) were no longer necessary and were gradually replaced (1 Cor. 13:8-10; Rev. 22:18-19) by permanently needed gifts such as those of pastoral guidance, evangelism, teaching the written Word, and others (Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11-12). This does not imply that God can no longer answer prayer in miraculous ways, when in accordance with His own will.

Angels

We believe that God created an innumerable company of spirit beings (the majority of whom remained faithful to God and were confirmed in holiness) who are now serving as ministering spirits, worshiping God, and executing His will on earth (Psalm 103:20; Luke 15:10; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:14, Heb. 12:22).

Satan

We believe that Satan was created the highest of angels, but, through the sin of pride, fell and became the author of sin, the god of this world, the enemy of God and man, and is destined to eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Genesis 3:1-19; Isa. 14:12-15; Ezek. 28:11-17; John 8:44; 1 Cor. 4:4; 1 Tim. 3:6; 1 Peter 5:8; Rev. 20:10). We also believe that a great number of angels followed Satan in his moral fall and became demons. These are active as Satan's agents in carrying out his unholy purpose and will likewise share his fate in the lake of fire (Rev. 12:4-9; Matt. 25:41; Eph. 6:12).

Mankind

We believe, according to the Genesis account, that man was created by an immediate act of God in His own image and likeness and not by process of evolution; that, through Adam's disobedience to God, mankind fell and thereby became sinful in nature, and that since that time every man, except Jesus Christ, is conceived a sinner, spiritually dead, alienated from God, and is of himself totally incapable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 3:1-24; Rom. 5:12, Rom. 3:23-24; Psalm 51:5; Eph. 2:1, Eph. 4:18; Col. 1:14-21, Col. 2:13; Heb. 9:1).

Salvation

We believe salvation is a gift of God brought to man by grace, not by human works but by personal faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:7, Eph. 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is both instantaneous and progressive. At the moment of salvation, the believer is sanctified in Christ. Sanctification is a continuing work of grace, not involving the eradication of the old nature, but rather, revealing in the believer the growth of the new life in Christ toward perfection (Rom. 8:32; John 17:19; 2 Cor. 1:2, 2 Cor. 1:30; Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Thes. 4:3-7; 1 John 1:8-10).

The Security of the Believer

We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God's power, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, John 10:27-30; Rom. 8; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; Eph. 1:13; 1 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 occasion to the flesh, but rather instructs us to live soberly, righteously, and godly (Rom. 6:1, Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-13).

Church

We believe that the church universal, which is the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons in this present church age (Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 5:25-27).

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures, with its mission defined in our Lord's Great Commission to evangelize, baptize, and teach believers to observe all things He has commanded (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 14:27, 20:7; 1 Cor. 4:17; 1 Tim. 3:1-15).

The Ordinances of the Church

Water Baptism

We believe baptism is by immersion, and not necessary for salvation, but is for believers, a symbol of what already has taken place in the heart; that is, of our having died with Christ and our having been raised with Him unto newness of life. We believe that it is the privilege and duty of every believer as an open confession of his faith in Christ. We hold that members are received into our church membership only after their testimony of baptism by immersion after their salvation is shared publicly or with church deacons or pastors. (Acts 2:41, Acts 8:38-39, Acts 10:47-48, Acts 19:5; Rom. 6:4-5; Col. 2:12; 1 Peter 3:20-21).

The Lord's Table

We believe that the Lord's Table is commemorative, to be observed often in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ, showing forth His death till He comes, and picturing our union with Him and our life of dependence upon Him. We believe it is for believers who are walking in obedience to their Lord and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination (Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16, 1 Cor. 11:23-34).

Separation

Personal

We believe that all the saved are ordained to walk according to good works, living in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord, having no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, abstaining from any appearance of evil (Eph. 5:11; 1 Thes. 5:22; Eph. 2:10).

Ecclesiastical

We believe that the Bible demands ecclesiastical separation from liberalism and any of its compromising forms, as well as from those churches and organizations deviating in doctrine, and, at the same time, demands separation unto God in faithfulness and obedience to His Word (1 Cor. 6:14-17; Rom. 16:17; 2 John 10-11).

Civil Government

We believe that civil government is ordained of God for the punishment of evildoers and for the protection of the good. We ought, therefore, to be obedient to their authority except in things opposed to the will of God. We believe that, as the salt of the earth, we should actively promote and participate in the maintenance of godly government whenever possible (Rom. 13:1-7; Matt. 22:21, Matt. 23:10; Acts 5:28-29).

The Second Coming of Christ

We believe in the "Blessed Hope," the personal, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones (the Rapture), and in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Titus 2:13; 1 Thes. 4:13-18, 1 Thes. 5:9; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 19:11-16, Rev. 20:1-6; 2 Thes. 1:7-10, 2 Thes. 2:1-8; Rev. 3:10).

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 (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28-29, John 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-13).

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 soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; 1 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23, Phil. 3:21; 1 Thes. 4:16-17).

We believe that the souls of the unbelievers are, at 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 into everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Thes. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:11-15).