WHAT WE BELIEVE

• We believe that the Bible, as originally inspired by God through the prophets and apostles, is the inerrant and infallible Word of God (II Timothy 3:16). It provides revelation about the creation of the universe and all that exists within it, of humanity’s fall into sin and of humanity’s need of salvation, as well as instructions for our standard of living and our earthly ministry as believers, and it encourages us with the hope of our future reign with Christ. The earthly mission of Christians involves loving God and each other and sharing the good news about Jesus with those who live outside of the Kingdom of God. The Bible also alerts us that our Christian walk includes a struggle with an evil spiritual adversary who is the ruler of this present world (John 12:31, John 14:30, II Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:11-18, Revelation 12:7-12).

• We believe in One God, the Creator of heaven and earth and of all things that exist, and who manifests Himself to humanity as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 43:9-10, 44:24, 45:5, 46:9; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23, 28:19; Mark 12:28-29; John 1:1-14, 3:17, 8:58, 14:15, 16:7; I Corinthians 11:3, 15:28; Philippians 2:5-6; Colossians 1:15-18, 2:9; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 5:1-10).

• We believe that Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh (John 1:14), fully Divine and fully human, the only begotten Son of God who came and lived among men in order to completely fulfill the demands of the Law of God that was delivered to Moses at Mount Sinai. The Law contains a standard of moral achievement that no other person could fulfill, and so Christ (the One through whom grace and truth was revealed) came to earth, lived perfectly under the Mosaic Law, and then became the eternal sacrifice for the sins of humanity (Romans 3:20, Galatians 4:4-7, I John 2:2). According to Scripture, Christ was born of a virgin, lived as a man without sin, gave His life on the Cross, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and now lives forever as our Lord and High Priest (Luke 22:69, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 10:10-14).

• We believe in repentance, which is a turning away from the practice of sin and turning to God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 1:14-15, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 16:30-33), because the Bible teaches that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Such a turning to God is called “being born again” (John 3:1-7), and it does not come by any human effort (like joining a church) but only through one’s response to the gospel through the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her life (Luke 5:32, John 16:7-14). We also believe in the ongoing conformity (called sanctification) of believers in Christ to the nature of Christ, who lives in us by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:1-2, I Corinthians 6:17-20, II Corinthians 6:17-18, Philippians 2:13, I Peter 1:13-25, I John 3:2-3). Realizing our need for repentance, believing in the finished work of Jesus for our eternal salvation, and becoming more like Jesus in our daily living is all a work of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).

• We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every born-again believer in Christ and that the Holy Spirit manifests Himself through believers by the fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:4-8, I Corinthians 12:4-7, Galatians 5:22-25). We believe that the primary work of the Holy Spirit is to conform each believer to the image of Christ – which means we progressively become more like Him in our thinking and behavior (Romans 8:29) – with the love of God and love of others being the primary manifestation of this work (John 13:34-35, John 14:26, I Corinthians 13:1-8, I John 3:1-10). We are deemed holy at the time of our conversion to Christ (Romans 4:5), but Romans 12 teaches that we must renew our minds so that our thinking and behavior reflects our position in and loyalty to Christ.

• We believe in the Christian sacraments of baptism and communion (Matthew 28:19, Acts 2:38, I Corinthians 11:23-32).

• We believe in the fellowship of believers for the teaching of God’s Word and collective worship (I Timothy 4:6, Ephesians 5:17-21, Hebrews 10:24-25).

• We believe in the resurrection of the dead (I Corinthians 15:35-49) and the literal return of the Lord Jesus one day to the earth to judge and to rule. We believe that anyone whose name is not found written in the Book of Life will be separated from God in a lake of fire, while the followers of Christ will enjoy eternal life (Acts 1:10-11, Acts 17:30-31, Romans 2:16, Romans 6:22-23, Hebrews 9:27-28, Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:1-7). Today is the day of salvation (II Corinthians 6:2).