Beliefs
The following is taken from our Constitution:
THE BIBLE
We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. It is totally free of any errors in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the supreme standard for faith and conduct (2 Tim. 3:16; John 10:35).
THE TRINITY OF GOD
We believe in one living, eternal and true God, existing eternally in three distinct persons as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three are equal in attributes, power and glory, yet having distinct offices, functions, and personalities (John 17:3; Matt 3:16, 17; 28:19, 20).
CHRIST
We believe in the absolute deity and perfect humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ; that He had two natures, divine and human, united in one person without mixture and that it was impossible for Him to sin (John 1:1, 14; 1 Tim. 2:5).
We believe in the virgin birth of Christ by the Holy Spirit and in His substitutionary death through the shedding of His blood for the forgiveness of sins, in His literal bodily resurrection and ascension, His present High Priestly ministry in Heaven and His personal and imminent return for His church. (1 Pet. 3:18; Eph. 1:19-22; Thess. 4:13-18).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the absolute deity of the Holy Spirit and that, like Jesus Christ, He is eternal. He is the One who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. To the believer, He is the agent in regeneration, sanctification, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption and exercising the ministry of comfort and teaching (John 16: 8-11; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30).
SALVATION
We believe that mankind was created in the image and likeness of God; that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God. Mankind is totally depraved, unable of himself to redeem his lost condition (Gen. 1:26, 27; Rom. 5:12; Titus 3:5).
We believe that salvation of the sinner is wholly of grace through personal faith in the person and finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever. Once saved, a person cannot lose his salvation (Eph. 2:8-9; John 10:28, 29).
CHURCH
We believe that the church of Jesus Christ was begun at Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus and is the body and bride of Christ, a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Acts 1:5; 2:41; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:23, 23).
We believe that every local church is responsible to carry out the great commission as recorded in Matthew 28: 19, 20.
We believe in the invisible enemy of God, Satan, who opposes the people and work of God (1 Pet. 5:8).
We believe in the ministry of good angels, who assist believers in this age and in the opposition of evil angels (demons), who oppose the church in this age (Heb. 1:14; 1 Tim. 4:1).
We believe that the ordinance of Christian baptism is to be by immersion in water. It is an outward sign or testimony of an inward reality—that of a changed, redeemed life and identification with Christ (Matt 28:19; Rom. 6:1-5).
We believe that the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ as a perpetual remembrance of His sacrificial death and is to be observed by His people in a worthy manner until He returns. The elements of the bread and the cup are visible symbols of the Lord’s body and blood given and poured out for the sins of the world as signs of His death; they do not convey or confer any grace to the believer, but are outward signs of an inward spiritual reality already accomplished by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 11:23-32).
FUTURE
We believe that the saved will spend eternity in the presence of Jesus Christ (Matt 26:46; 2 Cor. 5:8).
We believe that Satan will someday be cast into the Lake of Fire with all those who are unsaved (Rev. 20:11-15).