We Believe...
The Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures, both the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament, are the inspired Word of God, without error in their original writings, and are our sole authority in all matters of faith and life. They are totally sufficient and must not be added to or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation or worldly wisdom.
(Matthew 5:17-18, II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21)
God
We believe there is but one living and true God, who is one in essence, while eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Though each person of the Godhead possesses the same nature, each functions differently but harmoniously in respect to God’s dealings with man. God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present; perfect in holiness, truth, and love.
(Deuteronomy 6:4, Psalm 139:1-24, Matthew 28:19, Mark 12:29, John 10:30, Acts 5:3-4, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, II Corinthians 13:14, Hebrews 1:1-3)
The Father
The first Person of the Trinity orders and directs all things according to His own purpose, pleasure and grace. He made all things and decreed all things that come to pass for His own glory. He graciously involves Himself in the affairs of men, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 6:9, John 5:19-24, 14:10, Ephesians 1:3-6)
The Son
Jesus Christ is both the eternal Son of God and the virgin-born Son of man. Fully God and fully man, He surrendered nothing of His deity during His earthly life. Having led a sinless life, He satisfied the Father’s justice concerning sin by His death. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world. We believe in His bodily resurrection attesting to His victory over death, His physical ascension, and His visible return to this earth to establish His earthly kingdom. We believe that He is now in heaven at the right hand of God, where He personally advocates and intercedes on behalf of all who have put their faith in Him.
(John 1:14-18, 1 Corinthians 15, Hebrews 2:17-18, Romans 3:24-26, Revelation 20:11-15, Philippians 2:6-8, Colossians 2:9, Hebrews 1:3, 4:15, I John 2:1-2)
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father to bring glory to the Son and convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells permanently and seals every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, comforter and guide, empowering each believer with selected spiritual gifts.
(John 14:26, 16:7-11, 13; I Corinthians 6:19, 12:4-11, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30).
Man
We believe that God created man-male and female-in His own image, so that man might glorify God by enjoying His fellowship and fulfilling His will on earth. Man fell into sin by a voluntary act of personal disobedience to the will of God. The result of this sin brought enmity between mankind and God, and placed man under the divine wrath of God. Sin’s spiritually deadening effect spread to all people, each of whom now is born with a sinful nature and further sins habitually in thought, word and deed. As such, man is spiritually dead and subject to the certainty of both physical and spiritual death. Without the merciful intervention of God through His son, Jesus Christ, man is utterly incapable of being reconciled to God.
(Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 3:3-4, Psalms 51:5, Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-23, 5:12, Ephesians 2:1-3, Titus 1:15)
The Gospel
The gospel is the good news of the just and gracious God of the universe looking upon hopelessly sinful people and sending His Son, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the resurrection so that all who turn and trust in Him will be reconciled to God forever. It is the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption and consummation ordained by God and orchestrated through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches and ministries to proceed from and be related to the gospel.
Salvation
Salvation is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Salvation is a free gift of God and can only be obtained through God’s grace, not of our own works. Only upon repenting of sin by the miracle of regeneration and personally trusting in, through faith, the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ for our sins can we obtain justification before God. Through Christ’s atonement for sin, an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God’s Spirit.
(John 1:12,10:28, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:21-22, 6:23, 8:38, 10:9-10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Hebrews 7:25).
Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated believers are members. We also believe in the local church, consisting of a body of believers in Jesus Christ who choose to associate through worship, prayer, work and fellowship. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will on earth. The church’s twofold responsibility is the task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world and maturing them in Christ. The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples.
(Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11-16, Colossians 1:27-28, Hebrews 10:25;Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:19).
Ordinances
We believe that our Lord Jesus committed two ordinances to those who believe in Him: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is to be partaken in only by an individual who has received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning work and become His disciple. In obedience to Christ’s command, we believe that baptism is to be done by immersion, thus serving as a public declaration of our faith in Christ and a symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that a former way of life has been put to death and depicts a person’s release from the mastery of sin.
The Lord’s Supper is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf. Through partaking in the Lord's Supper, we commemorate our Savior’s death and anticipate His second coming. We believe the Lord's Supper is open to all self-examined believers in Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 3:15-17, 28:19-20; Acts 2:41, Romans 6:1-4; I Corinthians 11:17-32, Colossians 2:12).
Christ’s Return
We believe in the physical, visible, personal, and glorious return of Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, and that Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment and separation from God. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
(Matthew 25:41-46, John 14:1-3, Acts 1:10-11, Mark 13:34-37, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, II Thessalonians 1:3-10, Revelation 19:11-20:15).