STATEMENT OF FAITH
GODHEAD
We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; identical in essence, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14) We also believe that although the Three are One in substance and purpose, They are different in position and authority. (John 14:28, 16:7)
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; is God incarnate, both fully human and fully God, the eternal Son of God Who became man without ceasing to be God. (Phil. 2:5-8; Heb. 4:15) We believe in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
SALVATION
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9) are freely justified and stand before God accepted in the character and merit of Jesus Christ; that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, repentance from sin and regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential; that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour are born of the Holy Spirit, and thus become children of God. We believe that God is the spiritual Father only of those who trust His Son, Jesus Christ, as Lord and Saviour and that only those saved through faith in Christ are spiritual brothers; that the true Church is composed of all such persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ of which He is the head; and that the inward evidence of salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit (Rom. 8:16) and the outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness and true holiness. (Mt. 7:20; Rom. 6:22; Eph. 4:24; Tit. 2:12)
SECOND COMING
SANCTIFICATION
We believe that all believers should seek to walk by the Spirit, to practice a separated life from the world and unto Jesus Christ. (Rom. 12:1-3; II Cor. 6:17; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 5:11; Col. 3:17) Having been bought with a price, we give our lives to God and are no longer our own. We believe the Scriptures teach that sanctification is separation from that which is evil with dedication to God (1 Thes. 5:23; Heb. 13:12), whereby we give ourselves to a life of holiness (Heb. 12:14) and that sanctification is realized in us as believers by recognizing our identification with Christ in His death and resurrection, and then by faith reckoning moment-by-moment the reality of that union by offering our every faculty continually to the dominion and control of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 6:1-11, 13, 8:1,2,13; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 2:12; I Pet. 1:5)
BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God; it is God’s revelation to man, and man’s authoritative rule of faith and conduct. (I Thes. 2:13; II Tim. 3:15-17; II Pet. 1:21)
We believe in the personal and imminent second coming of Christ to receive His own to Himself and to set up His earthly kingdom, at which time He will bring peace and blessing and will reign over the whole world. (Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 3:4; II Thes. 1:7, 10, 2:1; Rev. 22:12, 20)
MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that, through Adam’s sin, man fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God and is totally unable of himself to regain his former position; by which case, man is said to be totally depraved. (Gen. 1:26, 3:1-24; Rom. 3:23, 5:12; Eph. 2:12) Man is therefore lost and only through regeneration by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person of God Who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; Who in this present age regenerates believers in Christ, baptizes them into the Body of Christ (the Church universal), indwells them, seals them unto the day of redemption, teaches all truth, bestows such spiritual gifts as He so chooses and fills those yielded to Him. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, which is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, and empower the believer for godly living and service. We believe that the biblical evidence of a Spirit-filled life is the character of Christ in the life of the believer. (Gal. 5:22-25)
RESURRECTION/
JUDGMENT
ORDINANCES
We believe that two sacraments are to be observed by the church during the present age: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe water baptism is a sign of an inward work, a public confession of every believer’s faith. It is a sign of identification with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins and of giving oneself up to God to live and walk in newness of life. The Lord’s Supper which consists of the elements of bread and juice is the symbol expressing our sharing in the Lord Jesus Christ (II Pet. 1:4); is a memorial of His suffering and death (I Cor. 11:26); is an acknowledgement of His second coming (I Cor. 11:26); and is open to all true believers. (Mt. 26:26-28; I Cor. 11:23-26). Neither baptism nor the Lord’s Supper is to be regarded as means of salvation.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the justified and the unjustified, the saved unto the resurrection of life and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation, a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works, when all those not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, be consigned to everlasting punishment in the lake which burns forever with fire and brimstone. (Jn. 5:25, 29; Rev. 19:20, 20:11-15, 21:8) We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell.