Articles of Faith and Doctrine
1. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
2. The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons ‐ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ‐ coeternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
3. The Person and Work of Christ
a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35).
b. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
c. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2).
4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
a. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).
b. We believe that He is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth. It is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13; 1 John 2:20, 27; Ephesians 5:18).
5. The Total Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).
6. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; John 1:12; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
7. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
a. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:5).
b. We believe that it is the privilege of the believer 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 yield to sin (Romans 6:1-2, 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
8. The Two Natures of the Believer
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and, that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).
9. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1-2, 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 1:9-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1).
10. Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:19-20; Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 10:14-15).
11. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
a. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of the spiritual gifts among members of the Body of Christ; and, that the purpose of the spiritual gifts is to enable each member of the Body of Christ to perform a unique ministry in the edification of the total Body; and, that every Christian has at least one spiritual gift he may exercise within the Body (1 Corinthians 12:4-31; Ephesians 4:7, 11-13; Romans 12:3-8).
b. We believe that many people misunderstand the concepts of speaking in tongues, faith healing, and Spirit baptism, as seen in the Scriptures. These sign gifts had a unique part in the founding of the Church, serving to authenticate the Apostles' ministry and message (2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3-4).
c. These sign gifts also served to communicate spiritual truth prior to the issuance of the full canon of Scripture and to present a 'sign' to unbelieving Jews. We believe these gifts are not in normal operation today. Spirit baptism is not a 'second blessing' subsequent to salvation, but rather an immediate event, which occurs at the very moment of conversion (1 Corinthians 14:3-6, 21-22; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9).
12. Marriage and Family
We believe that family was the first institution established by God. Marriage is to be entered into reverently. Believers are to only marry believers; the two, one man and one woman, are to be united for life. Thus all polygamy, homosexuality, and sex outside the bonds of marriage are sin (Genesis 2:18, 23-24; Matthew 19:5-9; Ephesians 5:31-33; Romans 1:26-28; Hebrews 13:4).
13. The Church
a. We believe that the Universal Church, also known as the Body of Christ, is comprised of believers baptized (placed) by the Holy Spirit into Christ, and thus into His Body. This group is a spiritual organism made up of all believers from Pentecost when the Spirit was given, to the Rapture, when the present ministry of the Holy Spirit will be changed (Acts 2:4, 11:10-15; Romans 12:5; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).
b. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17; Acts 20:28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11).
c. We believe that a true New Testament church must be autonomous and self-governing, free from any external earthly authority or control (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1-4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4).
d. We believe that water baptism by immersion is a Scriptural ordinance of the church during this age. Baptism, while not a requirement for salvation, is a public testimony of the recipient that he or she has personally trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, and we therefore reject infant baptism. Baptism is an outward symbol of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is the inward work whereby each believer is inseparably joined to the Body of Christ, which is His church. We believe that immersion in water, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, is the only method that adequately typifies the relationship between baptism by the Spirit and by water (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41, 8:36-39, 9:18, 18:8; Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 3:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 6:3-4).
e. We believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial testimony of the church, instituted by our Lord just before His betrayal, and to be observed by His children as a sacred, symbolic, and Scriptural means of remembering His death for our sins until He returns (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
14. Dispensationalism
a. We believe that the dispensations are stewardships by which God administers His purpose on the earth through man under varying responsibilities. We believe that the changes in the dispensational dealings of God with man depend upon changed conditions in which man is successively found with relation to God, and that these changes are the result of the failures of man and the judgments of God. We believe that different administrative responsibilities of this character are manifest in the biblical record, that they span the entire history of mankind, and that each ends in the failure of man under the respective test and in an ensuring judgment from God. We believe that three of these dispensations of rules of life are the subject of extended revelation in the Scriptures: the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the present dispensation of the church, and the future dispensation of the millennial kingdom. We believe that these are distinct and are not to be intermingled or confused, as they are chronologically successive.
b. We believe that the dispensations are not ways of salvation nor different methods of administering the [so-called] Covenant of Grace. They are not in themselves dependent on covenant relationships but are ways of life and responsibility to God which test the submission of man to His revealed will during a particular time. We believe that if man does trust in his own efforts to gain the favor of God or salvation under any dispensational test, because of inherent sin, his failure to satisfy fully the just requirements of God is inevitable and his condemnation sure.
c. We believe that according to the "eternal purpose" of God (Ephesians 3:11), salvation in the divine reckoning is always "by grace through faith", and rests upon the basis of the shed blood of Christ. We believe that God has always been gracious, regardless of the particular dispensation in effect at any point in history, but that man has not at all times in past history been under the dispensation of grace (the Church is presently under the dispensation of grace) (1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 3:2, 9; Colossians 1:25; 1 Timothy 1:4).
d. We believe that it has always been true that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews 11:6), and that Old Testament saints were saved by faith in a coming Savior and Redeemer. However, due to the progress of revelation, it was historically impossible for them to comprehend to the same extent as we do, the nature of the prophecies and sacrifices that they portrayed, the incarnate, crucified Son, the Lamb of God. We believe that they did have some understanding of the prophecies and types of the suffering Savior and other details (1 Peter 1:10-12). This faith, vague as it was, was counted unto them for righteousness (Romans 4:3-8; Genesis 15:6).
15. The Personality of Satan
We believe that Satan is a created being, the author of sin, and cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Isaiah 14:12-15; Genesis 3:1-15; Job 1:6-7; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
16. The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that "Blessed Hope", the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), and the pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9-10; Revelation 3:10).
17. The Eternal State
a. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-15).
b. 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 the spiritual and physical parts of man are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-24, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
c. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when the soul and the body reunite they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).