The Scriptures
We trust in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as the only authoritative Word of God to man. (I Thessalonians 2:13). The Bible teaches and we believe in verbal, plenary (complete) inspiration in the original writings (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 2 Peter 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). The Bible is our sole authority for faith and practice.
The Godhead
The Bible teaches that there is one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons— the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, co-eternal 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; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1, especially 1:8)
The Person and Work of Christ
The Bible teaches 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; Isaiah 9:6, 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 1:1-3)
The Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins according to prophesies made long before His first coming (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). The Bible reveals that, in His death, the Lord Jesus paid the full price to redeem us and, “having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time… He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12, 14)
According to the teaching of scripture, we were justified, or declared righteous by God, when we believed that Lord Jesus died for our sins, and that our justification is made certain by the literal, physical, bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25, 1 Peter 2:24, Ephesians 1:7, 1 Peter 1:3-5)
The apostles were eyewitnesses of the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ to Heaven, where He is now exalted at the right hand of God. There, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate Who daily prays for us. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
The Lord Jesus taught and we believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14). All who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ share in the one baptism accomplished by the Holy Spirit when He formed the church at Pentecost (1 Corinthians 12:13).
Man
God reveals in the Bible that He created man in His image and likeness, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23, 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
The sacredness of human life is evident: God declared that He created man in His own image, He is concerned about man’s welfare, and He sent Christ die that all who believe in Him may be saved. Therefore, every individual possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Psalm 8:4-9, Colossians 3:9-11)
The Way of Salvation
The “message of truth, the gospel” of our salvation (Ephesians 1:13) is “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Salvation is “by grace” through the agency of faith, or trust, in the Person and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself proclaimed of His own work on the cross, “It is finished,” and man can add nothing to the work done at the cross toward his own salvation—he can only trust that the Savior has settled accounts with God, paying the entire penalty for sins. Scripture clearly teaches that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only through the merit and work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12, 1 Peter 1:18-19)
The Bible unequivocally teaches that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever; therefore, eternal life is the present possession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).
The Church
The Bible views the Church, which is the body of Christ, as a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age which began with Christ and the Apostles, was formed and empowered by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and will be caught up to be with Christ at the Rapture. (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2)
The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
The Bible teaches the autonomy of the local church, which should be free of any formal or informal external authority or control; it answers to the One Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
The Ordinances of the Church
We recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord’s Supper as Scriptural means of testimony for the Church in this age, and are only for true, saved believers in Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Godly Living
All believers should live in such a manner that they do not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1)
The Return of Christ
The “Blessed Hope” of our Lord’s return is literal, personal, visible, imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational. He will rapture His Church prior to the seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation Christ will return with His saints to establish His thousand-year reign on the earth. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:1-6; Psalm 89:3-4)
Our Eternal State
The Lord teaches 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, 12-13).
God teaches 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 spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
The souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited 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 for their sins against God. (Luke 16:19-31; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15)
In summary, we believe what the Bible teaches, and the above is a brief list of key teachings of the Bible. If you have any questions about these doctrines, please contact us.