I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of Scripture by the Holy Spirit through “Holy men of old”. The Scriptures are inerrant and infallible and are defined as the canonical 39 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books. Combined they are the complete and final revelation of God and His will to mankind, which God has divinely preserved to the present day. They comprise our sole authority for faith and practice (II Tim. 3.16; II Pet. 1:19-21)
I believe in one triune God, the maker, preserver, and ruler of all things, eternally existing in three persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit-co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being (Gen. 1:26; II Cor. 13:14; I Jn 5:7).
I believe in the deity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, perfect God and perfect man; that He is God manifested in the flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary; that He lived a sinless life on earth; that He died on Calvary’s cross as a satisfactory sacrifice for sinners; that His body was buried in and arose from Joseph’s tomb; that He ascended to Heaven and was glorified at God’s right hand; that He is coming again for His own and then to set up His Kingdom on earth (Isa. 7:14; II Cor. 5:21; Matt. 1:18-25; Jn 16:67,8; Jn 1:1-14; Lk. 1:35).
I believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Holy Trinity and is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son; that He convicts the world of sin and righteousness and judgment; that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration; that He indwells all believers and seals them unto the day of redemption; that He endues, teaches and guides believers (Jn 14:16-18; Jn 16:7,8; Jn 3:5-7). I further believe that at salvation (rebirth) the believer is baptized by the Holy Spirit and that the believer does not seek the Spirit’s baptism as an evidence of salvation (Rom. 8:9; Jn 14:26; Eph. 5:18).
I believe that man was created by a direct act of God and not by any evolutionary process (Genesis 2:7); that man was created in God’s own image and in a state of innocence; that through his transgression sin entered into the world, and death by sin-not only physical death, but spiritual death, which is conscious and eternal separation from God; that consequently, his posterity inherits a corrupt nature, being born in sin and under its condemnation, and, as soon as they become capable of moral action, become actual transgressors (Gen. 3:6-19; Rom. 5:12; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 17:9).
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ “died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried; and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” I believe that a person is saved when he repents of his sin and exercises faith by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. I believe that salvation is a gift of eternal life wholly by the grace of God without any merit or works. I believe that the atonement of Christ is not limited, but that God desires all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth; that it is not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (I Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 6:23; Rom. 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; II Pet. 3:9; Eph. 2:8-9). I believe that believers have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. I believe that sanctification is a divine and progressive work of the Holy Spirit whereby God, upon the ground of the finished work of Christ on the cross, His present intercessory ministry, and His divine Word, sets the believer apart and works out in and through him, by means of a submissive will, that which is well pleasing to Himself through Jesus Christ. Sanctification is not a second work of grace that the believer should work for (Eph. 5:13; II Pet. 3:18). I believe that sanctification culminates ultimately in the redemption of the body at the return of Christ for His church. I believe that all the redeemed of God are kept by God’s power and are thus eternally secure in Christ forever. I believe that once a person is saved, he will always be saved. (Jn. 10:27-29; II Tim. 1:12; Phil. 1:6).
I believe that the local New Testament church is composed of regenerated, baptized believers, voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, ordinances, fellowship and service; that the officers of the local church are pastors and deacons whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures; that the mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity in the local community and to the uttermost part of the earth; that the local church has absolute right to self-government, free from the interference of any individuals or organizations, religious or political; that the one and only superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel, with each local church as the sole judge of the measures and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, policy of government, discipline, benevolence, etc., the will of the local church in subjection to Christ is final (Acts 2:41-47; Rom. 1:7; Col. 1:2; Acts 20:28,31; I Pet. 5:1-5; Tit. 1:5-8).
I believe that Satan is a supernatural person, a fallen angel, the author of sin and the cause of the fall; that he is the “god of this age,” the “prince of the power of the air,” and the open and declared enemy of God and man; his destiny is eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Eze. 28:1-19; Job 1:6-9; II Cor. 4:4; Matt. 4:1-11; Jas. 4:7; Rev. 20:10).
I believe in a literal Hell, the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which shall be the place of eternal punishment of Satan, fallen angels, demons, and the unbelieving dead. (Lk 16:22-26; Rev. 20:12-15; Rev. 21:8).
I believe in a literal place called Heaven where God’s immediate presence is manifested, where the angels dwell, and where the redeemed shall ultimately dwell, from which Christ descended and to which He ascended again, where He makes intercession for the saints, and from whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. (Jn 14:1-3; Rev. 21).
I believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to everlasting life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (I Thes. 4:13-18.) I believe that the souls of the unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery and torment until the second resurrection when, with spirit, soul, and body, they shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting punishment. (Rev. 20:11-15). I 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 spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (II Cor. 5:6-8; I Cor. 15; I Thes. 4:13-18). I believe in the literal, bodily, personal, premillenial and imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ into the air to catch away all believers unto Himself before the tribulation period; also, we believe in the personal, visible and glorious return of Christ to the earth, with believers, at the close of the tribulation period to judge the nations and to set up His millennial Kingdom on earth. (Acts 1:11; Jn 14:3; I Thes. 4:13-18; Matt. 24:42-44).
