We believe that the Bible is God’s Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit in His exercising of divine influence over men of God, whereby they wrote the precise words that God intended. Inspiration extends to each individual word (verbal), in the whole of Scripture (plenary), and is therefore completely without error (inerrant) in the original autography. God has preserved and will preserve His word in its totality. As His special revelation to mankind, God’s Word is completely sufficient, clear, and profitable (Mt. 5:17-18; 24:35; Lk. 1:1-3; 16:29-31; Jn. 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; 2 Pe. 1:20-21).

 

 

The Godhead

• God the Father.  We believe that God is one (Is. 45:5-6; 1 Tim. 2:5)
• In three distinct (Mt. 27:46; Jn. 14:26)
• Coequal (Mt. 3:16-117; 2 Cor. 13:14)
• Eternal Persons (Jn. 1:18; 17:5)
• God the Father is a Spirit, characterized by absolute holiness (i.e., separateness) (Ex. 15:11; Is 6:3; 57:15)
• Also a personal God (Gen 1:26-28; Acts 15:8)
• With great love (John 3:16; 1 Jn. 4:8-10, 16).
• God is eternal, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, sovereign, and immutable
  (Dt. 33:27; Ps. 139:1-4, 7-10; Dan. 4:35; Mal. 3:6; Mt. 19:26).
• He is good, wise, pure, righteous, just, truthful, faithful, loving, merciful, gracious, and patient
  (Gen. 18:25; Lev. 11:44-45; Num. 23:19; Dt. 32:4; Rom. 2:4; 11:6; 2 Cor. 1:3; Tit. 1:2; 1 John 4:8-10)
• God the Son. We believe that Jesus, God’s Son, is fully God (Is. 9:6; John 12:41; Col. 1:16; Mt. 28:17)
• Yet fully man (Acts 17:31; Lk. 2:7; 1 Tim 2:5)
• He has existed eternally (Jn. 1:3; Col. 1:16)
• The fulfillment of prophecy and the eternal plan of God, He became flesh (incarnation) through the miraculous virgin birth
  (Is. 7:14; Lk. 1:35)
• For the purpose of substitutionary atonement (Mark 10:45)
• Willingly giving Himself as a perfect and sinless sacrifice to obtain propitiation (Rom. 3:25) and expiation (Heb. 10:18-22) of man’s sin.
• Though he physically died upon the cross, He rose physically from the dead three days later (1 Cor. 15:3-5)
• After 40 days ascended from earth to heaven, where He sits at the right hand of God (Mk. 16:19; 1 Tim. 2:5)
• He now serves as prophet (Jn. 1:18)
• Priest (Heb. 2:17; 1 Tim. 2:5)

• King (Lk. 11:20)

• One day, He will return bodily to the earth (Acts 1:11)

• Rule in the millennium (Rev. 20:6)

• Judge the world (Acts 17:31)

• Reign for all eternity (Rev. 22:3)

• God the Spirit. We believe in the Spirit as a distinct Person of the Godhead, not an influence or force (Jn. 14:26)

• He is fully God (Acts 5:3-4; Heb 9:14)

• Coequal with the other Members of the Godhead (Mt. 3:16-17; 1 Pet. 1:2)

• He is responsible for conviction (Jn. 16:7-11)

• Illumination (2 Cor. 3:14-17)

• Indwelling (Rom. 8:9)

• Assurance of salvation (Rom. 8:14-16)

• Guidance (Acts 8:9)

• Sanctification (Gal. 5:22-23)

• We believe that God, by speaking, created the entire universe out of nothing (ex nihilo) in six twenty-four hour days   (Gen. 1, Heb. 11:3;  Ex. 2:11)

• All three members of the Godhead had a part in creation (Gen:1:2; Ps. 33:6-9; Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16)

• Creation, in the beginning, was perfect, sinless, and entirely good (Gen. 1:4, 31)

• We believe that sin is any act of man that fails to conform to God’s holy character (Rom. 3:23; 1 Jn. 3:4; 5:17; Heb. 11:6).

• By the disobedience of Adam as mankind’s representative, sin entered the race (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22),

• The earth was cursed (Gen. 3:15, Eph. 1:22, Rom. 8:19-23).

• Thus, all men are born as sinners (Eph. 2:3),

• Every part of man’s being corrupted by sin (total depravity) (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 7:18, 23).

• Furthermore, all men commit sin (Rom. 3:23; 5:12).

• Sin deserves death, which is spiritual death (Col. 2:13),

• Physical death (Heb. 9:27),

• Eternal death in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-5).

• Mankind’s sin also demands separation from God (Rom. 6:23; Gen. 2:17, 3:8).

• Only the saving grace of Jesus Christ can forgive mankind of his death-deserving sin.

Salvation

• Regarding the concept of salvation as a whole, we believe that God’s great goal is the triumph of His kingdom. He achieves this by
  means of salvation, which is for His own glory (Rom. 8:28-30; Eph. 1:6)

• Salvation is predicated upon God’s election of those whom He chooses for salvation in His sovereign grace   (Eph. 1:5, 11; Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2)

• This election is based upon God’s predestination (Rom. 8:29-30)

• Based upon God’s foreknowledge (Rom. 8:29; 1 Pet. 1:2)

• We believe that salvation is only available through Christ’s atonement. The atonement is a general term, referring to Jesus’ death on
   the cross for sin. Atonement involves the satisfaction of God’s wrath (propitiation), the driving away of sins (expiation), the substitution
   of Jesus in our place, the imputation of His righteousness to us, the justification of our sins, and the reconciliation of mankind to God
   (Rom. 5:11; 2 Pet. 2:1; Acts 16:31; 4:12; Eph. 2:8-9).

• We believe that repentance is an active turning away from sin and turning unto God. Repentance is necessary for salvation    (Heb. 6:1, 6)

• Repentance involves faith (Acts 20:21)

• Eventuates in works (Acts 26:20)

• Is a gift of God (2 Tim. 2:25)

• Repentance is God’s will for every man (2 Pet. 3:9)

• We believe that justification is the legal declaration of God, whereby He declares a sinner to be righteous (Rom. 4:5-8)

• God forgives all sin (Acts 2:38)

• Imputes Christ’s righteousness (Rom. 5:17-19)

• Based on the sacrificial, substitutionary death of Jesus (Mt. 3:13-15; Rom. 3:24-26)

• Because of justification, believers are exonerated from the very guilt or culpability for their sin (Rom. 8:1, 33-34)

• Justification is God’s act, and man cannot merit nor accomplish justification for himself (Gal. 2:16; Phil. 3:8-9)

• A result of the gift of faith (Rom. 3:28-30; 5:1)

• We believe that regeneration is God’s giving of a new life, His own eternal life, to the believer (Jn. 3:3; Eph. 2:1-6; 1 Jn. 3:9)

• Because mankind is dead in sin (Eph. 2:1)

• God, through the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:5; Tit. 3:5)

• The Word of God (Jas. 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), accomplishes this new birth (Jn. 3:3)

• The regeneration, or new birth, brings with it a total change in lifestyle (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10; 2 Cor. 5:17; 1 Jn. 3:9)

• We believe that adoption refers to the believer’s position as being a Son of God (Gal. 4:5, Eph. 1:5)
• Enjoying the rights and privileges attending thereto. The ultimate consummation of this sonship, occurs when Christ returns and
  believers are glorified (Rom. 8:23, Rom. 8:15). Thus, adoption is accomplished at glorification.

• We believe that sanctification is the believer’s becoming more holy, i.e., more separate from sin and unto God. Sanctification is 
  comprised of positional sanctification, which occurs at the moment of conversion (1 Cor. 1:2, Tit. 2:14)

• Progressive sanctification, which is a process that takes a lifetime (2 Cor. 3:18)

• Sanctification has a goal—Christlikeness (Rom. 8:29)

• Sanctification is complete when the believer is glorified and his sin nature eradicated (1 Thess. 3:13)

• We believe that salvation is a certainty assured in the Scriptures, (Jn. 10:29; 2 Tim. 1:12)
• Affirmed by the Spirit (Eph. 1:3, 13-14)
• A true believer cannot lose his or her salvation. The Scripture’s assurance of salvation extends only to those who manifest the marks
  of a changed life (Mt. 7:16; Rom. 8:5; 1 Jn. 1:6; Jas. 2:14-26; Heb. 4:11)
• Perseverance in the faith and assurance of salvation are works of grace, and are therefore from God—not a feeling, memory or action
  of the believer (Jn. 5:24; Rom. 8:14-16; 2 Pet. 1:5-11)

• We believe in the literal existence of an actual hell as a place of eternal punishment and actual fire (Lk. 16:23; Rev. 14:11; Rev. 20:15)