The Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired. It has truth without any admixture of error for its matter. Therefore, it is and shall remain, to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man. It is the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.
- By “The Holy Bible” we mean the collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation which, as originally written and providentially preserved, not only contains and conveys the Word of God but IS the very Word of God.
- By “inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old. They were moved by the Holy Spirit in such a definite way that those writings are as certainly the words of God as they would be if God had penned them Himself. No other writings can claim to be inspired as the Bible is inspired.
- As God inspired His Word, we believe that God preserved His Word in the form of the Authorized Version or King James Version. We believe the King James Version to be the infallible and inerrant Word of God.
To learn more about why we use the King James Version (KJV) Bible, please feel free to watch this helpful video entitled, KJV – What’s the Big Deal?
II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21; Acts 1:16; Acts 28:15; Psalm 119:89, 105, 130, 160; Luke 24:25-27; John 17:17; Luke 24:44-45; Proverbs 30:5-6; Romans 3:4; I Peter 1:23; Romans 15:4; Luke 16:31; Psalms 19:7-11; John 5:45-47; John 5:39
The Availability of Salvation to all.
We believe that salvation has always been by faith alone. We believe that salvation is a free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9) offered to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It requires neither culture, character, religion, nor good works to get it or secure it. We believe every born-again child of God is eternally secure in Christ with a forever-sealed salvation (Ephesians 1:13). We hold that Salvation will be evident in the life of a new believer through the fruit of the work of the Spirit of God a demonstrating that they are a new creature in Christ. (II Corinthians 5:17).
I Thessalonians 1:4; I Peter 1:2; Titus 1:1; Romans 8:29-30; Matthew 11:28; Isaiah 55:1; Revelation 22:17; Romans 10:13; John 6:37; Isaiah 55:6; Acts 2:38; Isaiah 55:7; John 3:15-16; I Timothy 1:15; I Corinthians 15:10; Ephesians 2:4; John 5:40, John 3:18; John 3:36
Of the one True God
We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth. He is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honour, confidence and love. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. They are equal in every divine perfection and execute distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
Exodus 20:2-3; Genesis 17:1; I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; John 4:24; Psalms 147:5; Psalms 83:18; Psalms 90:2; Jeremiah 10:10; Exodus 15:11; Revelation 4:11; I Timothy 1:17; Romans 11:33; Mark 12:30; Matthew 28:19; John 15:26; I Corinthians 12:4-6; I John 5:7; John 10:30; John 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 2:10-11; Philippians 2:5-6; Ephesians 2:18; II Corinthians 13:14
The Holy Spirit
We believe these things of the Holy Spirit. 1) He is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature. 2) He was active in the creation in His relation to the unbelieving world in that He restrains the Evil One until God´s purpose is fulfilled. 3) He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness. 4) He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony. 5) He is the agent in the New Birth. 6) He seals, endures, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the Believer.
John 14:16-17; Matthew 28:19; Hebrews 9:14; John 14:26; Luke 1:35; Genesis 1:1-3; II Thessalonians 2:7; John 16:8-11; John 15:26-27; Acts 5:30-32; John 3:5-6; John 1:33; Acts 11:16; Luke 24:49; John 16:13; John 14:26; Romans 8:14; Romans 8:16; II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2; Romans 8:26-27
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. Jesus is not the father but is the Son. We further believe in the Trinity doctrine, of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit that they are one God in three persons.
Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His shed blood and death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice for all. Our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5
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; I John 2:1-2
The Devil, or Satan
We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honours; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels. He is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man´s great tempter, the enemy of God and his Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power of the present apostasy, the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all the powers of darkness. He is destined, however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s own Son and to the just judgment of an eternity in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.
Isaiah 14:12; Ezekiel 28:14-17, Revelation 12:9; Jude 6:11; I Peter 2:4; Ephesians 2:2; John 14:30; I Thessalonians 3:5; Matthew 4:1-3; I Peter 5:8; I John 3:8; Matthew 13:25; Matthew 13:37-39; Luke 22:3-4; Revelation 12:10; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Mark 13:21-33; I John 4:3; II John 7; I John 2:22; Revelation 13:13-14; II Thessalonians 2:8-11; Revelation 19:11, 16, 20; Revelation 12:7-9; Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41
Creation
We believe in the Genesis account of creation and that it is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or figuratively. Man was created directly in God´s own image and after His own likeness. Man´s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change over interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms. All animal and vegetable life were made directly, and God´s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”
Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his maker. By voluntary transgression he fell from his sinless and happy state. Subsequently, all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint but by choice, and are therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.
Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12; Romans 5:19; Romans 3:10-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 1:18; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:32; Romans 1:20; Romans 1:28; Galatians 3:22
The Atonement for Sin
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly by grace through the mediatory office of the Son of God who, by appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself our nature. Yet without sin, He honoured the divine law by His personal obedience and, by His death, made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins. His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner´s place, the just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. And, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and uniting in His wonderful person the most tender sympathies with divine perfection. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Saviour.
Ephesians 2:8; Acts 15:11; Romans 8:24; John 3:16; Matthew 18:11; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2:14; Isaiah 53:4-7; Romans 3:25; I John 4:10; I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21; John 10:18; Philippians 2:8; Galatians 1:4; I Peter 2:24; I Peter 3:18; Isaiah 53:11; Hebrews 12:2; I Corinthians 15:20; Isaiah 53:12; Hebrews 9:12-15; Hebrews 7:25; I John 2:2
Grace in the New Creation
We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again. The new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus. It is instantaneous and not a process. In the new birth, the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God. The new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel. Its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.
John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6-7; Acts 2:41; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13; John 1:12-13; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 5:9
Rightly dividing the Word of God. 2.Timothy 2:15.
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, historical and literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man´s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Among these dispensations, three of them: the law, the church, and the kingdom, are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. That there is a difference between Israel and the Church, that the Church does not replace Israel. After the rapture of the Church God will again turn and deal with the unbelief of the nation of Israel and the world during the tribulation or what is know biblically as the time of Jacobs trouble. We further believe in the blessed hope for the Christian in the return of Christ for believers in the rapture. That this has not happened yet and that the rapture in the next even prophetically in the life of the believer.
Genesis 1:28; I Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25, 27; Revelation 20:2-6
Justification
We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to those that believe in Him is justification. Justification includes the pardon of sin and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness. It is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer´s blood is His righteousness imputed to us.
Acts 13:39; Isa; 53:11; Zech. 13:1; Romans 8:1; Romans 5:9; Romans 5:1; Titus 3:5-7; Romans 1:17; Hab. 2:4; Galatians 3:11; Romans 4:1-8; Hebrews 10:38
Repentance of Faith
My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, that you cannot save yourself and that religion cannot save you, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross through His death burial and resurrection. (1. Corinthians 15:1-4). We believe that Repentance and Faith are solemn obligations and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God. Thereby, being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we repent of our sin of unbelief and seeking to find salvation in ourselves or religion with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy from God. At the same time, we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confess Him as our only and all-sufficient Saviour by faith alone without works.
Acts 20:39; Mark 1:15; Acts 2:37-39; Luke 18:13; Romans 10:13; Psalms 51:1-4; Psalms 51:7; Isaiah 55:6-7; Luke 12:8; Romans 10:9-11
The Church
We believe that a local church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel. That church is understood to be the stronghold and propagator of divine and eternal grace. It observes the ordinances of Christ and is governed by His laws. It exercises the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word. Its officers of ordination are pastors, or elders, and deacons whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; and third, to reach and instruct as He has commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order.
We hold that the local church has the right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. The one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel. Every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 4:11; I Corinthians 12:4; I Corinthians 12:8-11; Acts 14:23; Acts 6:5-6; Acts 20:17-28; I Timothy 3:1-13; Matthew 28:19-20; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23-24; I Peter 5:1-4; Acts 15:22; Jude 3:4; Leviticus 27:32; II Corinthians 8:23-24; I Corinthians 16:1; Malachi 3:10; I Corinthians 16:2; I Corinthians 6:1-3; I Corinthians 5:11-13
Baptism and the Lord´s Supper
We believe that true Scriptural baptism is the immersion in water of a believer in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with the authority of the local church. This is shown forth as a solemn and beautiful emblem of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour. This symbolizes our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. It is a prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord´s supper, in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination.
Acts 8:36-39; Matthew 3:6; John 3:23; Romans 6:4-5; Matthew 3:16; Matt 28:19; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:41-42; Matthew 28:1; Matthew 28:9-20; I Corinthians 11:23-28
The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God´s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that it is the privilege of Believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God´s Word. This assurance clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15
The Righteous and the Wicked
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked. Only through faith are we justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, sanctified by the Spirit of God, and truly righteous in His esteem. Meanwhile all that continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse. This distinction holds among men, both in and after death, in the everlasting joy of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost.
Malachi 3:18; Gen 12:23; Romans 6:17-18; Proverbs 11:31; I Peter 1:18; Romans 1:17; I Corinthians 15:22; Acts 10:34-35; I John 2:29; I John 2:7; Romans 6:16; I John 5:19; Galatians 3:10; Romans 7:6; Romans 6:23; Proverbs 14:32; Luke 16:25; Matthew 25:34,41; John 8:21; Luke 9:26; John 12:25; Matthew 7:13-14
Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the Home, 2) the Church, and 3) the State. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific biblical responsibilities and has balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
II Samuel 23:3; Exodus 18:21; Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:19-21; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14; Psalms 71:11
The Resurrection, Return of Christ, and Related Events
We believe in and accept the sacred Scriptures upon these subjects as true and accurate. Of the Resurrection, we believe that Christ rose bodily the third day according to the Scriptures. He alone is our merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God. This same Jesus which is taken up into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven – bodily, personally, and visibly. The dead in Christ shall rise first. The living saints shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David. Christ shall reign a thousand years in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His feet.
Matthew 28:6-7; Luke 24:39; John 20:27; I Corinthians 15:4; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2; Luke 24:4-6; Acts 1:9-11; Luke 24:51; Mark 16:19; Revelation 3:21; Hebrews 8:1; Hebrews 12:2; Hebrews 8:6; I Timothy 2:5; I John 2:1; Hebrews 2:17; Hebrews 5:9-10; John 14:3; I Thessalonians 4:16; Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:42; Hebrews 9:28; I Corinthians 15:42-44, I Corinthians 15:51-53; I Thessalonians 4:17; Philippians 4:20-21; Luke 1:32; I Corinthians 15:25; Isaiah 11:4-5; Psalms 72:8; Revelation 20:1-4; Revelation 20:6
Missions
We believe the command to give the gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable. This commission was given to the church, and it is clearly the church´s responsibility to carry out this commission by sending forth those whom God has called. The equipping and supplying of these “missionaries” is solely the duty of the church.
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; John 20:21; Romans 10:13-15; Acts 13:1-3
The Grace of Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving. Every Christian should also give other offerings, sacrificially and cheerfully, to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.
Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-8; Hebrews 7:2-4; Matthew 23:23; Leviticus 27:3