What We Believe
The Existance and Nature of God
There is one true God, one in essence, who subsists in three distinct, eternal and co-equal persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each of whom possesses equally all the attributes, nature, and perfection of deity. Further, we believe that God is the creator of the universe, the giver of all life. (Matt. 28: 18 - 19; John 1: 1, 14; Acts 5: 3 - 4; II Cor. 13: 14; Rev. 1: 4 - 6).
The Bible
The Bible is the Word of God, supernaturally inspired so that it is without error in the original manuscripts. It has been preserved by God and is the divinely established authority and standard for faith, doctrine, and practice. (II Tim. 3: 16 - 17; II Peter 1: 21, 3: 16; I Cor. 2: 13; Mark 12: 26, 36; Luke 24: 27, 44).
Man's Dignity and Need
We believe that mankind was created by God in His image to enjoy fellowship with Him. Yet, of his own choice, man rebelled against God. Furthermore, all of mankind since that time has been born with a disposition to sin. Thus, sin is universal and without excuse, creating in all mankind a need for justification and redemption. (Gen. 1: 26, 2:17; Ps. 14: 1 - 3; Rom. 1: 18 - 23; Eph. 2: 1 - 3).
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, the eternal second Person of the Trinity. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and made atonement for sin by dying on the cross, thus satisfying divine justice and accomplishing salvation for all who trust in him alone. He was bodily raised from the dead and shall come again to earth to consummate history and establish His Kingdom. (John 1: 1 - 2, 8: 56 - 59; Phil. 2: 5 - 8; Heb. 4: 15 - 16, 10: 5 - 14; Phil. 3: 20 - 21; Rev. 19: 11 - 16, 20: 1 - 4).
Salvation
The salvation of mankind is wholly the work of God's free grace, not the result, in whole or in part of any human works or goodness, and it must be personally appropriated by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. (Lev. 17: 11; Isa. 64: 6; Matt. 26: 28; John 1: 12; Rom. 5: 6 - 9, II Cor. 5: 21; Eph. 1: 7, 2: 8 - 9; I Peter 1: 18 - 19).
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person and He is God, possessing all of the attributes of deity. At the moment a person trusts Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells, baptizes, and seals each believer giving assurance, strength, and wisdom. (John 14: 16 --17; 16: 7 - 15; acts 5: 1 - 4; Eph. 1: 13, 4: 30; I Cor. 6: 19, 12: 13).
The Church, the Body of Christ
Upon personal faith in Christ, each person is baptized into the Body of Christ, the Church Universal. Yet the Scriptures command believers to gather together to devote themselves to Prayer, Fellowship, Worship, Teaching of the Word, and Observance of the Ordinances (Baptism and Communion). Thus the local Church will always be a visible, localized expression of God's people meeting regularly in obedience to these commands, intent on one ultimate purpose - to bring glory to God. (Matt. 28: 18 - 20; Acts 2; 42 - 47, 14: 21 - 23, 20: 7; Rom. 16: 2; I Cor. 11: 23 - 24, 12: 12 - 27; Eph. 1: 20 - 23; Col. 3: 14 - 15; Heb. 10: 24 - 25; James 5: 14; Rev. 1: 10).
