What We Believe / The Christian Faith

1. We believe in the absolute authority and accuracy of the Holy Scripture, both the Old and New Testaments, its verbal inspiration in the original manuscripts and its all-sufficiency as the Christian’s rule of faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:19-21, and Proverbs 30:5,6).

2. We believe that there is but one God, the Creator, Preserver and Ruler of all things, who is perfect in holiness, and in love, infinite in wisdom and measureless in power and who reveals himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4, Nehemiah 9:6, II Corinthians 13:14, I John 4:8, John 10:30 and Matthew 28:19).

3. We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, that he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, that He is true God and true man and that He is the only sufficient mediator between God and man. (Matthew 1:30, Luke 1:35, John 1:1,2,14, John 12:45 and I Timothy 2:5).

4. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, whose ministry is to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, to regenerate the unbelieving and to seal, sanctify, teach and comfort those who have believed in Jesus Christ. (John 16:8-11, 3:3,6,7, Ephesians 1:13 and II Thessalonians 2:3).

5. We believe that man was created in the image of God and that he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death. Thus, we believe that all men by nature and by choice are sinners and apart from Christ, shall be forever separated from God. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17, Exodus 18:20a, and Romans 6:23).

6. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe on Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. (I Corinthians 15:3,4, Revelation 1:5, Isaiah 53:6, II Corinthians 5:21, Acts 13:39 and Romans 5:9).

7. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works and that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, thereby becoming children of God. (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:3-7, John 1:12, Titus 3:5, Galatians 3:26 and John 5:24).

8. We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven and in His present ministry there for us as High Priest and Advocate. We believe in the personal, visible, bodily return of the Lord Jesus Christ to set up His Kingdom upon the earth. (I Corinthians 15:4, Acts 1:8-11, Hebrews 4:14-16, I John 2:1-2, I Thessalonians 4:13-17 and Revelation 20:1-15).

9. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost. (I Corinthians 15:20-24, Revelation 20:12-15, I Corinthians 15:51-53 and I Thessalonians 4:13-17).

10. We believe in the church, a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that the local, visible church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, associated together for worship and fellowship. (I Corinthians 12:1-31 and Acts 2:42-47).

11. We believe in the observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper in obedience of the commands of Christ. We believe that Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with death, burial and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins and of His giving himself up to God to live and to walk in newness of life. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is of bread and the cup, and to be a commemoration of His death “till He comes.” (Acts 2:42, 46, 47, Ephesians 5:23, Matthew 28:10, 20, Acts 2:38, Acts 8:36-38, Romans 6:3-4, I Corinthians 11:23-32 and Mark 16:15-16).

12. We believe in the universal spiritual priesthood of believers. In other words, all true believers are priests and have the privilege of approaching God through Christ and of interpreting the Scriptures through the Holy Spirit. (I Timothy 2:5, I John 2:27, Revelation 1:6 and I Peter 2:9).

13. We believe in the sovereignty of the local church, recognizing Christ as our sole Head and that each local church has the right to be independent and autonomous and must be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority. (Acts 6:2-3, Acts 4:18-20).

14. We believe that the great gospel blessing, which Christ secures to such as believe in Him, is justification. Justification includes the pardon of sin and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness, not what we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s Blood by virtue of which faith, his perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God. This righteousness brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity. (Acts 13:9, Romans 5:9, Romans 5:12,17, 19, 4:4-5).

15. We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel, that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial penitent and obedient faith and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth except for his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection which involves him in an aggravated condemnation. (John 3:16, Romans 1:15-17, John 3:19, John 6:35-37, John 3:36 and Revelation 21:8).

16. We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partaker of His holiness. Sanctification is a progressive work begun in regeneration and is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means – especially, the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer. (I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23, Proverbs 4:18, II Corinthians 3:18, I John 2:29, Philippians 2:12, 13, I Peter 2:2 and II Peter 3:18).

17. We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day is a Christian institution for regular observance and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, resting from worldly employment and amusement, only works of necessity and mercy excepted. (Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:1,2, Hebrews 10:24,25 and Acts 13:44).

18. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of human society and that the magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the Prince of the Kings of the earth. (Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1, I Timothy 2:1-8, I Peter 2:13-15, Acts 5:29, Daniel 3:15-18 and Revelation 19:16).

19. We believe in the eternal security of the believer. Those who God has accepted in the Beloved and sanctified by His Spirit will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end. If through neglect and temptation they fall into sin, whereby they grieve the Holy Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the church and temporal judgements on themselves, yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto Salvation. (Ephesians 1:6,7, 4:30, John 10:28-29, 5:24, I John 5:12, Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 12:5-11, I Corinthians 11:31).