ARTICLES OF FAITH
ARTICLE I. THE BIBLE
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbal plenary inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and final revelation of God’s will to man, the supreme standard of all faith and practice. (Isaiah 40:8; II Timothy 3:16,17; John 10:35; II Peter 1:19-21)
ARTICLE II. GOD
We believe in the sovereign God, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent manifesting Himself in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit one in nature, attributes, power and glory.
(Genesis 1:1; Mark 12:29; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1-4, 18: Acts 5:3,4)
ARTICLE III. JESUS CHRIST
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and that He is true God and true man. (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1-4; 5:17-27; Philippians 2:6-11)
ARTICLE IV. HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a living person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature, the administrator of the things of God, active in creation; that He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the New Birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, revealing Christ, teaching the truth, restraining evil, energizing believers in prayer, worship and service; and is ever present in the believer as our comforter and helper. He baptizes the believer into the body of Christ at the time of conversion – a one-time occurrence which happens according to the sovereign power of the Holy Spirit. He fills (or controls) the believer in accordance with the believer’s submission to the leading of the Holy Spirit…Thus, one baptism many fillings. (Genesis 1:1-3; Psalm 139:7-12; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 14; 16,17; 15:26; 16:13,14; John 16:8-11; John 7:38; Acts 1:8; 5:30-32; Romans 8:9, 14, 16, 27; I Corinthians 6:19; 12:13; Ephesians 5:18; Hebrews 9:14)
ARTICLE V. SATAN
We believe in the reality and personality of Satan. That he is a created being of great beauty and power, the prince of the world, the god of this age, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience–that he fell through pride, and that he will be judged and cast into the everlasting lake of fire. (Job 1:6,7; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:12-16; John 8:44; II Corinthians 4:4; 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2; Revelation 20:1-3; 20:7-10)
ARTICLE VI. CREATION
We believe the Genesis account of creation. That God created all things in six twenty-four hour days and that man came by the direct creation of God and not by evolution. (Genesis1-2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16,17)
ARTICLE VII. MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, totally depraved, and are sinners in thought, word and deed. (Genesis 1:26; 2:7-9; 2:16,17; 3:1-19; Psalms 14:3,4; 51:5; 58:3; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3)
ARTICLE VIII. SALVATION
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood on the cross and are saved by grace through faith, wholly apart from human merit and works. (John 1:29; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:21-28; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:3-8)
ARTICLE IX. REGENERATION
We believe that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith are born again by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God and thereby become the children of God, that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that 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. (John 1:12,13; 3:3-8; 3:14-16; 5:24; 10:28,29; Romans 6:23; II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1; I Peter 1:4-11; I John 3:1-3; 5:1)
ARTICLE X. ETERNAL SECURITY
We believe that all who have been truly born again by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ are eternally secure. We believe it is the privilege of all such to be assured of their present salvation and eternal security. (John 5:24; 10:20-29; Ephesians 1:13,14; 4:30; Philippians 1:6; Romans 8:33-39; II Timothy 1:12)
ARTICLE XI. THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH
We believe that at any moment the rapture of the saved may occur before any part of the Great tribulation, when “the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven” to catch up His people to meet Him in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (John 14:1-3; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-58)
ARTICLE XII. THE RETURN OF CHRIST
We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, His ascension, His present life at the right hand of God in heaven for us, as our High Priest and Advocate and His personal bodily, visible, pre-millenial return to establish His Kingdom on earth and to reign on earth as the only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Luke 24:26-43; John 20:24-29; Acts 1:9-11; I Corinthians 15:20-25; I Timothy 6:14,15; Revelation 1:7; 19:11-16; 20:6)
ARTICLE XIII. HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all the dead, the saved to life of eternal glory and bliss in heaven with God; the unsaved to eternal judgment of conscious suffering and woe in the lake of fire. (Matthew 10:28; 18:8,9; 25:41-46; John 5:28,29; II Thessalonians 1: 6-9; Revelation 20:6, 11-15; 21:1-8)
ARTICLE XIV. SEPARATION
We believe that we are called unto God to be a personal and ecclesiastically separated people, to abide in Christ to walk in the Spirit and to enjoy victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. (Romans 12: 1,2; I Corinthians 5:9-11; II Corinthians 2:14-17; Galatians 5:16; Colossians 3:17; Romans 16:17,18; II Thessalonians 3:6; II John 9-11; I John 2:15-17; Amos 3:3)
ARTICLE XV. EVANGELISM
We believe that it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer to be a personal soul winner and to do his utmost to give the gospel of Christ to the whole world. (Matthew 4:19; Mark 16:15-16; John 17:18; 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)
ARTICLE XVI. LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that a local church is a body of believers immersed upon the credible confession in Jesus Christ, having two officers (pastors and deacons) sovereign in policy and bonded together for work, worship, the observance of the ordinances and the worldwide proclamation of the gospel.ORDINANCES
a. We believe that there are two ordinances of the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Matthew 3:16; Acts 2:38; I Corinthians 11:23:32)BAPTISM
1. We believe that believer’s baptism by immersion is the Scriptural mode.THE LORD’S SUPPER
2.The Lord’s Supper shall normally be served to the assembled church by the Pastor (or a member designated by the church in the pastor’s absence) and the Deacons on the first Sunday of each month or at the discretion of the Deacons. Since it is the Lord’s Table, none who are His shall be barred; but the Pastor shall frequently state the Scriptural order and shall explain the meaning of the ordinance
b. OF THE GIFTS
We believe that the sign gifts have served their purpose in the Apostolic Era with the birth of the church and the completion of God’s revelation to man, the Bible, and are therefore no longer in existence. (I Corinthians 14:21, 22; Acts 2; I Corinthians 13: 8-10)
c. CHURCH FINANCES
We believe the only method of financing God’s work is to be the free will tithes and offerings of God’s people as set forth in the Scriptures. (II Corinthians 8:12; Leviticus 27: 30-33; Malachi 3: 10-12)
d. CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS
We believe that all organizations (Women’s Missionary Fellowship, Young Peoples, etc.) within the local church or those with whom the local church fellowships with, are subject to the autonomy of the local church.
ARTICLE XVII. CIVIL GOVERNMENT
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayer for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed; except in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coming King of Kings of the earth. (Romans 13:1-7; II Samuel 23:3; Exodus 18:21,22; Acts 23:5; Matthew 22:21; Acts 5:20; 4:19,20; Daniel 3:17,18)