What we Believe

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

For a detailed doctrinal statement, please view our Articles of Faith