​​The Bible

We believe that all sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, written by full and verbal inspiration.  Because the Bible is the completely inerrant, God-inspired Word, it is the absolute authority and standard for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are God’s completed revelation given to mankind.  The proper method of interpreting Scripture is to take its grammatical, historical, and literal meaning.  (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–21; Revelation 22:18–19)​  We believe that the Scriptures have been preserved in God’s holiness and are equal in authority to the inspired originals. Reliable Bible translations are those based on the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Greek Received Byzantine Majority Text of the New Testament.  (Psalm 12:6–7; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:24–25)

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God’s Appointed Dispensations

We believe that when Scripture is interpreted in its natural, literal sense, it clearly presents divinely appointed ages, or dispensations, which define mankind’s responsibilities in each period. These responsibilities are not ways of salvation, but rather God’s methods of administering His purposes for humanity.  Three of these dispensations—the Age of Law, the Age of the Church, and the Age of the Kingdom—are specifically developed in Scripture.  (Genesis 1:28; 2 Corinthians 3:9–18; Galatians 3:13–25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2–10; Colossians 1:24–25; Revelation 20:2–6)

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God

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-eternal and co-equal in essence, power, and glory.  (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

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The Person and Work of Christ

​We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, in order to reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1–2, 14; 2 Corinthians 5:19–21; Galatians 4:4–5; Philippians 2:5–8)

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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and voluntarily offered Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners, and that His physical, bodily resurrection from the dead assures our justification.​  (Acts 2:18–36; Romans 3:24–25; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5)

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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our great High Priest, He acts as our Intercessor, Advocate, and Mediator.  (Acts 1:9; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1–2)

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The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; regenerates and indwells believers; and seals them until the day of redemption.  (John 16:8–11; Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13–14)

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We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and enables obedience. All believers have both the privilege and responsibility to be filled with the Spirit.  (John 16:13; Ephesians 1:17–18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

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We believe that God gives spiritual gifts to every believer for service, and that He appoints evangelists, pastors, and teachers for equipping the saints.  (Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:4–11, 28; Ephesians 4:7–12)

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We believe that certain gifts, such as tongues and healings, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never a common sign of Spirit baptism or filling. While God may heal in response to prayer, complete deliverance from sickness and death awaits the resurrection.  (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21–22)

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The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell through Adam’s sin, thereby inheriting a sinful nature and becoming alienated from God. Man is utterly unable to remedy this condition by his own effort.  (Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 3:22–23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1–3; 4:17–19)

 

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God, given by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who shed His precious blood on the cross for our sins.  (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 Peter 1:18–19)

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We believe that salvation is made possible solely by Christ’s finished work on the cross, where He bore our sins, though He Himself knew no sin.  (Isaiah 53:4–12; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:13–15; 1 Peter 2:24)

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We believe that salvation is available to all people.  (Isaiah 55:1; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9)

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We believe that nothing but human pride and rejection of the Gospel prevents anyone from receiving salvation.  (John 5:40; Matthew 23:37)

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We believe that one must be born again by the Spirit of God to be saved, and that the Spirit’s regenerating work brings joy and understanding to the believer’s heart. (John 3:3, 5; Titus 3:5; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17)

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We believe that true regeneration produces spiritual fruit in the believer’s life.  (Matthew 7:15–23; Galatians 5:22; Ephesians 2:10; James 2:17–26; 1 John 5:4–18)

 

We believe that repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ are inseparable and are worked in the heart by the Spirit.  (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21; Luke 18:13; Romans 10:9–13; Hebrews 4:14)

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Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is the process by which believers partake of God’s nature. It has both a positional and a progressive aspect. Positional sanctification means that God sees redeemed sinners as justified in Christ. Progressive sanctification is the believer’s growth in holiness, which begins at salvation and develops through the Spirit, Scripture, prayer, self-examination, and separation from the world.  (1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Peter 1:4; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 10:10, 14; John 3:6; Romans 8:5; Ephesians 4:11–12, 30; Philippians 2:12–13; Titus 2:12).

 

Eternal Security and Assurance

We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever.  (John 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Romans 8:1, 38–39; 1 Corinthians 1:4–8; 1 Peter 1:4–5)

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We believe that believers may lose rewards for unfaithfulness but will never lose their salvation.

(1 Corinthians 3:15).  We believe that believers have the privilege of enjoying the assurance of their salvation as taught in Scripture, but this assurance must not be used as an excuse for sinful living.

(Romans 13:13–14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11–15)

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The Church

We believe that the local church, the body and bride of Christ, is composed only of born-again believers.  (1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22–23; 5:25–27; Colossians 1:18).  We believe in the establishment and continuity of local churches as taught in the New Testament.  (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28–32; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–11).  We believe that each local church is autonomous and that Christ is its only Head, with no external authority over it.  (Acts 13:1–4; 15:19–31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4–7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1–4). We believe that the ordinances of the church for this age are baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper.  (Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)

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Separation

We believe that all believers should live in a way that honors the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that they are commanded to separate themselves from religious apostasy, worldly pleasures, and sinful practices.  (Romans 12:1–2; 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14–17; 2 Timothy 3:1–5; 1 John 2:15–17; 2 John 9–11)

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The Second Coming of Christ

We believe in the imminent, pre-tribulational return of Christ, our “blessed hope,” when all believers will be caught up to be with Him. We also believe that after the seven-year tribulation, Christ will return visibly to earth with His saints to establish His promised thousand-year kingdom.  (Psalm 89:3–4; Daniel 2:31–45; Zechariah 14:4–11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13–18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11–16; 20:1–6)

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The Eternal State of Man

​We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people: the saved to eternal life (the first resurrection) and the unsaved to eternal judgment and suffering (the second resurrection).  (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28–29; 11:25–26; Revelation 20:5–6, 12–15).  We believe that when a believer dies, his soul goes immediately to be with the Lord, where he consciously rejoices while awaiting the resurrection, when soul, spirit, and body will be reunited.  (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17; Revelation 20:4–6).  We believe that when an unbeliever dies, his soul goes immediately to a place of conscious torment, awaiting the second resurrection, when soul, spirit, and body will be reunited, judged at the Great White Throne, and cast into the lake of fire for eternal conscious punishment.  (Matthew 25:41–46; Mark 9:43–48; Luke 16:19–26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–9; Jude 6–7; Revelation 20:11)