God
- Is one Being in substance eternally existing in a loving Unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and having limitless knowledge, sovereign in power and presence in and over all things. God, Our Father in Heaven, has graciously purposed from eternity past to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
- Is the Word of God spoken through the Scriptures, of both Old and New Testaments, through the agency of the words of human authors. As the *verbal and plenary inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
- God created Man, Adam and Eve, in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. We believe, as scripture says, that Eve was deceived, but Adam sinned (willfully). In union with Adam as his descendants, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be redeemed, rescued, reconciled and renewed to eternal fellowship with our Creator.
Jesus Christ
- Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
The Work of Christ
- Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation. Jesus is actively working in the world today to redeem and restore sinners to relationship with God through belief in that sacrifice.
The Holy Spirit
- The Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the Trinity, is in the world actively working to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He convinces the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers in Jesus for Christ-like living and service.
The Church and Ordinances
- The true Church of Jesus Christ comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He alone is the Head. The true Church is global and manifested in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances (or rites) for the Church, water Baptism and the memorial of the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer and impart spiritual blessings that come from obedience to His instructions. The believer and the church become united in Spiritual Communion with Christ by the work of the Holy Spirit to complete the Great Commission as a body of many parts.
Christian Living
- God’s justifying grace is not to be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose, both are expressed by faith through the agency of the Holy Spirit’s work. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, especially compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the Gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s Return
- The personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ is literal, imminent and future. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission. We are commanded to occupy, in the work of making disciples, until He comes.
Response and Eternal Destiny
- God commands everyone everywhere to believe the Gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. We believe that God will raise the living and the dead in a bodily resurrection. God will subsequently judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and assigning the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace.
Definitions
* “Verbal and plenary inspired Word of God” means that the Bible is God’s Word to humanity. It was written by human authors, but the Holy Spirit prompted and guided them to write what they did. Every word, word form, and word placement found in the Bible’s original manuscripts was divinely and intentionally written. This is the orthodox view of the church and is known as verbal plenary inspiration.
** “Repentance”, in its biblical sense, is the transformation of mind and life that will humble itself to God, acknowledging our debt to God, believing Jesus and receiving Jesus as Savior for our sins, and subsequently cease rebellion against God by choosing to live by faith and pursue a life based on His character.