We Believe
The Bible
We believe the Holy Bible is the full and complete Word of God, that it is divinely inspired (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), that it is plenary (equally inspired in all parts), and is inerrant, completely and totally without error. We believe that it is sufficient as God’s revelation of Himself and His will (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12). We approach and teach the Bible from a literal, historical, and grammatical interpretation.
The Trinity
We believe that the Trinity is the One true and living God (Deuteronomy 6:4) eternally co-existing in Three simultaneous, distinct Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). We believe that all three Persons of the Trinity are equally worthy of worship and obedience, being perfect in all attributes.
God the Father
We believe that God the Father is the First Person of the Trinity and Creator of everything (Genesis 1-2). He is absolute sovereign Ruler of all of Creation (Psalm 103:19). We believe that He saves by His grace all who come to Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:12).
God the Son
We believe that God the Son is the Second Person of the Trinity. He is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father (Colossians 2:9), acting as His agent of creation (Colossians 1:15-17). We believe that in His incarnation as the God-Man, He is both fully divine and fully human in nature (Philippians 2:5-8). We believe that He was begotten of His Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:20-25). We believe that He lived a sinless life (1 Peter 2:22). We believe that He was God incarnate (John 1:1), and that His purpose in His incarnation was to reveal God, to redeem a people for Himself (1 Peter 1:18-19), and to establish and rule over His eternal kingdom (Psalm 2:7-9).
We believe that He accomplished our redemption by His substitutionary, propitiatory, voluntary, sacrificial death on the cross of Calvary (Romans 3:24-25). We believe He went to the cross as a perfect sacrifice without blemish for sin as a sin offering on behalf of the elect (2 Corinthians 5:21). We believe that because of His great sacrifice, the believer is freed from the penalty and power of sin, and that the believer is justified (declared to be righteous) on the basis of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8-9).
We believe that He died on the cross, that He was buried, and that He arose literally and physically on the third day as was prophesied in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). We believe that He ascended to the right hand of His Father in a glorified body, where He now acts as Mediator and High Priest for His people (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:25-26).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to receive His Church at the rapture (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18), that He will literally and physically establish His Millennial Kingdom and reign on earth (Isaiah 9:6-7; Revelation 19:11-20:10). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the One through whom God will judge all mankind (John 5:22-23).
God the Holy Spirit
We believe that God the Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, and that He is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. We believe that He possesses all the attributes of personhood (1Corinthians 2:10-13; 12:11; Ephesians 4:30). We believe that the Holy Spirit executes the will of God in relation to mankind, as evidenced by His work in creation (Genesis 1:2), the incarnation (Matthew 1:18), the inspiration of the Holy Bible (2 Timothy 3:16), salvation (John 3:5-7), and regeneration (Ezekiel 36:26-27).
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world in regards to sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11). We believe His work with regards to believers is to indwell (Romans 8:9), sanctify (1John 2:20), instruct (John 16:13), empower for service (1Corinthians 12:4-7), and seal them (Ephesians 1:13).
We believe that the miraculous gifts given by the Holy Spirit during the early days of the Church were for the purpose of authenticating the testimony the Apostles as divine truth (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4). We believe that “sign miracles” such as the gifts of prophesy, healing, and speaking in tongues were removed at the completion of the Scriptures, as validation of the apostolic testimony was no longer necessary.
Man
We believe that God created the first Man, Adam, in His own image and likeness on the literal sixth day of Creation from the dust of the earth (Genesis 1:26-27). We believe that God created Man as a rational being free of sin with the purpose and moral responsibility of glorifying God and enjoying His fellowship (Revelation 4:11).
We believe that Adam sinned, knowingly disobeying the revealed will of God, and thereby incurred the wrath of God. We believe that as a result of Adam’s sin, all who are descended from him have inherited the corruption of his sinful nature (Romans 5:12). We believe that all who are descended from Adam has, as well, committed acts of disobedience both of commission and omission (Romans 3:23). We believe that the penalty of sin is physical and spiritual death (Romans 6:23). We believe that because of corrupted sinful nature, Man is incapable of saving himself from the wrath of God.
We believe that salvation is a work solely of God’s grace (Jonah 2:9), and is solely on the basis of the completed work of the Lord Jesus Christ and His blood shed on the cross (Ephesians 1:7; 2:1-10).
We believe that salvation is the means by which God redeems His elect, chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-11). We believe that election is not based upon any merit of those God chooses to redeem, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy (Titus 3:4-7). We believe that divine sovereignty in no way conflicts with Man’s human responsibility to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 9:19-23).
We believe that believers are made regenerate by the work of the Holy Spirit and given new life in Christ Jesus (Titus 3:5). This regeneration is manifested by personal holiness and good works in the life of the believer (Matthew 7:16-18).
We believe that believers are justified, that is, declared righteous by God, due to the imputation of the righteousness of Christ to the believer (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the imputation of the believer’s sin to Christ (Colossians 2:14). We believe that justification occurs when a believer repents of their sins and confesses Jesus Christ as Sovereign Lord (Acts 2:38; 3:19; Romans 2:4; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3). We believe that by the work of Christ and His blood shed as a ransom for the elect, God is both just and justifier (Romans 3:26).
We believe that the believer, once saved, is kept by the power of Christ and secure forever (John 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Jude 24). We believe that such security and liberty is not license for believers to engage in sinful living (Romans 6:15-22; Titus 2:11-14). We believe that any who fall away into apostasy do not do so because they lost their salvation, but because they never had saving faith (1John 2:19).
The Church
We believe that the Church is the Bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Revelation 19:7-8) and the Body of Christ with the Lord Jesus Christ as it’s Head (1Corinthians 12:12-13; Colossians 1:18). We believe that the Church is composed of local assemblies of believers who have repented and placed their faith in Christ. We believe that the Church began at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21, 38-47), and is distinct from Israel (Ephesians 3:1-16).
We believe that all requirements and instructions for the Church regarding leadership, gifts, discipline, and worship are contained in the Scriptures. We believe that the Church is commanded to gather regularly for worship, to read and study the Scriptures, and for fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Ordinances
We believe that the Church has been given two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that baptism to be a sign of identification with Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-11). We believe that the believer’s baptism by immersion is a testimony to that identification. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is to be a remembrance of the death of Christ until He comes again (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). We believe that the elements of the Lord’s Supper, the bread and the juice, are only symbolic of the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Devil
We believe that Satan is a created angel who rebelled against God and is the author of sin (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19). We believe that he enlisted other angels who were cast out with him and are now know as demons (Revelation 12:4-12). We believe that Satan introduced sin into the world when he tempted Eve (Genesis 3:1-15). We believe that Satan is the the prince of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4), but that he was overcome and defeated by the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 16:20). We believe that he will be thrown into the lake of fire when the Lord Jesus Christ returns (Revelation 20:10).
Last Things
We believe that Jesus Christ will bodily return to meet His church before the Great Tribulation, and at that time, He will reward believers according to their works (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).
We believe that the seven-year Great Tribulation will begin immediately after the rapture of the Church. We believe the purpose of the Great Tribulation will be the judgment of a holy God on an unbelieving and disobedient world. We believe that this will end with the bodily return of Jesus Christ along with the resurrected Old Testament and Tribulation saints (Revelation 4:1-19:21).
We believe that Christ will then establish His Millennial Kingdom, reigning from the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33) for 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-7). We believe that this kingdom will be characterized by justice and righteousness (Isaiah 65:17-25).
We believe that at the end of the 1000-year reign of Christ, Satan will be set free and allowed to deceive the nations into a final rebellion (Revelation 20:7-10). We believe that Satan and his army will be defeated and thrown into the lake of fire for eternal punishment. We believe that Christ will then judge all of the unsaved dead at the Great White Throne, where they will be cast into the lake of fire for eternal, conscious punishment (Revelation 20:11-15).
We believe that the Creation will then be “un-created” and replaced with a New Creation (2 Peter 3:10). We believe that the redeemed saints will then enter into eternal fellowship with God and one another (Revelation 21:1-22:5).
E-mail or call us at 919-960-8606 with any questions.
I am the way and the truth and the life. John 14:6
