We Believe

The Scriptures

We believe that the Holy Bible was divinely inspired by God and given to man as the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man. By the “Holy Bible,” we mean that collection of sixty-six books (Genesis to Revelation) of the Old and New Testaments, which we believe is the very Word of God. Because inspiration without preservation would be meaningless, and the original manuscripts of the Bible are no longer in existence, God has supernaturally and providentially preserved His Word, without error, for us today in the AV 1611 (King James Version) of the Bible. We believe that this preserved Bible is the final authority for us in all matters of faith, doctrine, and practice. Finally, we believe that Christians should not only believe the Book, but also do what it commands and teaches. (Psalm 12:6-7; 11 Timothy 3:15-17; James 1:22-25; ll Peter 1:21)

The True God

We believe that there is but one true and living God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three divine Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who are equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 45:21-22; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 14:10, 26; 15:26; I John 5:7)

The Son of God

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, eternal with the Father, was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner, born of Mary, a virgin, and is both the Son of God and God the Son. He is both true man and true God; one person with two natures; tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1, 2, 14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-15)

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, converts the repentant sinner and places him into Christ, seals the believer, interprets the Scripture, and endues God’s children with power to be bold witnesses. (John 16:8-11; John 3:5-6; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14)

Satan

We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels. He is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and Jesus Christ, the accuser of the brethren, and the author of all false religions. He is destined, however, to final defeat at the hands of God’s Son and the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and for his angels, as well as all of the unbelievers of the ages. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-17; John 8:44; II Corinthians 4:4; I Peter 5:8-9; Revelation 12:9-10; 20:10) v

Creation

We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary changes of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly; and God established that they should bring forth only “after their kind.” We reject any form of theistic or atheistic evolution. (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Romans 1:20; Revelation 10:6)

Sin

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; so all men are sinners by birth and by choice and are of themselves utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:l-3; 4:17-19)

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace. It is received by repentance toward God and by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His precious blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again, and that the new birth is instantaneous and not a process. (John 1:12; Acts 20:21; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19)

Eternal Security

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are secure in Christ forever. However, we believe that God’s Word clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (John 10:27-29; Romans 8:34-39; Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 4:30; 1 John 5:13)

Heaven and Hell

We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at death, immediately pass into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at the Rapture when soul and body reunited shall be present forever with the Lord. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery in hell until the Great White Throne Judgment at the close of the millennium. Then soul and body reunited, shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting torment. (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:1-15)

The Church

We believe that a New Testament church is a congregation or assembly of baptized believers, associated together by a covenant of faith, based solely upon the Word of God. The officers of ordination are pastors and deacons, and the Scriptural ordinances are water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control. We believe the mission of the church is to win the lost, baptize them, and teach and instruct them in the Word of God so that they too will win the lost. (Matthew 18:15-20; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 6:1-7; 1 Corinthians 11:20-34; I Timothy 3:1-13; II Timothy 2:2)

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that salvation must precede water baptism. We believe that Scriptural baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost under the authority of the local church. It is to picture, in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, showing forth our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Salvation and baptism are prerequisite to the privilege of church membership. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance in which members of the church, by the sacred use of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, are to commemorate the love of Christ shown at Calvary. This ordinance should always be preceded by solemn self-examination, realizing that we are showing forth the Lord’s death till He comes. (Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-31; Colossians 2:12)

Missions

We believe that all men everywhere are lost and condemned, and that the command to go and preach the Gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable. God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation and tribe who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8)

The Second Coming

We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ for all New Testament believers. This rapture of the saints will be followed by the seven-year Tribulation. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic kingdom which was promised to the nation Israel. (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:51-55; I Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 1:7)