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Doctrinal Statement

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the only verbally inspired Word of God. They are infallible and are the sole and sufficient authority in all matters. We fully embrace Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), which formed the foundation of the Protestant Reformation and is based in Scripture itself, totally apart from tradition and human reason. We reject any idea of new revelation being given today. Matt. 5:18; Jn. 16:12–13; Rom. 15:4; Gal. 1:11–12; 1 Thes. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; 2 Pet. 1:20–21; 2 Pet. 3:2, 15–16

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—co eternal in being, co identical in nature, co equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. We believe God is sovereign in all things: His creation of the universe, upholding of that universe, rule in man’s history, saving the elect, provision for His own, and all else. Deut. 6:4; 1 Chron. 29:11–12; Is. 45:7; Matt. 28:18–19; Jn. 1:1–2, 14; 10:13; Acts 5:3–4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:1–3; Rev. 1:4–6.

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

  1. We believe 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 Mary so that He could reveal God and redeem sinful men. Lk. 1:30–35; Jn. 1:1–3, 14, 18; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 2:5–8; Heb. 4:15
  2. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption by His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Matt. 26:28; Jn. 1:29; 3:16–18; Rom. 3:24–26; Rom. 5:6–11; 1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5:18–21; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:3–5, 2:24
  3. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. Acts 1:9–10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; Heb. 9:24; 1 Jn. 2:1–2

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

  1. We believe the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment and is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing (placing) all believers into the Body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them until the day of final redemption. Jn. 16:8–11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13–14; 4:30
  2. We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. Jn. 16:13; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:18; 1 Jn. 2:20, 27

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved, spiritually dead, and in himself is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition or to savingly believe the Gospel. Man has, indeed, been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. Gen. 1:26–27; Is. 64:6; Rom. 1:18–32; 3:10–19, 22–23, 5:12; 8:7–7; 2 Cor. 4:3–4; Eph. 2:1–3, 8–9, 12; 4:17–19

Salvation

  1. We believe salvation is the gift of God. It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Salvation is the sole act of God, apart from any merit or works of man, whereby He, through His mercy and grace, eternally redeems His elect believers and delivers them from their sin and the resultant spiritual death through the once-for-all redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jn. 1:12; Rom. 4:3–25; 5:17–19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 1:4–7; 2:8–10; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:18–19
  2. We believe repentance is a necessary aspect of salvation and that a change of Lordship and lifestyle are results and evidences of true conversion. Matt. 7:21–23; Mk. 8:34–38; Acts 11:18; 26:20; Rom. 6:1–2, 22; 2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:24–25; Jas. 2:14–26; 1 Jn. 2:3; 3:24; Jude 4

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

  1. We believe all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. Jn. 5:24; 6:37–40; 10:27–30; Rom. 8:1, 28–39; 1 Cor. 1:4–8; 1 Pet. 1:5; 1 Jn. 2:1–2; 5:13
  2. We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids, however, the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh, or a supposed “license to sin.” Rom. 6:1–2, 6; 13:13–14; Gal. 5:13; 1 John 3:6–9

The Warring of the Flesh and the Spirit

We believe every saved person has been redeemed and transformed spiritually but still lives in an unredeemed body, which is subject to the weaknesses of the flesh. God has made provision for victory over the flesh through yieldedness to the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is not “the eradication of the old nature,” as the term is used by some, but rather an ongoing victory over the sin that remains. The redemption of the body is yet to come. Rom. 6:1–3, 6; 7:1–25; 8:12–13, 23; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 5:16–25; Eph. 4:22–24; Col. 3:10; 1 Pet. 1:14–16; 1 Jn. 3:5–9

Separation

We believe all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach on their Savior and Lord and that sep¬aration from all religious apostasy and all sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded by God. This involves living according to God’s standards, not anyone’s list of “dos and don’ts.” Rom. 12:1–2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14—7:1; Gal. 5:16–23; Eph. 4:25–32; 2 Tim. 3:1–5; Jas. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15–17; 2 Jn. 9–11

Missions

  1. We believe it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. Matt. 28:19–20; Mk. 16:15; Jn. 4:1–26; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:19–20
  2. As an extension of the above, we believe biblical missions is the ministry of “church planting” with the Apostle Paul as the model in the book of Acts. Acts 13:1; 14:26; 15:36; 18:22–23; 16:1–5; etc.

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

  1. We believe the foundational and number one ministry of the Church is the authoritative preaching and teaching of the Word of God by qualified elders (pastors, bishops) with a view to training God’s people for ministry. Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:22–25; Eph. 4:7–14; 2 Tim. 4:1–4
  2. Other outreach ministries of the local church include:
    • Caring for widows within the Church. Acts 6:1–6; 1 Tim. 5:3–16
    • Training and sending out evangelists (church planters). Acts 13:1–3; 2 Tim. 2:1–2
    • Recording ministry, literature ministry, and other outreach ministries.
  3. We believe God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts. The gifts of evangelist and pastor-teacher are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today. According to Scripture and history, speaking in tongues and the working of sign gifts gradually ceased as the New Testament was completed and its authority became established. 1 Cor. 12:4–11; 13:8–10; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7–12
  4. We believe God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and the afflicted. Jn. 15:7; 1 Jn. 5:14–15

The Church

  1. We believe the Church, which is the Body and the espoused Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism comprised of all born again persons of this present age. Eph. 1:22–23; 5:25–27; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; 2 Cor. 11:2
  2. We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. Acts 2; 14:27; 20:17–32; 1 Tim. 3:1–13; 2 Tim. 1:5–11
  3. We believe in the primacy of the Local Church as God’s way of carrying on His work. We reject the concept and existence of “parachurch” organizations that are independent of the Local Church. Eph. 4:11–16; 2 Tim. 3:15
  4. We believe the only God given ordinances of the church are Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
    • We believe Baptism is, according to biblical language and history, the immersion in water of the believer (baptizō, “to dip”), that the water does not save, and that the believer will be baptized in obedience to the Lord’s command and as a testimony of his identification with Christ. Matt. 1:13–17; 28:18–20; Jn. 3:22–23; Acts 2:41–42; 8:35–38; 10:47–48; 1 Cor. 1:14–15
    • We believe all who are truly born-again are welcome to remember the Lord at His communion table. We reject “closed” or “close” communion, finding no biblical precedent for either. Based on the words of Scripture, we believe the Lord’s Supper is memorial in nature and reject either a so-called physical or spiritual “presence” of Christ other than His indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 11:23–24; Gal. 4:6

Dispensationalism

We believe in classic Dispensationalism (which recognizes a basic difference between Israel and the Church) but reject the extremes of “Hyper-Dispensationalism,” such as the teaching that opposes either the Lord’s Supper or water baptism as a means of testimony for the Church in this age and denies large portions of Scripture as applicable to the Church today. Matt. 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–42; 18:8; 1 Cor. 1:14–16; 9:17; 11:23–26; Eph. 1:10; 3:2; Col. 1:25

The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, the cause of the fall, the open and declared enemy of God and man, and shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. Job 1:6–7; Is. 14:12–27; Matt. 4:2–11; 25:41; 2 Cor. 4:3–4; 1 Pet. 5:8; Rev. 20:10

The Second Advent of Christ

We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pre tribulation, and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones and His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His literal Millennial Kingdom. Zech. 14:4–11; Jn. 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 15:51–52; Phil. 3:20–21; 1 Thes. 1:10; 4:13–18; 5:9; 1 Jn. 3:1–2; Rev. 3:10; 19:11–16; 20:1–6

The Eternal State

  1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. Matt. 25:46; Jn. 5:28–29; 11:25–26; Rev. 20:5–6, 12–13
  2. We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where, in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1 Th. 4:16–17; Rev. 20:4–6
  3. We believe the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment. Matt. 5:41–46; Mk. 9:43–48; Lk. 16:19–26; 2 Thes. 1:7–9; Jude 6–7

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