OUR CONFESSION OF FAITH
Paragraph 1 — Of the Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible, as originally written, was verbally inspired and the product of Spirit controlled men, and therefore, has truth without admixture of error for its matter. We believe that it is the true center of Christian union and the only infallible rule for all human conduct, creeds and opinions. (II Tim. 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:19, 21)
Paragraph 2 — Of the true God.
We believe that there is only one living and true God, infinite in every excellence; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three personal distinctions; The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, one in substance and equal in every divine perfection. (Exodus 20:2, 3; I Cor. 8:6; I John 5:7)
We believe in absolute Deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was Divine as no other man can be, being very God Himself, existing from all eternity, co-equal with the Father and the Spirit; that He never ceased to be God for one instant and that His humiliation did not consist in laying aside His deity; that as a man He was miraculously begotten of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. (John 1:1, 2; I John 5:20; Matt. 1:20; Luke 1:26-38)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and Son and of the same substance and nature; that He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, bears witness to the truth, is the Agent of the New Birth and that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies and helps the believer, indwelling every true child of God. (II Cor. 13:14; John 14:16, 17; Romans 8:14-27)
Paragraph 3 — Of the Devil, or Satan.
We believe that Satan is a distinct personality, that he is the god of this age, author of all the powers of darkness and sin, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Matt. 4:1-3; II Cor. 4:4; Rev. 20:10)
Paragraph 4 — Of the Creation.
We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, “each after its own kind,” by direct act and not by the process of evolution. (Genesis Ch. 1, 2; Col. 1:16, 17; John 1:3)
Paragraph 5 — Of the Fall of Man
We believe that man, in the person of the first Adam, was created in innocence but by voluntary transgression fell into sin thus plunging the whole race into condemnation and death, so that now all mankind is born in sin and shaped in iniquity and become practical sinners with the first expression of personal choice and so are without excuse to God. (Genesis 3; Romans 5:10-19)
Paragraph 6 — Of the Atonement for Sin.
We believe that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is through the atonement wrought by Jesus Christ, when He voluntarily took upon Him a human body and nature, yet without sin, and by His suffering, death and resurrection made full satisfaction to the justice of God for the sin of men; that the blessings of this salvation are given on the grounds of grace to all who believe and confess and that it is the immediate duty of all to accept these offers of mercy. (John 1:1-3; 14; 3:17; Heb. 3:5-7; Rom. 10:9-13)
Paragraph 7 — Of Salvation by Grace.
We believe that faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation from sin and that this salvation is wholly by grace; that no works, however good, make that salvation more secure. (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5-7; Rom. 10:9-13)
Paragraph 8 — Of the Church.
We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ, is a New Testament institution, established by Jesus Christ, Who is its sole Head; revealed through the Holy Apostles; empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; composed of believers in Jesus Christ as Savior, both Jew and Gentile, called out from the world and indwelt by the Holy Spirit; His “body” for service and His “bride” for glory. It began with the New Testament saints and will be consummated at the coming of Christ in the Rapture. (Matt. 16:18; Acts 1:8, 2:1-13, 41-47, 15:14; Rom. 16:26; I Cor. 12:12-28; Eph. 1:22, 23; 3:21; 5:23-33; I Thess. 4:13-18)
We believe that the Church is manifest through the local church which is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by His work; that its officers are bishops (Pastor) and Deacons; that it has the absolute right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit and it is answerable only to Christ, and that in all matters of membership policy, government, discipline and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Matt. 18:15-17; I Cor. 1:2, 5:4, 5, 7:17, 11:16; I Tim. 3:1-15)
Paragraph 9 — Of the Ordinances.
We believe that there are two church ordinances: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. BAPTISM is the immersion of the believer in water and is properly called “Believer’s Baptism.” It sets forth, in a beautiful and solemn way, our faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, with its effect in our lives of death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privilege of church membership. THE LORD’S SUPPER is the commemoration of our Lord’s death until He comes, and our continual fellowship with Him; should be preceded by Baptism and always by careful self-examination. (Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; I Cor. 11:23-32)
Paragraph 10 — Of the Righteous and Wicked.
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, are truly righteous in God’s esteem while all such who continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse; and that this distinction holds among men, both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost. (Malachi 3:18; Rom. 6:17-23; Matt. 25:34-41; Luke 6:25; John 8:21)
Paragraph 11 — Of the Return of Christ.
We believe in the bodily, personal, pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven year tribulation period to catch away His church, coming only in the air, and that He will come with His church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations and set up His kingdom. (I Thess. 4:13-18; Matt. 25:31-46; Rev. 19:11-21)
Paragraph 12 — Of the Resurrection.
We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead; that believers who sleep in Jesus will be raised at the coming of Christ for His church and caught up with transformed living saints to meet the Lord in the air, and that the wicked dead will be raised at the close of the Millennial Kingdom and stand in their bodies at the Great White Throne Judgment to receive their final doom. (John 5:21-30; I Thes. 4:16; Rev. 7:9-17, 20:11-15)