Our Beliefs
THE BIBLE
The Bible, containing 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the infallible Word of God, written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit and having supreme and final authority on all matters to which it speaks. It is without error in the original manuscripts and contains all the words God intended for His people to have in order to trust and obey Him.
Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21
GOD
There is one eternal God who has revealed Himself in three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God alone is self-existent, all knowing, all powerful, always present and never changing. Among many attributes God demonstrates to us, He is abounding in love and faithfulness, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, perfect in holiness, and just in all He does.
Ex. 34:6-7; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God the Son. On earth, Jesus was fully God and fully man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father through the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin. He suffered and died on the cross for mankind to atone for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, appeared to His disciples, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.
Isaiah 9:6; Luke 1:27-35; John 1:1, 14; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Timothy 3:16
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ, to convict people of sin, and to draw us to the Savior, Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in all believers, gives new life, empowers us for service, produces the fruit of the spirit in us and guides us into all truth.
Jeremiah 31:33-34; John 16:8; John 16:13-15; John 20:22; Galatians 5:22-23
HOLY SPIRIT
Mankind was created in God’s image, good and upright and in communion with God, but by voluntary sin man was separated from God. Our only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ because of His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:23-25, 6:23, 10:9-10; John 1:29; 1 John 2:2
SALVATION
Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in order to develop Christ’s character in us. It is through surrender to the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, 5:23; John 15:4; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 12:1-2
SANCTIFICATION
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit, first given at Pentecost, continues to empower believers today with the gifts and operations listed in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent and distinct event from the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit which occurs at salvation. All believers are to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures.
Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:1-4, 8:14-17, 10:44-47, 11:15-17; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Corinthians 12-14
BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Jesus Christ is the head of the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ consisting of all the people in which the Holy Spirit dwells. Through the Church God will fulfill the great commission. The New Testament teaches us that the local church is to gather together for prayer, worship, teaching, and other expressions of the Christian life.
John 17:20-23; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Ephesians 4:11-16;Colossians 1:18
THE CHURCH
A sacrament is an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. We believe in two sacraments:
Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, believers are to be baptized by immersion in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 3:16; Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Acts 8:12, 8:36-38; Romans 6:1-4
The Lord’s Supper: A time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and wine, representing the body and blood of Christ are taken in remembrance of His sacrifice on the cross. This is a reminder of the covenant relationship we have with Jesus.
Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25
SACRAMENTS
All people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and know Him as Lord will inherit eternal life with God culminating in the New Heaven and New Earth. All those who have rejected the Lordship of Jesus Christ will be eternally separated from God in Hell culminating with the lake of fire which is the 2nd death.
Matthew 25:34,41; Hebrews 11:16; Revelation 20:12-15
ETERNAL LIFE
Jesus Christ will physically return to earth for the second time to judge the living and the dead, receive His Church, and complete human history in the plan of God.
