Luke 1:1 – “…A Declaration of Those Things Which are Most Surely Believed Among Us.”
1. The Holy Scriptures: We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed. (II Timothy 3:16–17; II Peter 1:16, 21)
2. The Godhead: We believe in the 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. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16, 17; 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I John 5:7)
3. The Person and Work of Christ:
a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and that He lived a holy and sinless life on earth. (Luke 1:26–35; John 1:1–2, 14; I Timothy 3:16)
b. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through 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. (Romans 3:24–25; 4:25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3–5)
c. We believe that 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; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1–2)
4. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit:
a. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling, and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8–11; I Corinthians 6:19; 12:13; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13–14; John 3:5–6)
b. We believe that He 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. (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18)
5. The Total Depravity of Man: We believe that 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; and that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26–27; Romans 1:18–32; 3:9–23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1–3)
6. Salvation: We believe that salvation is by grace, is wholly without works, and is received by repentance toward God and personal, appropriating faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8–10; Acts 17:30; 20:21; John 1:12; Romans 10:2, 10; I Peter 1:18–19)
7. Sanctification: We believe that Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of His holiness; that it is a progressive growth in grace; that it is begun in regeneration, and carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit; applying the Word of God and the ministry gifts of the church; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature on this life are unscriptural. (I Thessalonians 3:12–13; 4:3; 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12–14; 2:13; Ephesians 4:11–15; 5:25, 27; John 17:17)
8. Separation: We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded by God. (II Timothy 3:1–5; Romans 12:1–2; 14:13; I John 2:15–17; II John 9, 11; II Corinthians 6:14; 7:1)
9. Missions: We believe that it is the privilege and 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. (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:19–20)
10. The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts:
a. We believe that God is Sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. (I Corinthians 12:4–11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7–12)
b. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accord with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. (John 15:7; I John 5:14–15; James 5:14–15)
11. The Church:
a. We believe that the Church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism, made up of all born again persons of this present age. (Ephesians 3:1–12; 1:22–23; 5:25–27; I Corinthians 12:12–14; II Corinthians 11:2)
b. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28–32; I Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–11)
c. We believe that baptism is an ordinance of Jesus Christ appointed in the Church; that it is the immersion of a believer in water in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a symbol of our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and that none but those capable of and having exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior are proper subjects. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:37–39; John 3:23; Romans 6:3–5; Colossians 2:12)
d. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ appointed to the Church whereby the emblems of bread and wine are taken to commemorate the broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, and that all believers should be invited to partake of the communion at any celebration of the Lord’s Supper. (I Corinthians 11:23–29)
12. The Personality of Satan: We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and cause of the fall; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6–7; Isaiah 14:12–17; Matthew 4:2–11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
13. The Second Advent of Christ: We believe in that “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pre-tribulation, and pre-millenial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to the earth, with His saints, to establish His Millenial Kingdom. (I Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1:10; 5:9; Zechariah 14:4–11; Revelation 3:10; 5:10; 19:11–16; 20:1–6)
14. The Eternal State:
a. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (John 5:28–29; 11:25–26; Revelation 20:5–6, 12–13)
b. We believe that 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. (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4–6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16–17)
c. We believe that 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 shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19–26; II Thessalonians 1:7–9; Jude 6, 7; Mark 9:43–48; Revelation 20:11–15)