What We Believe
WHAT WE BELIEVE
GOD - God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. There is one and only one God. He has eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and one God. God is all-powerful, all-knowing and He is omnipresent. (Genesis 1:1,26,27, 3:22; Exodus 3:14; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3; Romans 8:14-15; Colossians 1:15)
MAN - Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. Man was created by God and is not an accidental product of blind chance. He is the supreme object of God’s creation. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. This attitude separates man from God. (Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6, 59:1-2; Romans 3:10-18, 23; Ephesians 2:1-2)
ETERNITY - Man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell and it is a real place of punishment. To be eternally in union with God is eternal life and heaven is a real place where His followers will spend eternity with Him. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
Matthew 25:31-46; John 2:25, 3:16, 14:2-3; Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:11-13; Revelation 20:11-15
JESUS CHRIST - Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and His humanity was real. He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life. Then He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on the cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lords of Lords. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:5, 14:10-30; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13)
SALVATION - Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one turns from their sins and receives Jesus Christ as their personal Lord, Savior and Master into their life by faith. (John 1:12, 3:16, 14:6; Romans 3:10, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-13; Galatians 3:26; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:18)
ETERNAL SECURITY - Because God gives man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in the salvation for eternity. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. (John 5:24, 10:28; Romans 8:37-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 5:11-13)
HOLY SPIRIT - The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. The Holy Spirit is a person and not an it. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christ follower from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christ follower with power for living, understanding for spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. The full-time Christ follower is to seek to live under His control daily. (Matthew 1:18; John 16:8-10; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18)
THE BIBLE - The Bible is God’s Word to all men. It was written by human authors, under supernatural guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. It is the authoritative, infallible word of God that has no mixture of error. The Bible has God for its author and salvation for its end. (Psalm 119:11, 105; Proverbs 30:5; Isaiah 40:8; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12;
2 Peter 1:20-21)
THE CHURCH - A New Testament church is a body of baptized believers. The church is an autonomous body where each member is equally responsible. The church is a theocracy in which Christ is the head of the church. It is Jesus’ church because He shed His blood for it on the cross. The Lord gifts leaders to lead and administer the church. The pastoral leaders lead out by example. Then, they equip and train the members to do the work of the ministry in the church according to the purpose and vision of the church. Each person that is a member of the church is to strive to live a life of a full-time follower of Jesus Christ. They are to use their spiritual gifts and talents to edify the Body of Christ. We believe the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure. The church exists to glorify God by loving Him and making Him known to this world who does not know Him. (Nehemiah 1&2; Matthew 16:17-20; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:11-13; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3, 1 Peter 5)
