What We Believe

 

The Bible

 

We believe that the Old & New Testaments are the inspired words of God, our final authority, absolutely trustworthy, without error & God breathed.

 

(2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. )

(2 Peter 1:20, “knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from

someone’s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of

man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.)

 

 

God

 

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This one true and living God is perfect both in his love and in his holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy to receive all glory and adoration. Immortal and eternal, he perfectly and exhaustively knows the end from the beginning, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things, and providentially brings about his eternal good purposes to redeem a people for himself and restore his fallen creation.

 

(Deuteronomy 6:4; 2, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”)

(2 Corinthians 13:14, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the

fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.)

 

 

Jesus Christ

 

We believe that 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 in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead.

(John 1:1-2,14, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the

Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And the Word became flesh and

dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father,

full of grace and truth.”)

(Luke 1:35, “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and

the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will

be called holy–the Son of God.”)

(Romans 3:24, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is

in Christ Jesus”)

(1 Peter 2:24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to

sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”)

(Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our

trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”)

(1 Peter 1:3-5, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to

his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable,

undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being

guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”)

(Acts 1:9-10, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was

lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into

heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes”)

(Hebrews 7:25, “Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw

near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”)

(Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which

are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of

God on our behalf.”)

(Romans 8:34, “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than

that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for

us.”)

(1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not

sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the

righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the

sins of the whole world.”)

(1 Peter 4:5, “but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and

the dead.”)

(Romans 14:9, “For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord

both of the dead and of the living.”)

(2 Timothy 4:1, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to

judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom”)

 

 

The Holy Spirit

 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of

righteousness, and of judgment; 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, “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and

righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;

concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.)

(2 Corinthians 3:6, “who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant,

not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.)

(1 Corinthians 12:12-14, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all

the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one

Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free–and all were

made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of

many.)

(Romans 8:9, “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit

of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong

to him.)

(Ephesians 5:18, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be

filled with the Spirit.”)

 

 

 

 

Man

 

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through

Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God;

man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

 

(Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.

And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens

and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps

on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created

him; male and female he created them.”)

(Romans 3:22-23, “The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who

believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of

God.”)

(Ephesians 2:1-3, 12, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you

once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of

the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience–among whom we all

once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the

mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Remember that

you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of

Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in

the world.)

 

 

Salvation

 

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by

personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for

the forgiveness of our sins

 

(Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not

your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God

prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.)

(John 1:12, “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the

right to become children of God.”)

(Ephesians 1:7, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our

trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.)

(1 Peter 1:18-19, “knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited

from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the

precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”)

 

 

Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual gifts. It is, however, the believer’s responsibility to attempt to develop their sovereignly given spiritual gifts. We believe that God does hear and answer the prayer of faith, in accordance with His own will, for the sick and afflicted. We believe that it is the privilege and  responsibility of every believer to minister according to the gifts and grace of God that is given to him

 

(1 Corinthians 12:7-13, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the

common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to

another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,

to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to

another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to

distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the

interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who

apportions to each one individually as he wills. For just as the body is one and has

many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is

with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks,

slaves or free–and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”)

(Ephesians 4:7-8, “But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of

Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

and he gave gifts to men.”)

(John 15:7, “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish,

and it will be done for you.”)

(1 John 5:14-15, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask

anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in

whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”)

(Romans 12:1-8, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to

present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your

spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the

renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is

good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone

among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think

with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the

same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually

members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us,

let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the

one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one

who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of

mercy, with cheerfulness.”)

(1 Peter 4:10-11, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good

stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God;

whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies–in order that in

everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and

dominion forever and ever. Amen.”)

 

 

The Church

We believe that the church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons. We recognize believer’s baptism and the Lord’s supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church.

(Ephesians 1:22-23, “And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over

all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”)

(Ephesians 5:25-27, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave

himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of

water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendour,

without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without

blemish.”)

 

 

(1 Corinthians 12:12-14, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all

the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–Jews or Greeks, slaves or free

and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one

member but of many.”)

(Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them

in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end

of the age.”)

(Acts 2:41-42, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added

that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles’

teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”)

(1 Corinthians 11:23, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that

the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given

thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in

remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying,

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in

remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you

proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”)