What We Believe
Matthew 16:15-16 - "He [Jesus] said to them, 'But who do you say that I
am?'
Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God.'"
Before we get into all the details of what we believe, we have a question for you: Who do you say Jesus is? What or Whom we choose to put our faith and trust in is the most important decision we can make in this life. We believe how you answer this question is of eternal significance.
This is what we believe:
- The Holy Scriptures, comprised of Old and New Testaments, are fully and
verbally inspired by God and are therefore infallible in the original writings
and completely trustworthy in all areas in which they speak. Their central
salvation message and essential teachings are clear and accessible to all who
follow the standard and self-evident rules of literary interpretation. They
are therefore the supreme, unmediated, and final authority of faith and
practice for every believer.
- There is only one eternal, almighty and perfect God. Within the Being of
this one true God exist three eternally distinct and coequal Persons: the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three Persons are the one true
God.
- Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity,
who took upon Himself human flesh through the miraculous conception by the
Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary. He who is true God became true
man, uniting two natures in one person forever. Christ lived a perfect,
sinless life, died on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins, rose
bodily from the dead, and ascended into Heaven where He now serves as our High
Priest, our only Mediator. He will return bodily and visibly to the earth as
King of kings and will judge every human being who has ever lived.
- The Holy Spirit is the eternal Third Person of the Triune God, the
Regenerator and Sanctifier of the redeemed, the Bestower of spiritual fruit
and gifts, and the abiding Advocate who empowers believers for godly living
and service.
- In Adam human beings were created in the image of God (i.e., they share in
a finite way the communicable attributes of God, including personality,
spirituality, rationality, and morality). Through the fall of Adam that image
of God in humanity has been defiled, although not eradicated. Every human
being is radically corrupt and estranged from God. Human beings are condemned
by God because of their descent into sin, both through their relationship to
Adam and through individual choice. The desperate need of humanity is
forgiveness of sins and consequent restoration of fellowship with God; yet
humans remain totally unable to atone for and restore themselves.
- Jesus' death on the cross provided a penal substitutiary atonement for the
sins of humanity. In salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by His
unmerited grace alone, through faith alone, on account of Christ alone.
- Those who have received the free gift of salvation will be raised from the
dead or raptured (snatched up from their earthly lives) to meet Christ at His
Second Coming, and their bodies will be transformed like unto His glorious,
immortal body. They will live forever in the fellowship and Kingdom of God in
a new heaven and a new earth. Eternal, conscious punishment apart from the
fellowship and Kingdom of God (hell) is the ultimate destiny of unredeemed
humanity, Satan, and his entire angelic host.
- The Christian church, which is the body and bride of Christ, is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Corporately and individually, its members strive to worship, serve, and glorify God through prayer and raise, diligent study and application of the Scriptures, evangelism, sanctified living, good works, and observance of the rites of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The ultimate mission of the church is the discipleship of all nations - not only the saving of souls (which is primary) but also the bringing of the gospel to bear on every aspect of life and thought - until the Lord returns.