Doctrine
GOD
We believe in one eternal, omnipresent, unchanging, personal God; perfect in holiness, wisdom, love, power, and justice without preceding cause or beginning; creator and preserver of all things, visible and invisible.
He
exists as one divine being and yet as a trinity of three distinct persons,
identical, inseparable, and equal in divinity, power and eternity: God the Father, God the Son and God the
Holy Spirit.
God
revealed Himself in the past in many and various ways, though supremely in the
person of Jesus Christ. He
continues to reveal Himself today through His creation, the Holy Scriptures,
and the workings of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of people.
JESUS CHRIST
We
believe that Jesus Christ, the Word who was with God and was God, is the only
begotten Son of God. He was
conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and is the express
image of the invisible God. He
combines within Himself both the divine nature of God and human nature in one
perfect indivisible personality, the God-man.
He lived and suffered in the world to show the Way of Life. He was crucified and died as the atonement for the sin of the whole world, making the only provision whereby people can find forgiveness of sins and cleansing from all unrighteousness.
He
died in our place and raised the third day for our justification. He ascended into heaven and sits at the
right hand of God, ever living as our only mediator and High priest making
intercession for us, and from there will return again to receive His Church
unto Himself and to judge the world in righteousness.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the Holy Spirit, not as an impersonal principle or influence, but as a divine person, and though distinct from the Father and Son, proceeding from both, with whom He is equal in authority, power, glory and titles.
He is the divine agent in conviction of sin, regeneration, sanctification, and the believer's assurance.
He
is given as an indwelling Presence to every believer to be a teacher, guide,
and source of comfort. He purifies
the heart of the believer and imparts at His own choosing spiritual gifts for
service and the building up of the body of Christ. He produces in believers the fruit of the Spirit so that
they may conform to the image of Christ.
HOLY SCRIPTURE
We believe that all Scripture, both of the Old and New Testaments, is given by inspiration of God, without error in all that it affirms, and is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. It is fully authoritative and trustworthy, fully sufficient for all believers now and always, and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.
Thus,
the declarations contained in it rest on the authority of God Himself, and
there can be no appeal from them to any other authority whatever. They are the only divinely authorized
record of the doctrines which are to regulate our behavior. Only such doctrines as are contained in
the Scripture can be regarded as Articles of Faith. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Scripture, must ever be
its true interpreter. Whatever any
person says or does which is contrary to the Scripture, though under profession
of the guidance of the Spirit, must be reckoned and accounted a delusion.
HUMANITY
The Creation: We believe that by a definite act God created man and woman in His own image, holy and capable of knowing and obeying God's will, in order to glorify God and enjoy His fellowship forever.
The Fall: We believe that Adam and Eve fell from this original state by a voluntary act of disobedience, thus suffering the immediate loss of a perfect relationship with God and making self the center of their lives. By this act, they suffered spiritual death, and sin entered the world and death by sin, so that death passed upon all.
We further believe that as a consequence of the Fall, all people are born with a nature which is thoroughly sinful and not subject to the law of God, so that only through the operation of the grace of God can they repent and call upon Him. However, by God's grace infants are not under condemnation but are heirs of salvation.
SALVATION
We believe that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the direct and immediate agency of the Holy Spirit, persons may be reconciled to God and recovered from their fallen state through justification, regeneration, sanctification, and ultimately the resurrection of the body.
Justification: In response to sinners' repentance, surrender of themselves, and sincere faith in the power and sufficiency of Jesus' atoning death and shed blood, God pardons them from past sins and declares them righteous, not for anything they have done but because of the obedience and atoning death of Christ.
Regeneration: In response to sinners' repentance, surrender of themselves, and sincere faith in the power and sufficiency of Jesus' atoning death and shed blood, God also by His gracious power makes them new creatures. By the Holy spirit they are born again into the family of God to a new life of love to God and to people. Their minds are enlightened to understand His truth, and their wills are renewed to do His will, as He begins to conform them to His image. The evidence of this regeneration of the believer is the fruit of the Spirit.
Sanctification: We believe that children of God at the
moment of their conversion do receive the Holy Spirit. As they trust in Him and obey His will,
they manifest more and more of the fruit of the Spirit, conform more and more
to the likeness of God, and thus are being continuously sanctified.
THE CHURCH
We believe that the church is made up of all those from the apostles until now, both the triumphant dead and the living, who through response to God's gracious offer of salvation by repentance of their sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior have been born again as new creatures in Christ. This church is spiritual in nature, universal in scope, holy in character, and redemptive in its life and purpose.
Its purposes are to make disciples of all nations by its witness to the grace and love of God and to live as a loving fellowship who build up one another in the grace and knowledge of God.