OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

This church has been founded upon and pledges to preach and teach the following doctrinal truths, believing them to be the expression of truth as found in the Word of God, and requires that each member subscribe to them without any reservation, to become and remain a member.

The Holy Scripture.

We believe the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God consisting of sixty-six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments. This verbally inspired Word of God is inerrant in the King James Version. It is the supreme authority and the final rule in life and faith (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21).

The Godhead.

We believe there is one living and true God externally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the same in substance, equal in power and glory (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 10:30; II Corinthians 13:14).

We reject, however, the modernist and liberal teaching that God is the Father of all, and that all are brothers. We believe that He is the Father only of those who are born again and brought into His household. Only those who have been redeemed through His blood, having forgiveness of sins, are our brothers (John 1:12; 3:3; 8:44; Ephesians 4:18).

The Person and Work of 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 (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14).

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; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7: 24-28; 9:24; I John 2: 1-2).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.

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 8-11; Ephesians 1:13-24; 4:30; I John 2:20).

We believe that He is the diving teacher who guides believers into all truth and all saved ones are exhorted to be filed with the Spirit (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18; I John 2:20).

We believe that He is the giver of Spiritual Gifts to the Church in order for the Church to be fruitful and carry out its ministry (Romans 12:6-8; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 4:8-11).

Total Depravity of Man.

We believe that man was created in the image and after the likeness of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also that spiritual death which causes separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature which is enmity against God and are utterly unable to remedy their lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22; 5:12; Ephesians 2: 1-3). However, we also believe that until a person reaches the "age of accountability" he will not be held accountable for his sins (II Samuel 12:23).

Salvation

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; that all who believe in him are justified on the ground of His shed blood and righteousness (John 1:12-13; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19).

We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us, as a High Priest, Advocate and the only Mediator between God and Man (Acts 1:21-22; 2:24, 29-32; 4:33; II Corinthians 15:15).

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.

We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God's Power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5).

We believe the saved should rejoice in a personal confidence of a present salvation which rests in the manifestation of the indwelling Christ and veracity of the Word of God (I John 5:11-13).

The Second Advent of Christ.

We believe in the "Blessed Hope," the personal, imminent (I Corinthians 1:7; I Thessalonians 1:10; Titus 2:13; Philemon 3:20), pre-tribulation (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:9; Revelation 3:10), and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones (Zechariah 14:1-11; Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 19:11-16), and in His subsequent return to earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:1-6).

The Natures of the Believer.

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that in this life all claims to the erad-ication of the old nature are unscriptural (Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 3:6-9).

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) Romans 12; 1-2; 14:13-14; II Corinthians 6:14; 7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:14-17; II John 9-11).

Missions.

We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word 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).

The Personality of Satan.

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the 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).

Sanctification.

We believe sanctification in two aspects: That God sanctifies, that He sets us apart, at the time of our personal acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior (John 1:12; I Corinthians 6:11), and we experience sanctification to the degree we yield to God, separate from sin and grow in wisdom, knowledge, experience, and grace (Psalms 119:11; Romans 12:1).

The Eternal State.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life; and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26).

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; II Corinthians 5:8; Philemon 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6).

We believe that the souls of the 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 (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).

The Church.

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 (I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:26-27).

The Ordinances.

There are two ordinances, divinely enjoined upon all Christians. Without merit in themselves, they provide an expression of faith, regarding the believer's identification and fellowship with Christ.

Baptism (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 8:12-13; 36-39; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15; 18:8; 19:5).

Lord's Supper (I Corinthians 11:23-32).

Dispensationalism.

We believe in the dispensational view of Bible interpretation (II Timothy 2:15).

Examples of the different dispensations which can be distinguished are but not limited to; Before the Fall, After the Fall, Before the Law, After the Law, Before the Cross, After the Cross, Before Christ Came, After Christ Came, and the Eternal State.

Note: Dispensationalism requires a LITERAL interpretation of Scripture forcing that it is adherent to accept all scripture as literal rather than spiritualizing as is common in those who hold the Reformed or Covenant theology position.