What We Believe
The Scriptures
We believe that "all Scripture is given by inspiration of God"
by which we understand that God providentially worked through the
personalities of men by special revelation, dictation, dreams, wise
thinking and documents without error in the words of the original
autographs to record His authoritative revelation. This revelation
extends equally and fully to all parts of the writings-historical,
poetical, doctrinal and prophetical. (2 Timothy 3:16 & 17; 2
Peter 1:20 & 21)
The Godhead
We believe that God is a tri-unity. God is one in essence
and three in substance by which we mean that God, being one divine
essence, has three eternal distinctions which are three equally
divine persons-God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy
Spirit-having precisely the same nature, attributes, perfections,
and worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience.
(Genesis 1:26; Luke 3:21 & 22)
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the God-Man-completely God and
completely man-conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin
Mary. We believe in His bodily crucifixion and resurrection
and ascension into heaven as the High Priest and Advocate for all
believers. (Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 7:14-17)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit as one of the divine persons of
the Trinity. He has worked in the Old Testament by giving
life, giving order, giving adornment, preserving, selectively
indwelling men, enabling men for service, restraining sin and in
revelation and inspiration. He worked in Christ's life and He
presently works by convicting of sin, imparting eternal life,
indwelling all Christians, baptizing (or identifying) all
Christians into the Body of Christ- the universal church-sealing
all believers at the time of conversion as a guarantee of their
inheritance, giving all believers at least one God-given ability
for service, filling all believers to enable them to live
righteously and by teaching-guiding-answering and helping all
believers pray. In the future He will work by saving and
filling men, being upon the King and being in God's people. (2
Thessalonians 2:13; 1 John 4:13-15)
Man
We believe that man was originally created in the image of God
and that he fell through sin becoming subject to Satan and
death-both physical and spiritual (which is separation from
God). We also believe that this spiritual death, or total
depravity of the human nature, has been transmitted to the entire
human race of man (Christ Jesus alone being excepted), and hence
that all are guilty of sin by nature and are unchangeable apart
from divine grace. (Genesis 5:1-3; Romans 1:28)
Salvation
We believe, due to the universal death of man through sin, that
no one can enter the kingdom of God through his own efforts-no
degree of reformation, attainments in morality, culture, baptism or
any other ordinance however administered, can help the sinner to
take even one step toward heaven.
We believe that all men must trust in Jesus Christ as the One
who paid for their sin, dying as a substitute on the cross.
We believe that trusting in Christ and no other act, such as
confession, baptism, prayer or faithful service should be the
condition for salvation, and that eternal life is available to all
who believe in Christ.
We believe that when an unregenerate person trusts in Christ as
his one provision for sin, He saves immediately out of spiritual
death into spiritual life, and from the old creation to the
new. He is justified from all things, accepted before the
Father just as Christ is, loved as Christ is loved and his place
and portion with Christ forever. Although there may be room
for growth, upon belief he is in possession of every spiritual
blessing and absolutely complete in Christ and not required to seek
a so-called "second blessing" or "second work of grace." (Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8 & 9; 10:9; 10 &13)
Sanctification
We believe that sanctification, which is a setting-apart unto
God, is three-fold. It is already complete for every saved
person because his position toward God is the same as Christ's
position. Since the believer is in Christ, he is set apart
unto God in the measure in which Christ is set apart unto
God. We believe, however, that he retains his sin nature,
which cannot be eradicated in his life. Therefore, while the
standing of the Christian in Christ is perfect, his present state
is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There
is, therefore, a progressive sanctification wherein the Christian
is to "grow in grace," and to "be changed" by the unhindered power
of the Spirit. We believe, also, that the child of God will
yet be fully sanctified in his state as he is now sanctified in his
standing in Christ when he shall see his Lord and shall be "like
Him." (1 John 1:5 through 2:6; 1 John 3:2 & 3)
Eternal Security
We believe that, because of the eternal purpose of God toward
the objects of His love, because of His freedom to exercise grace
toward the meritless on the ground of the propitiatory blood of
Christ, because of the very nature of the divine gift of eternal
life, because of the present and unending intercession and advocacy
of Christ in heaven, because of the immutability of the
unchangeable covenants of God, because of the regenerating, abiding
presence of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all who are saved, we
and all true believers everywhere, once saved shall be kept saved
forever. We believe, however, that God is a holy and
righteous Father and that, since He cannot overlook the sin of His
children, He will, when they persistently sin, chasten them and
correct them in infinite love; but having undertaken to save them
and keep them forever, apart from all human merit, He, who cannot
fail, will in the end present every one of them faultless before
the presence of His glory and conformed to the image of His Son.
(John 10:28; 1 John 5:13)
Angels: Fallen and Unfallen
We believe that God created an innumerable company of sinless,
spiritual beings, known as angels; that one, "Lucifer, son of the
morning"-the highest in rank-sinned through pride, thereby becoming
Satan; that a great company of the angels followed him in his moral
fall, some of whom became demons and are active as his agents and
associates in the prosecution of his unholy purposes, while others
who fell are "reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
the judgment of the great day."
We believe that Satan is the originator of sin, and that, under
the permission of God, he, through subtlety, led our first parents
into transgression, thereby accomplishing their moral fall and
subjecting them and their posterity to his own power; that he is
the enemy of God and the people of God opposing and exalting
himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped; and
that he who in the beginning said, "I will be like the Most High,"
in his warfare appears as an angel of light, even counterfeiting
the works of God by fostering religious movements and systems of
doctrine, which systems in every case are characterized by a denial
of the efficacy of the blood of Christ and of salvation by grace
alone.
We believe that Satan was judged at the Cross, though not then
executed, and that he, a usurper, now rules as the "god of this
world;" that, at the second coming of Christ, Satan will be bound
and cast into the abyss for a thousand years, and after the
thousand years he will be loosed for a little season and then "cast
into the lake of fire and brimstone," where he "shall be tormented
day and night for ever and ever."
We believe that a great company of angels kept their holy estate
and are before the throne of God, from whence they are sent forth
as ministering spirits to minister for them who will be heirs of
salvation.
We believe that man was made lower than the angels; and that, in
His incarnation, Christ took for a little time this lower place
that He might lift the believer to His own sphere above the angels.
(Hebrews 1:14; 2 Peter 2:4)
The Church
We believe in the Church both universal and local. We
believe that its mission is to represent Christ with the Gospel for
salvation of the lost and sanctification of the saved. We
believe that all its endeavors should be supported by the free will
offerings of those who are committed to its
ministries. (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 16:2)
Ordinances
We believe that water baptism and the Lord's Supper are the only
ordinances of the church. We believe they are to be followed
as examples and reminders of spiritual truth which has already
occurred in a believer's life. (Matthew 28:19 & 20; 1
Corinthians 11:23-26)
Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust,
the everlasting enjoyment of God and life of the saved, which
demand heaven and hell. (1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Revelation
20:11-15)
The Future
We believe in the "blessed hope" or the pretribulational return
of the Lord in the air to receive to Himself the Church-both those
alive and asleep-into heaven. We believe that the translation
of the church will be followed by the Tribulation (or Israel's
seventieth week)- a time of judgment on the whole earth for seven
years. We believe that the period of great tribulation upon
the earth will be followed by a premillennial physical return of
the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to reign for one thousand
years. We believe that after Satan is loosed at the end of
the millennium and stirs up a rebellion that he and all of the
wicked will be judged and thrown into the lake of fire to suffer
forever. We believe that God will then consummate the eternal
state by creation of a literal new heaven and earth where all of
those who are saved will enjoy Him and life forever. (1
Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:4-7; Titus 2:13; Revelation 20-22)