What We Believe

The Bible.

The Bible was written by men inspired by God and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. It is true and trustworthy. All scripture points to Jesus Christ. Scripture speaks with the authority of God and reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of the human author. (2 Tim 3:14-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21)

God the Father

We believe that the eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. To God, we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. (Deut 6:4, Matt 6:9, John 4:24, 5:26)

God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature (in addition to his God-nature) with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, truly God, truly man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord. (John 1:1-18 Mark 1:1)

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy people of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables people to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts mankind of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls people to the Savior and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer to the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. (Matt 28:19, Acts 1:8, 1 Cor 6:11-20, 12:13, Eph 3:16)

Salvation

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense, salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.  Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerated person's life.  Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

Baptism

Christian baptism is the ordinance whereby a believer is immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior (Matt 28:18-23, Rom 6:4-5); the believer's death to sin; the burial of the old life; and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a public testimony to a believer’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead.

Communion

We believe participation in the ordinance of Communion is in keeping with the commands of Christ. We believe it is a time of remembering (1 Cor 11:23-26), a time of self-examination (1 Cor 11:28), and a unifying factor in the local expression of the church. During this time of self-examination, we are to focus on confession (1 John 1:8-10), recommitment (Rom 12:1), and restoration (Matt 5:23-24). Participation in communion is for believers (membership is not a prerequisite).