OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

What we believe about…

God –We believe that there is one God and that He has eternally existed (Ex. 3:14; Ps. 90:2; 1 Tim. 6:16; Rev. 1:8) as three equal, distinct and united persons within the form of the Trinity (Gen. 1:26, 11: 7; Isa. 6:8; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14).

Trinity – We believe that the Trinity consists of the three persons, distinct and united. The Father (Gen. 1:1), Son (John 1:1, 14), and Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6) are all bound together with unity and yet they are all still diverse in their roles. They have eternally co-existed and are eternally equal. All three are equally God and there are no divisions because God is one (Deut. 6:4).

Father – The Father has eternally existed. He was clearly present at the creation of all things (Gen. 1:1). Jesus often spoke of and communicated with Him by prayer (John 5:17-18).

Jesus – Jesus, often referred to as the second person of the Trinity, is the Son of God. He is and has been eternally God (John 8:58; Col. 1:15-20). He is eternally equal with God the Father and the Holy Spirit (John 5:18). He is not a created being, but has been eternally present within the fellowship of the trinity (John 1:1, 14). He took on flesh (John 1:14) by means of being born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:30-35) and lived a perfect, sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). He died on a cross to make atonement for the sins of man, thereby bringing about the only means of salvation (1 Thess. 5:9; 2 Cor. 5:21; Acts 4:12). Three days after He was crucified, He rose again and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father (Mark 16:6; Luke 24:1-12; Matt. 26:64; Eph. 1:20) where He will remain until He returns to bring home His followers (John 14:3; Acts 1:10-11; Rev. 22:12).

Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit has always existed and is fully equal with God the Father and Jesus (Matt 28:19, John 3:5-7). The Holy Spirit gives life to the believer (John 6:63, Rom. 8:11). The Holy Spirit also convicts of “sin and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8-22) and leads the believer into holiness (Gal. 5:18).

Scripture – We believe that the Holy Bible, in its entirety, is the inspired and inerrant Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16] and they are all God breathed. Jesus attested to this in His teaching by often referencing the Scriptures as being authoritative in the lives of man (Matt. 22:29; Luke 24:27).

Sin – We believe that all of mankind is born inherently sinful and apart from the atoning blood of Christ is deserving of death and hell (Ps. 53:1-3; Rom. 3:23, 5:12-13, 6:23). This means that all of mankind is in need of Christ, the Savior.

The Gospel – The word “Gospel” simply means “good news”. We believe that the Gospel is the good news proclaiming the fact that those who are far off from God can be brought near to Him by the blood of Christ through the gift of salvation (Eph. 2:13, 1 Pt. 3:18).

Salvation – Salvation is a gift by grace from God that is only found in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:4-9). It is not based on our own merits; rather it is totally based on the atoning death of Jesus (Eph. 2:8-9; Col. 1:13-14). It is a gift of God that entails not having to bear His wrath and experience eternal separation from Him in Hell as well as being able to be with Him for all of eternity as one of His adopted children (Gal. 4:6-7). Salvation is also how we are forgiven of our sins, which are offensive to God (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 10:14). It is by the blood of Christ that we are redeemed from the clutches of sin and death and are made alive in Him (1 Cor. 15:22; Col. 2:13-14; Heb. 9:12-15). We are brought into a right relationship with God by the gracious gift of Salvation. Salvation is attained by a genuine repentance of sin and turning to Christ and putting faith in Him for the forgiveness of sin and a hope for the future (Acts 3:19; Rom. 10:9-11; 1 John 1:9). We also believe once a person receives the gift of salvation, he does not ever lose this gift; this is often referred to as eternal security. The believer is permanently given a right standing with God in Christ (Rom. 8:35-39; Heb. 10:14).

Atonement – Christ’s death on the cross was what theologians call a “penal substitution”. What this means is that there was a penalty to be paid for the sin of man (Rom 6:23) and Christ acted as the substitution for us, dying in our place (Heb. 9:26, 13:12; 1 John 4:10). Christ bore what we could not bear in order to give us what we could not gain!

Eternity – We believe that man was made with a soul and will continue to live after his body dies (Ps. 31:5; Luke 23:43; 1 Cor. 15:53). He will either spend eternity in heaven, in joyful fellowship with God (John 14:2-3; Rev. 21:3-7) or in hell for all of eternity enduring punishment for sin (Matt 10:28, 13:41-4; Luke 13:27-28; 2 Pt. 2:17). Both heaven and hell are not figurative, but rather are real places with real joy in heaven and real pain in hell.

Baptism – Baptism was commanded by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Matt 28: 19) and is also commanded in other parts of Scripture (Acts 2:38). We do not believe that baptism aids in a person’s salvation in terms of it having any redeeming power, meaning that a person does not have to have been baptized to be a follower of Jesus Christ, because salvation is only in Christ by His blood (Gal. 2:16, 3:2; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:20; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 1:5). We do practice baptism by immersion out of obedience to the Great Commission that Jesus gave to us in Matthew 28, but do not believe it to have saving powers; rather it is the outward act signifying the inner change that has happened within the life of the believer.

The Lord's Supper – The Lord's Supper, instituted by Jesus on the night of His betrayal (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20), is done in remembrance of our Lord, as per His command (1 Cor. 11:23-26). This is a special occasion reserved for the remembrance of all that our Lord has accomplished for us. It does not have any power to save, because salvation is only in Christ by His blood (Eph. 1:7).

The Church – The Church is the body and bride of Christ, which He bought at the price of His own blood (Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:23; Col. 1:18). We believe that all believers are part of the universal Church (the entire body of Christ) and are called to be actively involved in a local church (Prov. 27:17; Matt. 18:17; 1 Cor. 1:2, 11:18). Life, for the believer, is to be done together with those in the church. We believe that lifting up fellow believers in prayer and holding each other accountable are both crucial functions of the church (Jas. 5:16). We also believe, based on The Great Commission that Jesus gave to us, and the life that He lived, that we are to reach out to the lost around us (Matt. 28:19).