STATEMENT OF FAITH
The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
(A) The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New
Testament to be the verbally, and plenarily, inspired and preserved Word of God.
We believe that God has supernaturally preserved His Word, both the Old and
New Testaments, in the Masoretic Text and the Received Text respectively. The
Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore, are the final
authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament
are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be
interpreted according to their original grammatical-historical meaning. We
believe the King James Version of the Bible to be an accurate English translation
of the preserved texts, and therefore shall be the official and only translation used
by the church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
(B) The Godhead. We believe in one God who is eternally existent and reveals
Himself in three persons – the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost (1 John 5:7);
(Romans 1:20). We believe God to be the creator and sustainer of all things,
visible and invisible. We believe the universe and all that is therein to be held
together by the word of his power. (Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17;
Hebrews 1:3; 11:3)
(C) Jesus Christ.
1. 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 men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-
21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption
through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious,
substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made sure by His
literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25;
1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
3. 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 1:9-10; Heb.
9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)
(D) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
1. 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 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1
Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to
understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and
duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John
2:20, 27
(E) The Total Depravity of Man. We believe that man was created in the image and
likeness of God; but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful
nature, and became alienated from God. Man is totally depraved and, of himself,
utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12;
6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
(F) Salvation. We believe salvation is available to all men by grace through faith in
the finished work of Christ, apart from human work or merit of any kind.
(Romans 3:21-23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-13; Acts
16:31; Titus 3:5).
(G) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
1. We believe the saved child of God is eternally secure in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and is sealed, indwelt, comforted, and directed by the Holy Spirit
until the day of redemption (Ecclesiastes 3:14; John 5:24; 16:13;
Ephesians 1:12-14; 4:30; Romans 8:14-16
2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of
their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however,
clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
(H) The Church
1. We believe that local churches are physical manifestations of the building,
body and bride of Christ, and as such, are to be composed solely of bornagain
believers. (Jn. 3:3-8; Acts 2:38-41, 47; 5:14; 1 Cor. 12:12-18; 2 Cor.
11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22 5:25-27; I1 Peter 2:4-7)
2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is
clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27;
20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external
authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor.
3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)
(I) Ordinances. We believe the ordinances of the local church to be two. Baptism is
an act of obedience that is both a picture of our Lord’s resurrection and a public
testimony made by an individual who has been born again (Matthew 3:13-17;
Acts 8:37; Romans 6:1-6). The Lord’s supper is a commemoration of Christ’s
death that provides an opportunity for born again believers to both show the
Lord’s and make remembrance of Him (John 6:47-63; 1 Corinthians 10:16-21;
11:20-31
(J) Separation. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to
bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate
from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and
associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances,
piercing, and bodily markings. (Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-
5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11; Lev. 19:28; 1 Cor. 6:19-20)
(K) The Second Advent of Christ. We believe in that blessed hope, the personal,
imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year
tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and
visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which
was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; I
Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(L) The Eternal State.
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life,
and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46;
John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)
2. 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; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess.
4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious
punishment and torment 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 and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark
9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
(M) The Personality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel, the author of
sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; 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; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
(N) Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, consecutive, 24-
hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and
Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
(O) Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority
consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state.
Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities
themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given
each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those
responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe
upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in
their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Rom.
13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)
(P) Human Sexuality.
1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be
engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We
believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality,
incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of
God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any
attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen.
19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1
Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
2. We believe that the only Scripturally legitimate marriage is the joining of
one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-
23)
(Q) Family Relationships
1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before
God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for
men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the
leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of
the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and
ordination by the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution
of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the
church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her
husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an
heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children
spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle
example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal
correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov.
19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; I Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4,
Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; I Pet. 3:1-7)
(R) Divorce and Remarriage. We believe that God disapproves of divorce and
intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced and
remarried persons or divorced persons may hold places of service in the church
and be greatly used of God in their Christian service, they may not be considered
for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1
Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole
and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing
Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is
binding upon all members. All literature used in the church shall be in complete
agreement with the Statement of Faith.
