THE SCRIPTURE (The Bible)
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We believe that the Bible is the divinely inspired written Word of God. Human authors, carried along and directed by the Holy Spirit, produced God’s perfectly intended Word to mankind. God has given us His Word as a gift of special revelation whereby Christians, aided by the Holy Spirit, are to understand it and follow its teachings and apply them to their daily lives.
The canon of Scripture consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and is infallible and without error in the original manuscripts. Scripture is wholly and objectively true and trustworthy in all it affirms and teaches. It is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and conduct. It is the standard by which all claims of truth, righteousness, and goodness are measured. In those matters not directly addressed by the Scriptures, what is true, what is right, and what is good are measured and judged by the principles and teachings of Scripture, rightly interpreted. ​
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TRINITY
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We believe that there is but one living and true God eternally existing in three coequal and consubstantial Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; each is fully divine in all attributes, eternal, uncreated, and distinct, but without division of nature, essence, or being; each fully and equally deserving worship, obedience, and glory.​
GOD THE FATHER
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We believe in God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, who is the creator of all things. He is sovereign, good, and reigns with providential care over all creation. He is holy, eternal, all-knowing, all-wise, all-powerful, and self-existent, yet personal and merciful in His dealings with mankind. As a gracious Father He saves and adopts as sons and daughters those who come to Him through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.
GOD THE SON
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We believe in Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity who is eternal God and who possesses all the divine perfections and attributes. He is God’s only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. In Him, two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the divine and the human, were joined together in one person. He is therefore fully God and fully man, yet one Christ. He is the one and only mediator between God and man. Apart from Him no one will be saved. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, His bodily resurrection and ascension, and His future, visible return to earth.
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GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
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We believe in The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity who is fully God, also possessing all the divine perfections and attributes of God. The Holy Spirit is not merely a force or a power but a distinct divine person who thinks, wills, speaks, directs, and can be grieved and resisted. He is the sovereign One who regenerates and renews the souls of people, baptizing them into the body of Christ. He indwells every believer in Christ and guides, teaches, leads, gifts, empowers, sanctifies, and conforms them to the image of Christ.
MAN AND SALVATION
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We believe that man was created by God in His own image establishing mankind as unique in all of creation. Through one man, Adam, sin entered the world and corrupted all of humanity. All human beings are thus born with a sinful nature and are sinners by nature and by choice, Jesus Christ being the one exception.
As sinners, man incurs the penalty, or wages, of sin, which is death, both physical and spiritual, and is under the wrath of God. In his sinful state man is condemned and lost and, in his own power apart from God’s grace, is unable to be reconciled or redeemed.
But God, being merciful and full of grace, made a way of salvation through the perfect life and atoning sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Salvation is wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross and not based on any merit or works of man.
We believe that all who repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ, trusting Him alone for their salvation will be saved. They have been made a new creation, called from darkness into His marvelous light, and will inherit the joy and blessings of eternal life. ​
FAMILY, MARRIAGE, AND SEX
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We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of people related to one another by blood, marriage, or the gift of adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant relationship for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, as both are created in God's image.
A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to protect, provide for, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
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Children, from the moment of conception, are fellow image-bearers of God and a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to model Christlikeness in their marriage as an example for their children to follow. They are to teach them the Scriptures and all of its principles, raising them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Children are to honor and obey their parents in the Lord. We believe that mankind was created by God as either male or female, distinct sexes that are biologically defined and divinely imparted to each individual at conception. Attempting to confuse the two sexes is an abomination to God.
THE CHURCH
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We believe that all who are saved by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ are baptized, by the Holy Spirit, into one spiritual body called the church. The church is the body of Christ, and the Bride of Christ, with Christ as its Head and supreme authority. The church exists to serve and glorify Jesus Christ, to represent Him on the earth, and to advance the gospel and the Kingdom of God. The church gathers regularly in local assemblies to learn and teach the Word of God, worship together, practice the ordinances established for the church, enjoy fellowship, and exercise spiritual gifts building one another up in love.
All believers are given spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus Christ and to build up His church. There are various gifts listed in the New Testament that are distributed as the Holy Spirit wills. Though the gifts are available to all, God has reserved the role of elder (overseer, shepherd, pastor) for men alone. ​
BAPTISM AND LORD’S SUPPER
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We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has established two ordinances for the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an act of faith and obedience to Christ, symbolizing the death of the believer to sin, and his resurrection to new life in Christ.
We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration and proclamation of His death. It should be always preceded by careful and sober self-examination to avoid taking it in an unworthy manner. In the Lord’s Supper, the elements represent the body and blood of Christ, but in the consumption of those elements, the believer comes into real communion with the risen Christ who dwells in all believers and is present with them. These two ordinances should be observed and administered by the church until Christ returns. ​
THE LAST THINGS
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We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom for eternity. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; of the righteous in Christ to eternal life, and of the wicked unbeliever to eternal death and suffering. God will bring about this day in His own time according to His perfect will. No one knows the day or hour but The Father.
