STATEMENT OF FAITH:
(A) The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and
plenarily inspired Word of God. We accept the Textus Receptus manuscript as the
foundational material from which we derive the King James A.V. 1611. We believe
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
Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures
shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.
The King James (A.V. 1611) shall be the official and only English translation
used by the Church. Translations into other languages, used by the Church, shall
be derived from the Textus Receptus. (Psalms 5:6-7, 119:89, Mark 13:31, II
Timothy 3:15-17, I Peter 1:24-25, II Peter 1:20-21)
(B) The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit, each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power
and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4,
Matthew 28:19, John 10:30, 13:13, 14:10 & 26, II Corinthians 13:14, I John
5:7)
(C) The Person and Work of 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. (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6, Luke 1:35, John 1:1-2 & 14, II Corinthians
5:19-21, Galatians 4:4-5, Phil. 2:5-8)
(2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His
death on the cross, the shedding of His blood, and His High Priestly work of
delivering His own blood to the mercy seat in the Heavenly tabernacle not made
with hands, as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that
our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the
dead. (Acts 1:11, 2:18-36, Romans 3:24-25, Ephesians 1:7, I Peter 2:24)
(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, Romans 8:34, Hebrews
7:25, 8:1-6, 9:1-28, I 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 judgement; 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 16:7-11, Romans 8:9, I
Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30)
(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. (Joel 2:28, John 16:13, I Corinthians
2:9-14, II Corinthians 3:6, Ephesians 1:17-18, 5:18, I John 2:20 & 27)
(3) We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every
believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip
believers in the assembly, in order that they can do the work of the ministry.
(Romans 12:3-8, I Corinthians 12:4-11, Ephesians 4:7-16)
(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; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to
remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27, Psalms 14:1-3, Romans 3:22-23,
5:12, 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:17-19)
(F) Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received
by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on
Calvary for the forgiveness of sins. (John 1:12, Romans 5:1-2, 6:23, Ephesians
1:7, 2:8-10, I Peter 1:18-19, I John 2:2)
(G) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
(1) We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are
thus secure in Christ forever, sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of
redemption. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30, Romans 8:1 & 38-39, I Corinthians
1:4-8, Ephesians 4:30, I Peter 1:4&5)
(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. (John 5:24,
Romans 6:1-4, 13:13-14, Galatians 5:13, Titus 2:11-15)
(H) The Church
(1) We believe that the local church, is solely made up of born-again persons. (Acts
2:41-47, 5:14, 11:19-26)
(2) We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly
taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Matthew 10:2,5, &
following, Acts 14:27, 20:17 & 28-32, I Timothy 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 5:29, 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28, I Corinthians 3:9, Ephesians
5:23, Colossians 1:18, I Peter 5:1-4)
(4) We recognize water baptism, by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, using strictly
unfermented juice, as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the Church.
(Habakkuk 2:15, Matthew 1:9-10, &17, 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-42, I Corinthians 11:23-26)
(I) Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach
upon their Saviour and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy,
all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of
God. (Romans 12:1-2, 14:13, II Corinthians 6:14-7:1, II Timothy 3:1-5,
I John 2:15-17, II John 9-11)
(J) The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that "blessed hope," the personal, imminent return of
Christ, Who will rapture all the saved, 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 . (Psalms 89:3-4, Daniel 2:31-45, Zechariah
14:4-11, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Titus 2:13, Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20;1-6)
(K) The Eternal state
(1) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and
the unsaved to judgement and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46, John
5:28-29, 11:25-26, Revelation 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, II Corinthians 5-8, Philippians 1:23, 3:21, I
Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 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 Judgement, and shall be
cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting
conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46, Luke 16:19-26, II
Thessalonians 1:7-9, Jude 6-7, Revelation 20:11-15)
(L) Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, 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, Isaiah 14:12-17, Matthew
4:2-11, 25-41, Revelation 20:10)
(M) Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject
evolution, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories
of origin. (Genesis 1-2, Exodus 20:11)
(N) 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. (Romans 13:1-7,
Ephesians 5:22-24, Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 2:13-14)
(0) Human Sexuality
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should be
engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a 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. (Genesis
2:24, 19:5-13, 26:8-9, Leviticus 18, Romans 1-26-32, I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9, I
Thessalonians 4:1-8, Hebrews 13:4)
(P) Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a
living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of
unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of
pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or
population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job
3:16, Psalms 51:5, 139:14-16, Isaiah 44:24, 49:1 & 5, Jeremiah 1:5,
20:15-18, Luke 1:44)
(Q) Missions
We believe that God has given the Church a Great Commission to proclaim the Gospel
to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation,
tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As
ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to foreign nations
and not wait for them to come to us. (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15, Luke
24:46-48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:20)
(R) Lawsuits Between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against
other Christians or the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the
Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes
between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation
for injuries from another Christian's insurance company as long as the claim
is pursued without malice or slander. (I Corinthians 6:1-8, Ephesians 4:31-32)
(S) Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, is
obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has
established the tithe, and offerings, as a basis for giving, but every Christian
should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of
the Church, the spreading of the gospel, and the relief of those in need. We
believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe
or offering once it has been given. (Genesis 28:17-22, Exodus 23:18-19, Proverbs
3:9-10, Ezekiel 44:30, Matthew 23:23, I Corinthians 16:2, II Corinthians 9:6-7,
I John 3:17)
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