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Doctrine

God We believe in the Trinity; that God exists as three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit, equal in divinity, and united as one God. (Deut. 6:4; Is. 46:9; Ps. 110:1; Matt. 3:16; John 14:26; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 13:14 ; Eph. 4:6; Col. 2:9). We believe that God created the universe from nothing by means of his Word (Gen. 1; Ps. 33:9; Heb. 11:3). He is therefore completely sovereign, exercising his right to rule over his creation (Is. 14: 23-27; Dan. 4:34-35). Jesus Christ We believe that Jesus Christ is the uncreated and distinct second person of the triune God. He existed in eternity past with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and with them created the universe. (John 1:1; Col. 1:16) He died on the cross as a sacrifice to provide a substitute for the sins of his people. (Gal. 3:13; 1 Tim 2:5-6; Heb. 10:10). The Holy Spirit We believe that The Holy Spirit is the uncreated and distinct third person of the triune God. He existed in eternity past with the Father and the Son, and with them created the universe. (Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Heb. 9:14) He is not an impersonal force, but a personal being (Eph 4:30).

Humanity and Sin We believe that God made humans in His own image on the sixth day of creation. Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God (Gen. 1:26,31; 2:16 -17; 3:6; 5:1), and as a result every human inherits a corrupt sinful nature and guilt before God (Psalm 51:5; Rom. 5:12 ; Eph. 2:3).

Salvation We believe that since all humans are sinful and God alone is holy, there is no hope of salvation unless God initiates (Eph. 2:3-5; 1 John 4:9-10). The sole condition of salvation is belief alone in Jesus Christ (John 3:16). The term belief includes the ideas of both faith and repentance. Faith should be understood as trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of one's sins, and repentance should be understood as a commitment to follow Him (Luke 24:46-47; Acts 19:4; 20:21; 2 Cor. 7:9-10; Eph 2:8-9; 2 Pet. 3:9; Heb. 6:6). Repentance is not to be understood as adding works as a condition of salvation (Eph. 2:8-10). The believer is secure in his eternal state and can never lose it (John 6:37,44; 10:27 -37; Rom 8:38 -39; Eph. 1:13 -14).

Sanctification We believe that the process of sanctification begins necessarily and immediately at one's conversion (1 Cor. 1:2; 6:11; Col. 2:6) through the ongoing and continuous ministry of the Holy Spirit as he permanently indwells every believer (John 14:16 -17).

Scripture We believe that all Scripture is inspired by God. (II Timothy 3:16) Inspiration is the process by which God breathed out the Scriptures through human authors as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). Inspiration is verbal; it extends to the very letters and words of Scripture (Luke 16:17). It is also plenary; it extends to the entirety of Scriptures. Scripture is inerrant, meaning that it will be found to be wholly true in all that it states (II Timothy 3:16).

The Church We believe that the Universal Church , referred to in Scripture as the Body of Christ, consists of all believers in Jesus Christ. The head of this body is Jesus Christ, ruling the Church from the right hand of the Father (Eph. 1:18 -23; Col. 3:15). God has called the local church to celebrate two ordinances: Baptism of new believers and the Lord's Supper (Matt. 28:18-20; 1 Cor. 11:23 -26). God has ordained that the local church be governed by a plurality of men who hold the office of elder (Acts 14:23 ; Titus 1:5; 1 Tim 5:17).

The Last Things We believe that Jesus Christ will some day physically return to earth (Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 Thess. 4:16; Rev 19:11) and that this return is imminent (1 Thess. 5:1-4). This promise of his appearing should unite all believers, comfort us and motivate us to holy living (1 Thess. 4:18).