Beliefs

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of a 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; Philippians 2:5-8)

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; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)

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 ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2)

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; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)

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. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)

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, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)

We believe the Scriptures teach that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, through the shed blood and mediatorial offices of the Son of God. Who, according to the Will of the Father, assumed our nature, yet without sin; honored the Divine Law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full atonement for our sins. He, having risen from the dead, is now enthroned in Heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the most tender sympathies with divine perfection, is in every way qualified to be the only suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Saviour. (Ephesians 2:5; Matthew 18:11; I John 4:10; I Corinthians 3:5-7; Acts 15:11; John 3:16; John 1:1-14; Hebrews 4:14; Hebrews 12:24; Philippians 2:6, 7; Hebrews 2:9; Hebrews 2:14; II Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:4, 5; Hebrews 7:25; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 2:18.)

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is an instantaneous act and not a process; that it is the miraculous result of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. That in the new birth, the one dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God. The new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Ghost in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel. Its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life. (John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6, 7; Acts 16: 30-33; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13; John 3:8.)

We believe the Scriptures teach that repentance and faith are sacred duties and inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with confession and supplication for mercy; and at the same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and rely on Him alone as the only and all-sufficient Saviour. (Mark 1:15; Isaiah 55:7; Acts 11:18; Acts 20:21; Acts 2:37, 38; Romans 10:9, 10; Ephesians 2:8; Acts 3:19; Acts 5:31.)

We believe the Scriptures teach that the great Gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification. Justification is an act which includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness. It is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood. It is by virtue of this faith that His perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God, brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures us every other blessing needful for time and eternity. (John 1:16; Acts 13:39; Romans 8:1; Romans 5:9; Matthew 9:6; Acts 10:43; Romans 4:25; Romans 5:1, 2, 11; I Corinthians 1:30, 31; I Timothy 4:8.)

We believe that adoption is a gracious act, by which the Father, for the sake of Christ, accepts believers as members of the family of God. As members, believers are entitled to all the rights, privileges, and promises of children; and, if children, then heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, to the heritage of the saints on earth, and an inheritance reserved in heaven for them. (Romans 8:14-16; Galatians 3:26; Galatians 4:6-7; Ephesians 1:5; I John 3:1; Hebrews 12:7)

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)

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. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

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; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

We hold that the local church has the absolute right of Self-Government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)

We recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe that the only scriptural officers of the church are bishops or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Epistles of Timothy and Titus.

We believe that modernism, liberalism, “social gospel,” and any other gospel other than the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, are not of God, but are of antichrist; and that we as believers should have no fellowship with such unfruitful works of darkness, and that we are called upon to separate from all alliances, churches, groups, organizations, and individuals that sanction such doctrines. (II Corinthians 6:14-18; II Peter 2:1, 2; I John 2:22; Jude 4; II Thessalonians 3:6; II John 7-11; Ephesians 5:11; I Timothy 6:3-6; Revelation 18:4, 5; Acts 19:8-10; Romans 16: 17, 18; Galatians 1:8-10; Philippians 3:17-19; Matthew 7:15-20.)

We believe that all believers should walk in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Saviour and that separation from worldly pleasures and practices is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1, 2; Romans 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-17; I John 2:15-17.)

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men—the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)

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)

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. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)