What We Believe

 

Statement of Faith and Doctrine

We affirm the Bible as the inspired Word of God and the basis of all our beliefs and practices. We also affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

God the Father

God the Father is the creator of heaven and earth, and functions as the head of the Trinity. He sent His Son to secure justification for man’s sin and proclaim the opportunity of reconciliation between God and man. The Holy Spirit was sent to reveal and impart truth. God is the fullness of all holiness and altogether righteous in all His ways. The Father is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
 
Genesis 1:1–2; Exodus 15:18; Numbers 6:24–27; Psalm 19:1; Psalm 145:17; Habakkuk 1:12; Matthew 3:16–17; Matthew 28:19; John 6:27–29; Acts 7:49; Act 17:29; Romans 1:18–23; Romans 5:9-11; I Corinthians 2:10–13; II Corinthians 5:18; II Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:4-6; James 1:13–17; I Peter 1:2–5, 15; I John 1:5
 

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, is eternal God, the Living Word, the King of kings, and Lord of lords who became flesh through His supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit and miraculous virgin birth. He is completely God and completely man in perfect union. He lived a sinless, perfect life and voluntarily atoned for mankind’s sin by dying on the cross as our substitute. He therefore, satisfied divine justice and became the author of salvation for all who repent of their sins and place their trust in Him alone for the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life. He arose from the dead in a physical, yet spiritually glorified body. He ascended bodily into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father where He ministers as the only mediator between God and man; He continually makes intercession for believers. We believe in the imminent return of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive His church and His subsequent personal, visible, bodily return to earth to consummate God’s eternal plan by establishing His worldwide kingdom.
 
Isaiah 9:6; Zechariah 14:4–11; Matthew 1:20–23; Matthew 3:2, 17; Matthew 16:16; Matthew 20:28; Matthew 26:61–64; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 1:31–33; Luke 2:11; John 1:1-4, 14, 18; John 8:58; John 10:30; John 20:20, 25–29; Acts 1:9–11; I Corinthians 15; II Corinthians 5:18–21; Philippians 2:5-9; Colossians 1:15–20; I Thessalonians 1:10; II Thessalonians 1:8; I Timothy 2:5–6; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 4:14–15; Hebrews 5:1–2, 9; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 10:1–14; Hebrews 13:8; I John 2:2; I John 3:8; Revelation 1:17–18; Revelation 17:14; Revelation 19:11–16
 

Holy Spirit

He is the third person of the Trinity. In His ministry, He reveals and glorifies Christ, convicts and draws sinners to Christ, applies the saving work of Christ to men in regeneration, imparts new life to them, continually dwells in them from the point of their spiritual birth and seals them until the day of redemption. He is the source and power of all acceptable worship, ministry, and service. He is the infallible teacher of God’s infallible Word. He seeks to fill us with Christ rather than ourselves or our own experiences.
 
Psalm 139:7; Isaiah 11:2; Zechariah 4:6; Matthew 1:18; Matthew 12:32; Luke 3:22; Luke 4:1, 18; Luke 11:13; John 14:16–17, 26; John 16:7–15; Acts 1:5, 8; Acts 4:31; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 3:10-18; Romans 8:2, 9-11, 15, 26-27; Romans 14:16-18; Romans 15:13; I Corinthians 2:10–14; I Corinthians 12:3, 13; II Corinthians 3:6; II Corinthians 4:3-4; II Corinthians 5:17; II Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 2:1–3; Ephesians 4:30; Ephesians 5:18; II Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; II Peter 1:21; I John 2:29; I John 5:6
 

Trinity

There is one true and living God revealed in Scripture, eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each possesses all the unique character and personal attributes reserved for the Godhead. They are one in being, essence, and power.
Genesis 1:26; Genesis 11:7; Isaiah 6:3, 8; Matthew 3:16–17; Matthew 28:19; John 14:16–18, 23; John 15:26; John 16:7–16; Romans 15:15–16, 30; I Corinthians 12:4–6; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:4–6; I Peter 1:2; Jude 20–21; I John 5:7; Revelation 1:4–6
 

The Bible

The Holy Scriptures are our ultimate authority and basis of our beliefs. God’s inerrant, infallible written Word is uniquely inspired and authored by the Holy Spirit. Its original autographs are without error. Its infallible nature has not been compromised by faithful translation in different languages. It can be read, studied, and followed with complete confidence by every tribe and tongue and people and nation. In all matters to which it speaks, it is the supreme and final authority. It is to be understood by all through the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
 
Deuteronomy 4:5, 14; Deuteronomy 6:1–9; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 12:6; Psalm 19:7, 10; Psalm 119:9–16, 97–106, 129–130, 140, 160; Proverbs 30:5–6; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; Matthew 7:24; Matthew 24:35; Luke 16:29, 31; John 1:1–4, 14; John 17:17; Romans 16:26; Acts 1:16; Romans 1:2; Romans 3:2; I Corinthians 2:13; Colossians 3:16; I Thessalonians 2:13; II Timothy 2:15; II Timothy 3:15–17; Hebrews 3:7; Hebrews 4:12; James 1:18, 21–23; I Peter 1:23; I Peter 4:11; II Peter 1:19–21; Revelation 22:18–19
 

The Church

The Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, which is His body. The Church is composed of all who have been joined to Him through saving faith. Each believer is baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit and becomes a member of the body of Christ based on their expression of faith. Each is charged by God to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, loving one another from a pure heart. The family of God is admonished to assemble together regularly for worship, for observance of ordinances, for mutual edification through the study of Scripture, and for mutual encouragement. The first and foremost command Christ has given to His Church is to love Him totally and supremely. Our primary goal in our instruction and service must therefore be to encourage and motivate others with this aim.
 
Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:47; Acts 9:31; Acts 11:26; Romans 3:23; Romans 12:1-5; I Corinthians 1:2; I Corinthians 12:12–13, 28; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 1:22–23; Ephesians 2:19–22; Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 4:1-3; Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 1:18; I Timothy 3:15; Philemon 1–2; Hebrews 2:12; Hebrews 10:23–25; I Peter 2:4–8
 

Man

God originally created man by His own direct action. Man sinned by rebelling against and disobeying God’s own instruction, died spiritually, and therefore, became alienated from his creator. This spiritual fall brought the entire human race under God’s condemnation. Man’s nature is fallen, totally corrupted, and therefore unable to please God or to save himself from this fallen condition and its eternal consequences. This requires the regeneration and renewal possible only by the Holy Spirit’s power. It is impossible for man to see or enter the Kingdom of God without first being born again.
 
Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3:3–13, 19–24; Isaiah 59:1–2; Isaiah 64:6; John 3:3-5; Romans 3:10–18, 23; I Corinthians 11:7; I Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1–3; Titus 3:5–6; James 3:9
 

Salvation

Salvation cannot be secured apart from a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through God’s Word. The salvation of man is totally a work of God’s free grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works, religious activities, or moral goodness. God imputes His righteousness to those who repent of their sins and place their faith in the completed work of Christ for their salvation. This is the only means by which man can be justified in God’s sight. Christ became the sinner’s substitute before God in dying as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Nothing can be added to the finished work of Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection on behalf of sinners.
 
Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17; Matthew 11:27; Matthew 18:3; Mark 1:4, 15; Mark 6:12; Luke 19:10; Luke 24:46–47; John 3:14–17; John 5:24; John 6:44, 47, 65; Acts 4:12; Acts 13:48; Romans 3:11, 24–26; Romans 5:1–2, 8; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:27–30, 33; Romans 10:9–10, 13; Romans 11:6; II Corinthians 5:19–21; Ephesians 1:4-14; Ephesians 2:8–9; Colossians 1:10, 13, 20–22; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 10:10-18; James 1:2–11; I Peter 1:23–25; I Peter 3:18; I John 5:10–13.
 

Baptism

Baptism is the voluntary, external testimony to the work which the Holy Spirit has already done in the heart of the believer as a result of placing one’s trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins. The mode of baptism is by immersion and is a confession of their faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior. The physical element of water in baptism does not save the sinner, but is their outward testimony of faith…to fulfill all righteousness.
 
Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:4–5, 10; Luke 3:21; John 3:22–23; Acts 2:38, 41; Acts 8:12, 36, 38; Acts 9:18; Acts 10:47–48; Acts 22:16; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 4:5; Colossians 2:12
 

Eternal Security

All who are born by the Spirit of God have the privilege of being assured of their salvation from the very moment they trust Christ as their Savior and Lord. Their assurance is the testimony of God through His written Word and not based upon any kind of human merit. The fullness, power, and control of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life are all appropriated by faith. Each believer is called to so live in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit that he will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, but instead, bear fruit which glorifies God. The Scriptures clearly identify the rules, principles, and instructions of the Christian life.
 
John 6:37–40; John 10:28–29; Romans 5:1, 21; Romans 6:23; Romans 7:24–25; Romans 8:1, 38-39; Ephesians 1:13–14; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 6; Hebrews 7:25; I Peter 1:3–5; I John 2:1.
 

Evangelism

No one comes to Christ unless God the Father draws him. Then the Holy Spirit alone is responsible to convict, convince, and convert the lost; yet, Christians are duty bound to boldly, lovingly confront all men with the truth of Christ’s Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit and trust Him with the results. The Gospel message should be flexible and spontaneous, and used in each person’s lifestyle as they reach out to the needs of others. Since each individual is uniquely different, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s prompting is vital. The Great Commission requires more than simply leading others to a saving knowledge of Christ. God’s goal of disciple making is to grow those genuinely saved, to Christ-like maturity. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded that all believers proclaim the gospel throughout the world, and disciple men of every nation as well. Obedience to the Great Commission deserves and requires that every temporal and personal ambition be subordinate to this total commitment to Christ and the extension of His kingdom throughout the world.
 
Matthew 4:19; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:16–20; Mark 1:17; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46–48; John 6:44, 65; Acts 1:8; Acts 20:20–21; II Corinthians 5:18–21; II Timothy 4:5; Jude 3
 

Satan

The openly declared enemy of God and man is a real created being who authored sin and initiated man’s spiritual fall. Today, he is devoted to undermining the eternal plan of God, leading the entire world by deception, and creating confusion and disharmony among the body of Christ. He shall suffer eternally in the lake of fire.
 
Genesis 3; Job 1:6–9, 12; Job 2:4–5; Isaiah 14:12–16; Ezekiel 28; Matthew 4:6, 10; Matthew 13:39; Matthew 25:41; Mark 4:15; Luke 10:18; Luke 11:18; Luke 13:16; Luke 22:3, 31; John 8:44; John 12:31; Acts 26:18; II Corinthians 2:11; II Corinthians 4:4; II Corinthians 11:14; Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 6:10–18; I Thessalonians 3:5; I Timothy 5:15; Hebrews 2:14; I Peter 5:8–9; I John 5:19; Revelation 12:9–17; Revelation 20:2–3, 7–8, 10

Creation

We believe in the Genesis account of creation and that it should be accepted literally and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God’s image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or developments through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animals and plant life were made directly, and God’s established law was that they should bring forth only “after their own kind.”
 
Genesis 1:1, 21, 26-27; Genesis 5:1-2; Psalm 139:13; Psalm 148:5; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Isaiah 40:28; Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 65:17-18; Romans 1:25; Colossians 1:16; I Timothy 4:4; Revelation 4:11
 

Marriage

We believe that marriage is a monogamous, heterosexual union instituted and ordained by God between one man and one woman, based on biblical principles. As such, it is to be an exclusive covenant union of one man and one woman for the purpose of a lifetime of mutual commitment and companionship. Therefore, this church will recognize and sanction as a legitimate marriage only those ceremonies that are compatible and consistent with these beliefs.
 
Genesis 2:19–24; Leviticus 18:20-23; Matthew 19:4–6; Romans 1:24–32; I Corinthians 6:9–11; Ephesians 5:22-33; I Timothy 1:9–10; Hebrews 13:4; Jude 1:7