Doctrine of God

We believe in and teach one triune God, eternally existing in three Persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. The attributes of God include, but are not limited to, His holiness, sovereignty, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and immutability. Each person of the Godhead executes distinct but complementary offices in the great work of redemption.

(Exodus 15:11; Deut. 6:4; Psalm 99:5; Matt. 3:16-17, 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-8, 5:27, 6:27, Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:10, 8:4-6; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6; Col. 1:17; Hebrews 1:1-3; James 2:19; Rev. 1:4-6)

Doctrine of Jesus Christ

We believe and teach that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became fully man, without ceasing to be fully 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. He lived a totally sinless and perfect life and thus became God’s perfect sacrifice for man’s sin. Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His substitutionary death on the cross; all who believe in Him are justified solely on the basis of His shed blood, and given assurance by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ then 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.

(Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; Acts 1:9-10; Romans 3:24-25, 8:34; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:15, 2:5; Hebrews 2:9, 7:25, 9:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24; 1 John 2:1-2)

Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, equal with the Father and Son and of the same nature. He was active in creation, and in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled. Also, He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment and bears witness to the truth. In addition, He is the supernatural agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption, as well as teaching, sanctifying, comforting and bestowing spiritual gift(s) upon each believer.

(John 16:8-13; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

Doctrine of Salvation

We believe and teach that the salvation of sinners is the gift of God brought to man by His grace and received by personal faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. A person must by faith receive and trust the Person and provision of Jesus Christ alone and repent of their sin in order to be saved. This is the instantaneous act of being born again by the Holy Spirit. Intellectual agreement to the facts of the gospel alone is insufficient. An understanding of the truth must be mixed with a volitional decision to fully and unconditionally trust Jesus for one’s salvation with the faith which God gives to the repentant sinner. Because of the depravity of man, salvation is wholly of God. Upon man being regenerated by God, he possesses two natures: the new, righteous nature of God and the old, sinful nature of Adam. These two natures are in constant conflict within every believer. As the believer yields to the leading of the Holy Spirit, he is controlled by the new nature. However, as long as man lives, the old, sinful nature will always be present.

(Isaiah 64:6; John 1:12, 3:5, 18; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 23)

Doctrine of Eternal Security

We believe and teach that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever; it is impossible for a truly born-again person to ever lose his salvation. 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 abuse of this truth as an occasion to live in sin.

(John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:13; 1 Peter 1:5)

Doctrine of the Church

We believe and teach that the Church, as an organism, is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, consisting of all born-again persons. The Church was formed on the day of Pentecost and is distinct from the nation of Israel. In addition to the Church universal (also called the body of Christ), Jesus ordained the local church as a New Testament institution unknown to the Old Testament prophets. Every Christian should be an active member of a local, Bible-centered church, which is a congregation of baptized believers who together observe the ordinances of Christ, exercise their spiritual gift(s), grow in the Word, worship God, have fellowship with other believers, and help promote evangelism in the world.

(1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27)

We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, that Jesus Christ is the Head and His Word the governing principal.

(Acts 2:41-42, I Cor. 11:2, Eph. 1:22, Eph. 4:11, Acts 20:17-28, I Tim. 3:1-7, Col. 1:18, Eph. 5:23-24)

Doctrine of Church Ordinances

We believe and teach that there are two ordinances that are symbolical, not sacramental, which Christians are commanded to observe: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Christian baptism by immersion, which we practice, is the solemn and beautiful testimony of a born-again believer showing his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It symbolically pictures the essential facts in redemption: the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe and teach that it gives public testimony to what has taken place in the heart of the believer: death to sin and resurrection to walk in newness of life. Although baptism has no saving merit, we believe and teach that it is an act of obedience following salvation and a prerequisite for local church membership.

We believe and teach the Lord’s Supper is also a symbolical ordinance which pictures Christ’s perfect, sinless body and His shed blood for our redemption. It is thus a commemoration of the Lord’s death to be observed until He comes for His Church. The Lord’s Supper is to be taken only by believers and should be received only after careful self-examination.

(Matt. 3:16, 28:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 8:16, 19:5; Rom. 6:3-4; 1 Cor. 11:23-34)