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Statement of Faith

1. The Nature of the Bible as the Inspired and Authoritative Word of God:

We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is inspired by God, in the sense that “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” so that the words of the Bible are verbally inspired.  This divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts: historical, poetical, doctrinal, and prophetical.  The Bible is therefore inerrant in the original manuscripts.  These manuscripts were transmitted to our present day with high and unique accuracy and reliability to form the Bible (which is the complete written Word of God) with final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

2. The Nature of God as a Triune God

We believe in God the creator and sustainer of the universe whose eternal power and divine nature are evident in creation, and whose common grace extends to all His creatures.  We believe in one God existing eternally in three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity).  These three are equal in essence, possess the same nature, attributes, and perfections, are worthy of the same worship, confidence, and obedience, and are distinct in the Persons.  So, the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and they are one God.  We also believe that God’s attributes are eternally an expression of the perfection and immutability of His nature.  He therefore can be fully trusted and known in a personal way.

3. Jesus Christ, Fully God and Fully Human

We believe God the Son is eternal and is the image of the invisible God. We believe that, in accordance with the purposes of God and as declared in the Scriptures, the eternal Word of God, God the Son, the Second Person of the holy Trinity, through Whom the world was created, came into the world to reveal God to men, to fulfill prophecy, and to become the Redeemer of the lost human race.  As a result of the unique miracle involving His conception by the Holy Spirit and birth of a virgin, He took on a human body. We believe that Christ was fully man and fully God so that His deity was not lessened by His humanity, nor His humanity by His deity. As the unique God-man, He had a nature that was absolutely holy, unable to sin.

4. The Spiritual Lostness of All Humanity and Need for Regeneration

We believe that the original couple, Adam and Eve, were originally created in the image of God as perfect creatures appointed to rule over the earth.  But they subsequently fell into sin, and therefore lost the spiritual life they initially enjoyed, becoming dead in trespasses and sins, separated from God, and subject to the power of the devil.  Though God’s image in man was defaced, it was not obliterated.  So, we believe that, from the divine perspective, sin has affected every aspect of man’s nature.  This spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race, the Man Christ Jesus alone being excepted.  Thus, every person born in this world is alienated from God and incapable of remedying his lost and depraved condition apart from divine grace. The supreme need of all human beings is to be reconciled to God, and this has been made possible through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

5. The Substitutionary Atoning Death and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ

We believe that in order to be the Redeemer of lost sinners, Jesus (the eternal Son of God) was born of the virgin and received a human body and a sinless human nature. We believe that by His incarnation He voluntarily accepted His Father’s will by emptying Himself and taking the form of a slave in order to take away the sin of the world, bearing the divine and holy judgments against sin by death on the cross.  His death was therefore substitutionary, the just for the unjust, and by His death He became the Savior of the lost.   

We believe that, according to the Scriptures, He rose from the dead in the same body in which He had lived and died, but in a glorified body, which is the pattern of the body that ultimately will be given to all believers.  By His resurrection, He conquered sin and death along with Satan and the powers of evil.  We believe that Christ ascended to the Father’s right hand and became the head of His body the church, and in this ministry He continues to intercede for the saved. By His resurrection and ascension, God the Father was affirming that He had successfully atoned for the sins of all mankind.

6. Salvation by Grace Alone, Through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone

We believe that, owing to universal death through sin, no human being can ever hope to have eternal life and enter heaven based on his own righteousness, the doing of good works, or religious endeavors. To enter the kingdom of God, one must be born again. In this, a new nature is imparted from God, and a new life is implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word. This is absolutely essential to salvation, and only those thus saved are children of God. The Bible clearly teaches that such a salvation is only possible through Jesus Christ, and there is no other way to God other than through Christ.

We believe that the privilege of entering the kingdom of God and obtaining eternal life through the new birth is available to every person who places his faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning death.  We believe that salvation is only by grace through faith, apart from works or personal merit.  No degree of personal efforts, attainments in morality, or submission to rules, regulations, or religious ordinances could achieve this salvation.  This salvation is freely bestowed on all who put their trust in the redemption that has been accomplished solely by Christ’s shed blood on the cross.  On this basis, all who trust in Christ alone by virtue of His death on the cross for them pass from death unto life, are forgiven of their sins, and become God’s children by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.  It is thus the privilege of all who have the Son to have assurance of their salvation from the moment of placing their faith in Christ and experiencing of the new birth.

7. The Christian’s Relation to the Holy Spirit and Sanctification

We believe that each believer receives the Holy Spirit and is baptized into the body of Christ at the moment of the new birth.  At that time, the believer experiences the eternal forgiveness of all sin and receives the righteousness of Christ as a gift, making him fully accepted and at peace with God. Nevertheless, the believer still struggles with habit patterns and vestiges from his former sin nature, which cannot be eradicated in this life. Hence, the believer is called to pursue a life of sanctification, whereby he progressively dies to self and is conformed to the image of Christ. For this, the believer is to draw upon the enabling power of the Holy Spirit and submit himself to the Lordship of Christ as he “feeds” on the Word of God and responds to God in faith and obedience.

We believe that each believer should be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit.  This filling does not automatically happen for the believer but is available to all who yield themselves to the Lord and to His Word.  As a result of doing so, the believer’s fellowship with the Lord is strengthened, so that he is fortified to live in harmony with others and is empowered for service.

8. The Church and the Christian’s Calling to Glorify God

We believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are members of the church universal, which is the body and bride of Christ, which began at Pentecost. We affirm that every believer is responsible to participate in a local, visible church, and that this is vital to a believer growing in Christ.

The purpose in life of every born-again Christian is to glorify God by submitting to the lordship of Christ, growing in the grace and knowledge of God, worshiping Him alongside other believers in Christ, serving others in love, and helping to further the Great Commission.

9. The Blessed Hope of Christ’s Return and Kingdom Realization

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return again to earth, and that His coming is “the blessed hope” for which Christians are to expectantly wait. At the culmination of the Great Tribulation—the time of the righteous judgment of God on the whole earth—the Lord Jesus will come triumphantly in power and with great glory, His return being both bodily and visible.  After the defeat of Satan's agents in the world, the Lord Jesus will be given "dominion, glory, and a kingdom.”  Thus, the Lord Jesus will usher in the predicted time of universal peace and righteousness.  As a result, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ. Yet those who have failed to trust Christ as their Savior will face the judgment of God, eternally separated from Him and consigned to a place of torment which the Bible describes as the “lake of fire.”