We
Believe...
God
We
believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect,
and
eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons:
the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and
sovereign
power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for
Himself
and to make all things new for His own glory.
The
Bible
We
believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New
Testaments,
through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of
God, the
Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete
revelation of His
will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of
human
knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be
believed in all
that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all
that it
promises.
The
Human Condition
We
believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned
when
tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by
nature and by
choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s
saving work
in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus
Christ
We
believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man,
one Person
in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived
through the Holy Spirit and born
of the
virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius
Pilate, arose
bodily from the dead,
ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as
our High
Priest and Advocate.
The
Work of Christ
We
believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed
His blood
on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His
atoning
death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for
salvation.
The
Holy Spirit
We
believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord
Jesus
Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and
in Him
they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the
family of
God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers
believers for
Christ-like living and service.
The Church
We
believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by
God's
grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy
Spirit
in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is
manifest in
local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers.
The Lord
Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which
visibly and
tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of
salvation, when
celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and
nourish
the believer.
Christian
Living
We
believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His
sanctifying
power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others
sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another,
compassion
toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word,
the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to
combat the
spiritual forces of
evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples
among all
people, always bearing
witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ's
Return
We
believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord
Jesus
Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands
constant
expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly
living,
sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response
and Eternal Destiny
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel
by turning
to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe
that God
will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the
unbeliever to
condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to
eternal
blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth,
to the
praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
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