1. The Bible – We believe the Bible, from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, to be the inspired word of God and accept the same as the only infallible guide and rule of our faith and practice (Matthew 24:35, Psalm 119:89, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Peter 1:19-21).
2. God – We believe in the eternal omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and immutable triune God; maker of heaven and earth, and all that in them is; and in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, equal in every divine perfection and attribute, executing distinct, but harmonious offices, in the great work of redemption (1 John 5:7, 2 Corinthians 13:14, Genesis 1:26, 1 Timothy 1:17).
a. God the Father – (Isaiah 43:10, Isaiah 44:8, John 3:16).
b. God the Son – Coexistent and coeternal with the Father, who, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary took upon himself the form of man: and by His becoming obedient unto death, bearing the curse of sin, sickness and sorrow, redeemed us back to God. He arose the third day and ascended unto heaven, where He sits on the right hand of God, the Father, where He lives make intercession for us (John 1:1-3, Matthew 1:23, 1 Timothy 2:5, Ephesians 2:18, Philippians 2:6-11).
c. God the Holy Spirit – The third person of the Godhead, coexistent and equal with the Father. Sent by the Father, through the Son, to reprove the world of sin and prepare the bride of Christ (John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:8).
3. The Fall of Man – (Genesis 1:27, Romans 5:12, Romans 5:19, Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23).
4. The Plan of Redemption – We believe that Christ was the Lamb of God, foreordained from the foundation of the world, and by the shedding of His blood on the cross, made provision for salvation for ALL men (1 Peter 1:19-20, Isaiah 53:5, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 7:25).
5. The New Birth – We believe that because of man’s total inability to save himself, salvation is by God’s grace alone; is received through sincere godly repentance, and a wholehearted acceptance of Jesus Christ as his personal Savior; through being born again, he becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new (John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 2:20, 1 Peter 2:24).
6. Daily Christian Life – We believe that having been cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and quickened by the Spirit, it is God’s will that we should be sanctified daily, and be made partakers of His holiness; walking not after the flesh but after the Spirit; forsaking the very appearance of evil, such as worldly dress, worldly amusements, worldly conversation, worldly habits, etc. (Romans 8:1, Romans 8:5, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 7:1, 1 Peter 1:15, 1 Thessalonians 5:22).
7. Marriage and Divorce – Knowing that marriage was instituted by God, as one man and one woman; sanctioned by the Lord Jesus Christ, and was commended of Saint Paul to be honorable among all men, we believe that a Christian man or woman should not marry an unsaved person. Having been united by God in holy matrimony, neither person, as long as both shall live, shall be free to remarry, “Except it be for fornication” (Matthew 19:9, 2 Corinthians 6:15, Matthew 19:5-6, Luke 16:18, Hebrews 13:4).
a. The Bible tells us that man and woman were created by God as distinct acts of creation, and that being male and female was an aspect of how they were created in His own image (Genesis 1:27, 2:7, 18-19). Marriage is the joining of these distinct Genders into one flesh. Thus marriage is between one man and one woman. Further, the Bible teaches that while sex within marriage is pure and honorable, sex outside marriage is sinful and will be judged by God (Hebrews 13:4). The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” protects the sexual relationship between a man and woman who are united in marriage by forbidding marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, and the use of pornography (Exodus 20:14).
b. Outside Biblical marriage, God’s standard for sex is celibacy, saying “no” to both heterosexual and homosexual lusts (Matthew 5:27-30). Celibacy is a gift of God that allows the unmarried to live a life of purity and contentment, so that a person does not have to engage in sex to have a full and satisfying life (1 Corinthians 7:7-9).
c. Homosexual behavior is sinful and unnatural (Romans 1:24-28). Like other sexual temptations to sin, homosexual lust is highly addictive and difficult to stop. Although God’s grace is sufficient to forgive and cleanse from all sin, that does not guarantee that a “forgiven and cleansed” homosexual will develop heterosexual feelings. Still, he or she may live a celibate life (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
d. Marriage has three essential characteristics.
i. God instituted marriage as a natural common grace available to all people, at all times, in all places. It is available not only to Christians, but to all people (Genesis 2:24).
ii. Biblical marriage is a lifelong covenant or sacrament between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-6). Biblical marriage promotes the bearing and rearing of children and exercise of stewardship over creation (Genesis 2:27-28). The essence of a Christian wedding is the Divine blessing of the bride and groom as they exchange vows while God receives the worship of the congregation as they witness those vows and as they offer Him prayer and praise.
iii. Marriage is also a legal or civil status licensed by government. Throughout history, governments have given marriage special civil status to protect the orderly bearing and rearing of the next generation of citizens.
8. Water Baptism – We believe that water baptism by immersion, in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost, is commanded by God; that it is subsequent to conversion, that it is not a saving ordinance, but an outward sign of an inward work (Matthew 28:19, Romans 6:4, Acts 2:38).
9. The Lord’s Supper – We believe in the commemoration of the Lord’s Supper as a type of the broken body and shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as an ordinance showing forth the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord, and a looking forward to the marriage supper o f the Lamb. We believe that all Christian believers regardless of church affiliation, may partake of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-28, 2 Corinthians 13:5, Luke 22:7-22).
10. Spirit-Filled Life – We believe that having received the initial filling, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the believer should experience a continual renewing of the power from on high; that the Holy Spirit is as a gentle dove, easily grieved and wounded by coldness, prayerlessness, idle conversation, worldliness, and a judging and criticizing spirit; therefore, it is the will of God that we walk and abide in the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18, Acts 4:31, ephesians 4:30-32, 1 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:16-25, 1 John 2:6).
11. Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit – We believe that for the edification of the saints and the upbuilding of the church of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit has the following gifts to bestow upon the individual believer: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, and diverse kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues, dividing to every man severally as He will; that they should be coveted earnestly by all spiritual believers and exercised in the spirit of love. We believe that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law. These should be cultivated in the life of every believer (1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 1 Corinthians 12:31, Galatians 5:22-23, John 15:4, John 15:8).
12. Moderation – We believe that our moderation should be known to all men. The Christian should be sober, well balanced, and seasoned with love. His zeal should be governed by godly wisdom (Philippians 4:5, Ephesians 4:14-15, 1 Corinthians 13:5, Colossians 3:12-13).
13. Divine Healing – We believe that divine healing is the power of God to heal the sick and afflicted in answer to believing prayer, and is provided for the atonement. We believe that God is willing to, and does, heal the sick today (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:16-17, James 5:14-16, Acts 3:16).
14. Resurrection – We believe in the literal bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. In His resurrection He became the firstfruits of the resurrection of the righteous (Matthew 28:1-7, 1 Corinthians 15:1-20).
15. Second Coming of Christ
a. Rapture – We believe that the second coming of Christ is personal, imminent and pre-millennial; that the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then the redeemed which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they ever be with the Lord; that we should, therefore, be ready, for in such an hour as we think not, the Son of Man will come (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Titus 2:12-13, Matthew 24:36, Matthew 24:44, Acts 1:11).
b. Revelation – We believe that the coming of Jesus Christ with His saints will end the great tribulation, and establish the millennial kingdom on earth, when Christ shall rule and reign as King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 1:7, Zechariah 14:4, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
16. Church Relationship – We believe that every born again child of God should identify himself with the visible church of Jesus Christ, and should labor diligently, and contribute his temporal means toward the spreading of the gospel here on earth. We believe that all the tithes should be given into the storehouse of the Lord, which is the local church (Hebrews 10:24-25, Psalm 111:1, Acts 2:47, Acts 16:5, Romans 12:5, Malachi 3:8-10, 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
17. Civil Government – We believe that government is ordained of God, and all Christians should be subject to the laws of the land, except those contrary to the revealed will of God. We pledge allegiance and moral and spiritual support to the United States of America. In times of war the individual’s participation in actual combat and taking of life shall be governed by his own conscience (Romans 13:1-7, Acts 5:29, Matthew 5:39-48, Hebrews 12:14).
18. Final Judgment – We believe in the final judgment of the wicked at the great white throne, when the dead, both small and great, shall be resurrected to stand before God to receive the reward of their deeds done in the flesh (Matthew 13:41-43, Revelation 20:11-15).
19. Hell – We believe hell is a literal place of outer darkness, bitter sorrow, remorse, and woe, prepared by God for the devil and his angels and that there, into a lake that burns with fire and brimstone, shall be cast the unbelieving, the abominable, the murderers, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, and those who have rejected the love of Jesus Christ, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life (Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:14-15, Revelation 21:7-8, Revelation 14:10-11, Matthew 25:41, Mark 9:43-44).
20. Heaven – We believe that heaven is the habitation of the living God, where Christ has gone to prepare a place for all His children, where they shall dwell eternally in happiness and security with Him (1 Corinthians 2:9, John 14:2, Revelation 21:4, Revelation 22:5, Revelation 7:15-17).
21. Evangelism – We believe that as long as conditions indicate that the coming of Jesus Christ draws near, we, His redeemed children, should put forth our utmost efforts to the promulgation of the gospel to every kindred, tribe, and tongue; that soul winning is the chief mission of the church upon the earth, and that therefore every hindrance and hairsplitting doctrine, which would tend to quench or dampen the flame of worldwide evangelism, should be cut off and cast away as falling short of the church’s great commission (2 Timothy 4:1-2, Ephesians 5:16, Proverbs 11:30, Ezekiel 3:17-18, John 4:35-37).
22. Missions – We believe that the great commission of our Lord Jesus Christ to carry the gospel message to the entire world is literal, imperative, and binding today; and that it is the supreme privilege and duty of the church of Jesus Christ to stress the cause of worldwide missions. Furthermore, we believe that the very life and strength of the home church depends on its wholehearted sacrifice for, and support of, the world missions program (Matthew 9:38, Mark 16:15, Revelation 5:9, Romans 10:13-15, James 5:20, Psalm 2:8).