Section 1:  The Bible

We believe that the Bible is God's written revelation to man; that God guided His chosen writers to inertly write the words that He wanted to communicate in the original manuscripts of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament (II Peter 1:20,21); that both every word of Scripture is inspired by God--"verbal inspiration" (Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 4:4; I Corinthians 2:13), and that, as a whole and in every part, the Bible is inspired by God--"plenary inspiration" (II Timothy 3:16).  We believe that the Scriptures are absolutely trustworthy, harmonize without contradiction, and are without error regarding doctrinal, moral, practical, scientific or historical teaching (Psalm 119:140,160; John 10:35; John 17:17).  We believe that the illumination of the Scriptures is given to man by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:6-16), but that no Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation (II Peter 1:20).

We believe that the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament comprise the completed Canon of Scripture.  They are the only absolute authority for Christian faith and practical Christian living and are timelessly relevant to all people of all ages (Proverbs 30:6; Revelation 22:18-19).

Section 2:  God

We believe in the Triune nature of God (Genesis 1:26; John 1:1):  that there is only one God eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (John 6:27; I Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 2:20-22).  Each person in the Godhead is equal in being and power, different in their respective function, and equally deserving of worship and obedience.

A.  The Father

We believe that God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the Heavenly Father of all who have come to a saving knowledge of His only begotten Son (John 1:14; 20:17; Romans 4:11; I Peter 1:3-5); that He is a Spirit (John 4:24) and the supreme Sovereign over all creation (I Chronicles 29:11-12); that He is fundamentally holy (Leviticus 20:7; I Peter 1:16), loving (I John 4:7-10), and just (Genesis 18:25; Deuteronomy 32:4); that He is immortal, invisible (I Timothy 1:17; 6:16), infinite (I Kings 8:27; Isaiah 66:1), eternal (Psalm 90:2; Romans 1:20), unchanging (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17), transcendent (Acts 17:24-25, 29), and immanent (Acts 17:27-28) in essence; that He is omniscient (Psalm 139:2-04; Isaiah 46:9-10), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10; Hebrews 4:13), and omnipotent (Daniel 4:34, 35, 37; Ephesians 1:11) in power.

B.  The Son, Jesus Christ

We believe in the eternal pre-existence of Jesus Christ as the second person of the Godhead (John 1:1,14; Colossians 1:15-17); that without any change in His divine Person He became fully man by miracle of the virgin birth (Matthew 1:25; Philippians 2:6-8); that He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), was crucified, died, was buried, and rose bodily from the dead the third day (I Corinthians 15:3-4); that He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:9; Hebrews 9:24); that He is presently preparing a place for (John 14:1-3), continually interceding for (Hebrews 7:25), and will both bodily and visibly return in the clouds for (Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 4:16-17) His own.

C.  The Holy Spirit

We believe in the deity and personality of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16,26).  We believe that the Holy Spirit convinces the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11) and is the agent of the new birth (II Thessalonians 2:13; I Peter 1:2).  We believe that every believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion, by Him is baptized into the Body of Christ, sealed unto the day of redemption, and is given spiritual gift(s) for ministry (I Corinthians 6:19; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13; Romans 12:6-8).  We believe that the Holy Spirit ministers to believers by leading (Romans 8:14), teaching (I John 2:20,27), illuminating (I Corinthians 2:9-16), empowering (Acts 1:8), interceding (Romans 8:26), producing fruit (Galatians 5:22), and filling those who yield to His influence (Ephesians 5:18).

We believe that after being born anew, we need the fullness of God's Spirit in our hearts. When we make a complete commitment to Him, He cleanses our spirit, fills us with His perfect love, and gives us the power to live victoriously. (1 Cor. 6:9-11;1 Thess. 5:23-24, Rom. 6:19, Eph. 5:25-27, & John 17:17).

Section 3:  Angels

We believe angels are created beings (Colossians 1:16) who are immortal spirits with great, but limited, powers (II Kings 6:5-18; 19:35; Matthew 22:29-30).  We believe good angels worship and serve God in heaven (Isaiah 6; Revelation 5:11), minister to mankind on earth (Matthew 28:5-7; Psalm 91:11), and will accompany Christ at His coming (Matthew 25:31).  We believe God created all angels good (Genesis 1:31); however, Satan, the chief fallen angel, chose to rebel against God through pride (I Timothy 3:6), became the author of sin, the god of this age, and the open and declared enemy of God and man (Isaiah 14:13,14; Ephesians 6:16).  Furthermore, he was defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 16:20), can be resisted by believers (Isaiah 14:12-15; II Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 2:14; James 4:7), and will be eternally punished in the lake of fire along with other fallen angels whom he presently leads (II Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 20:10).

Section 4:  Man

We believe that Adam and Eve were created by the direct act of God and in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27).  We believe that God created Adam and Eve in a sinless and upright state but that they willfully committed sin and brought sin and death--physical and spiritual (Hebrews 9:27; Romans 5:12; 6:23; Revelation 20:15)--upon the entire human race, descended from Adam.  We believe all people inherit a sinful nature at the moment of conception, willfully sin individually as fallen creatures, and are separated from God (Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10,23; 5:12).  Man can do nothing in and of himself to save himself.

Section 5:  Salvation

We believe in the single, substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross on the behalf of sinners.  We believe that salvation is wholly of divine grace, unattainable by any good works of the sinner in behalf of himself or another; that faith, repentance, and saving grace are gifts given by God (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 2:4); and that salvation is received by a sinner when he repents towards God and puts his faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior (I Thessalonians 1:9; Romans 10:9-10). We believe that the basis of salvation is the blood of Christ (I Peter 1:18-19), and the scope of salvation includes forgiveness of all sins, a righteous standing before God, and eternal life (John 3:16; Romans 6:23).

We believe every person should be water baptized, as commanded by our Lord, following his/her conversion to Christ. Water baptism is a symbol of the Christian's identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Acts 8:36-39).

Section 6:  The Church

We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church (I Corinthians 12:12,13), the bride of Christ (II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 19:7,8), of which Christ is the founder (Matthew 16:18) as well as the head (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18).  We believe in the rapture of living believers and the resurrection of dead believers when the Lord returns in the clouds--at which time both companies will meet the Lord in the air to be with Him forever (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We believe that the Church is manifested through local churches composed of believers in Christ of the same locality who organize and assemble for worship, prayer, instruction, evangelism and observance of the ordinances instituted by Christ (Acts 2:41-47; Ephesians 4:11-16).  We believe that the two ordinances committed to the local church (Acts 2:38-42) are baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19-20) and the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23-34).

We believe that the biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders, who are also called bishops, pastors, and pastor-teachers (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11) and Deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; I Peter 5:1-5).  We believe that the Holy Spirit dispenses spiritual gifts to every believer for the purpose of edifying both their local church body and the body of Christ at large (Ephesians 4:11-12; I Corinthians 12).

Section 7:  Separation

We believe in personal separation from worldliness (I Corinthians 15:33; I Peter 1:14-16; I John 2:11-13) and ecclesiastical separation from apostasy (II Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:8-9; II Timothy 2:16-18; Titus 3:10-11; II John 9-11).  Further, we affirm that believers should be set apart for service unto the Lord Jesus Christ (II Thessalonians 1:11,12; Hebrews 12:1,2) and that the Christian life demands a continuous pursuit of holiness (Romans 12:1,2; Titus 2:11-14; I Peter 1:13-15; I John 3:1-10).  We believe that every believer, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, should walk in a way that glorifies God (I Corinthians 10:31), does not harm his testimony as a believer (Romans 13:14), and does not cause a brother to sin (Romans 14:13; I Corinthians 8:9,13; Philippians 1:10).