Statement of Faith
WE BELIEVE....
The Bible
We believe the Bible in its entirety is the inspired Word of God, the unerring rule of faith and conduct, and the final authority for the lives of believers (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:21). The Bible, as God's revelation of Himself to mankind, contains all needed knowledge for the Christian life.
God
We believe there is one living and true God eternally existing in the three persons of Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). He is perfect in all His attributes and He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of all men is fully God and fully man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary and lived a perfect life (Luke 1:26-35; John 1:14-18; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7). Jesus voluntarily died a substitutionary death for mankind's sins. He was resurrected on the third day, ascended to the right hand of the Father in heaven (Luke 24:39; John 2:19-22; Acts 1:9-11) and currently serves as High Priest and Advocate, the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14; 7:25; I John 2:1). We believe in the Second Coming, whereby the Lord Jesus Christ will return bodily and personally (John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 9:28).
Man
We believe that man was created in God's own image and able to have fellowship with God (Genesis 1:6-27; 2:7). Sin entered the world through Adam's disobedience and caused man to fall from his original moral perfection. Because Adam was the representative of mankind, the consequence of his sin was spiritual and physical death for the whole human race. Every person is born with a sinful nature since Adam, unable to save himself through works or personal righteousness (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Ephesians 2:1).
Salvation
Salvation comes by grace, through repentance and faith in what was accomplished by Jesus Christ at the Cross (Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrews 9:12,22). Through the shedding of Christ's blood comes the remission of sins. Salvation occurs when a man spiritually dead is born again and made spiritually alive in Christ (Romans 8:2; Ephesians 2:1-2).
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity, as the one sent from the Father to convict the world; to save and indwell those who trust Christ; to guide believers into all truth and to empower them for godly living (Ephesians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1), witness and service. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and His distribution of spiritual gifts to believers for the edification and maturity of the Church (the church defined as people saved through faith in Christ) (1 Corinthians 12-14; Ephesians 4).
The Church
We believe the Church of Jesus Christ is the universal company of redeemed people called the "Body of Christ" over which Christ is the Head (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). The main priority of the church is to make disciples in all the nations through evangelization and the teaching of the Gospel. We believe in local church bodies as an expression of the universal Body of Christ, whose goal is to observe Christ's ordinances, teach God's Word and demonstrate the love of Christ to the world (Matthew 16:18; Acts 9:3; Ephesians 5:23).
Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the eternal blessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost (John 3:16; Romans 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 20:11-15)
Satan
We believe in the existence and personality of Satan, the great enemy of God and deceiver of mankind. He is the god-ruler of this age who works through an organized kingdom of evil angels and an ungodly world system. We believe Satan and his evil angels will meet their doom in the lake of fire and remain there eternally (Matthew 25:41; John 8:44; Revelation 20:7-10).
Christian Living
We believe God desires believers to live in obedience to His revealed will and to grow in fruitfulness and sacrificial love for God and others. We believe the goal for every Christian is to be growing in conformity to the image of Christ through purity of heart and life, not conformity to the pattern of the world (Ephesians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 6:14, 7:1).