What We
Believe
1. The Scriptures
We believe that the Word of God was divinely inspired and
preserved by God and given to man as the only complete and final
revelation of the will of God to man. By the "Holy Bible," we
mean that collection of sixty-six books (Genesis to Revelation)
of the Old and New Testaments, which we believe is the very Word
of God. Since the original manuscripts of the Bible are no
longer in existence, God has supernaturally and providentially
preserved His Word, without error, for us today in the King
James Bible. We believe that the Bible is the final authority
for us in all matters of faith, doctrine, and practice (Psalm
12:6-7; II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:21).
2. The True God
We believe that God is a Person, eternally existing and
manifesting Himself to us in three divine Persons: Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, who are equal in every divine perfection and
executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of
redemption. (Isaiah 45:21-22; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; 15:26;
I John 5:7).
3. The Son of God
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ eternally exists with
God the Father, having been begotten by the Holy Spirit and born
of Mary, a virgin. He was tempted in all points like as we are,
yet without sin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35;
John 1:1, 2, 14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-15).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us of our sins
through His death on the cross as a vicarious, substitutionary
sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His
literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36;
Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and
is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High
Priest, He fulfills the ministries of being our Intercessor, and
Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John
2:1-2).
4. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin,
converts the repentant sinner and places him into Christ, seals
the believer, interprets the Scripture, and empowers God's
children to be bold witnesses (John 16:8,9; Acts 1:8; 1
Corinthians 2:10-14; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14).
5. Satan
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the
cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy
of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the
Lake of Fire, a place prepared for him and for his angels, as
well as for all the unbelievers of the ages (Isaiah 14:12-17;
Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10).
6. Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal,
24-hour periods. We believe that man was created directly in
God's own image and after His own likeness. We reject evolution,
the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as
unscriptural theories of origin (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11;
Revelation 10:6).
7. Sin
We believe that man was created in the image of God but fell
through sin, bringing not only physical death, but also
spiritual death or eternal separation from God. Because of that,
men are sinners by birth and by choice and are of themselves
utterly unable to remedy their lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27;
Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:l-3; 4:17-19).
8. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man
by grace. It is received by repentance toward God and by
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who shed His precious
blood on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe
that in order to be saved and be assured of Heaven before he
dies, a sinner must be born again; and that the new birth is
instant and not a process (John 1:12; Acts 20:21; Romans
10:9-13; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19)
9. Eternal Security
We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by
God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever(John 6:37-40;
10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Peter 1:4-5).
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice
in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of
God's Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian
liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians
5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
10. Heaven and Hell
We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the
Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do, at death, immediately pass
into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the
resurrection of the body at the Rapture when soul and body
reunited shall be present forever with the Lord. We believe that
the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious
misery in hell until the Great White Throne Judgment at the
close of the millennium. Then soul and body reunited, shall be
cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer
everlasting torment (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8;
Philippians 1:23; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; II Thessalonians
1:7-9; Revelation 20:1-15).
11. The Church
We believe that the New Testament church that Jesus
established during His earthly ministry is a Baptist church. It
is an assembly of baptized believers, associated together by a
covenant of faith, based solely upon the Word of God.
We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any
external authority or control. We believe the mission of the
church is to win the lost, baptize them, and teach and instruct
them in the Word of God so that they too will win the lost
(Matthew 16:17-19; 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 6:1-7; II Timothy
2:2).
12. Baptism and the Lord's Supper
We believe that salvation must precede water baptism, and
that baptism is not essential for salvation. We believe that
Scriptural baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in
the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost under
the authority of the local church. It is a beautiful picture of
our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, showing
forth our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Salvation
and baptism are prerequisite to the privilege of church
membership.
We believe that the Lord's Supper is an ordinance in which
members of the church, by the sacred use of unleavened bread and
the fruit of the vine, are to remember the love of Christ shown
at Calvary. This ordinance should always be preceded by solemn
self-examination, realizing that we are showing forth the Lord's
death till He comes (Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; John 3:23; Acts
2:41-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-31).
13. Separation
We believe in the Biblical doctrine of separation which
encompasses three things: (1) the separation of the local church
from those who deny the truth of the "faith which was once
delivered to the saints"; (2) the separation of the individual
Christian from all worldly practices that may dishonor the
Saviour; and (3) the separation of church and state (Romans
12:1-2; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Thessalonians 3:6, 14, 15; 1
John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; Jude 3).
14. Missions
We believe that all men everywhere are lost and condemned,
and that the command to go and preach the Gospel to the world is
clear and unmistakable. God has given the church the Great
Commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there
might be a great multitude from every nation and tribe who
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15;
Acts 1:8)
15. The Second Coming
We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ for all New
Testament believers. This rapture of the saints will be followed
by the seven-year Tribulation. At the end of the Tribulation,
Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to
establish His earthly Messianic kingdom which was promised to
the nation Israel (Isaiah 9:6-7; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 1:11; I
Corinthians 15:51-55; I Thessalonians 3:13; Revelation 1:7).
16. Civil Government
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority
which consists of three basic institutions: (1) the home; (2)
the church; and (3) the state. Every person is subject to these
authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) will
give account to God and are governed by His Word. God has given
each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and has
balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no
institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home,
the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their
respective Biblically assigned area of responsibility under God
(Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:21-6:4; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter
2:13-15).
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice
in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of
God's Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian
liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians
5:13; Titus 2:11-15).
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