A. Concerning God’s Word, the Bible: We believe that...

the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments were God-breathed (inspired) 2 Tim. 3:16-17

God inspired every part of Scripture equally, down to the very words Matt. 5:17-18

the Bible was recorded by men as guided by the Holy Spirit and so was without error in the original writings 2 Peter 1:20-21

God has preserved His Word over the centuries so that what we have is reliable and trustworthy

the Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice and is totally accurate in all matters which it addresses Jn. 17:17; Ps. 19:7-11

B. Concerning God: We believe that...

there is only one true God Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:5-6; Jer. 10:10-13

God eternally exists in three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Gen. 1:27; Matt. 28:19

these persons are equally God Jn. 10:27-33; Acts 5:3-4; Titus 1:3-4, 2:13

these persons perform distinct but harmonious functions in the salvation of humanity Titus 3:4-7

1. Concerning the Father: We believe that...

He is a person and He is fully God Eph. 4:6

He sent His Son to provide salvation for humanity Jn. 3:16

He will accomplish His eternal purposes Ps. 33:11; Rom. 8:28-29; Eph. 1:3-6

He is the Father of all believers Jn. 1:12-13

He preserves all believers by His power 1 Pet. 1:5

2. Concerning the Son, Jesus Christ: We believe that...

He is a person and He is fully God Jn. 1:1; Tim. 2:5

He is the one and only Son of God Jn. 3:16

He was born of the virgin Mary Luke 1:34-35

He is fully God and perfect man Jn. 1:1-2,14,18; Php. 2:6-8; Heb. 4:15

He died for our sins and rose again on the third day 1 Cor. 15:3-4

He is now interceding for believers before the Father in heaven Rom. 8:34

He will one day return for all believers Jn. 14:1-3; 1 Thes. 4:13-17

3. Concerning the Holy Spirit: We believe that...

He is a person and He is fully God Acts 5:3-4

at the moment of salvation He instantly:

• makes us spiritually alive (regenerates) Titus 3:4-7
• places us into the body of Christ (baptizes) 1 Cor. 12:13
• comes to live within us (indwells) Rom. 8:9
• guarantees that we belong to God (seals) Eph. 1:13-14
• gives special ability to serve God (gifts) 1 Cor. 12:7,11

We believe the sign gifts are not normative for today. 1 Cor. 13:8

He enables the believer to serve God and live a life which is pleasing to Him Gal. 5:16,22-23

C. Concerning Humanity Man: We believe that...

God created humans man perfect in His image, apart from any process of evolution Gen.1:26-31

every person reflects God’s image and therefore has inherent value and is to be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity Gen. 1:26-27; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31

God created male and female as two distinct, complementary, unchangeable sexes to reflect His image and His nature Gen. 1:26-27, 2:18-25; Psalm 139:13-16

God established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:4-6,9

human sex is a gift to be expressed only within marriage as established by God Gen. 2:18-25; Rom. 1:18-28; 1 Cor. 7:1-7; Heb. 13:4

Adam, the first man, sinned voluntarily and by his action brought death into the world for all people Rom. 5:12

all people are born sinners and so commit acts of sin Ps. 51:5

all people are born spiritually dead and are completely unable to save themselves from their sin Eph. 2:1-3

all people are justly condemned to eternal punishment and separation from God because of their sin Ps. 14:1-3; Rom. 1:18-21; Rom. 3:10-12

D. Concerning Salvation: We believe that...

God offers salvation and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, and who seek His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Jn. 5:24; Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Jn. 1:9

salvation is totally by the grace of God through faith, not by human works of any kind Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-6; 1 Jn. 5:11-13

Jesus died in our place and paid for our sin by His death on the cross 1 Pet. 3:18

to experience God’s gift of salvation (become a believer), we must:

• acknowledge that we are guilty of sin Rom. 3:23
• believe that Jesus died for our sins as our substitute and rose again 1 Cor. 15:1-5; Eph. 1:13
• trust Jesus alone as our Savior from sin Jn. 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Acts 16:30-31

those who have trusted Jesus as their Savior are permanently adopted into God’s family and so are secure forever as His children Rom. 8:15-16,38-39; Eph. 1:5

E. Concerning the Christian life: We believe that...

at salvation we are set apart (sanctified) to God 1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 10:10

as we grow as believers, we will become more like Jesus and set apart from our old sinful habits Eph. 4:11-16; 1 Peter 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:18

when we get to heaven we will be completely set apart from even the presence of sin 1 Jn. 3:2-3

F. Concerning the Church: We believe that...

all who have trusted Jesus as their Savior are members of God’s Church- Christ’s body 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 1:18

a local church is a group of believers which gathers on a regular basis to worship God, equip believers and make disciples Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-47; Eph. 4:11-13

the local church is to be led by shepherds (elders) under the authority of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ 1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-9; Heb. 13:7-8,17; 1 Peter 5:1-3

the local church practices the ordinances of water baptism and communion Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26

water baptism of a believer is a symbol of union with Christ and is a believer’s public declaration of faith Acts 8:35-38; Rom. 6:3-4

communion is a memorial of Jesus’ death to be practiced by believers until He returns 1 Cor. 11:23-26

G. Concerning the Lord’s return: We believe that...

Jesus could return at any time for His bride, the Church, before the tribulation Jn. 14:1-4; 1 Thes. 4:13-17; 1 Thes. 5:9-10

Jesus will return physically to the earth to rule for a period of one thousand years Rev. 19:11-20:6

believers will live with God in heaven forever, while unbelievers will suffer punishment in hell forever Matt. 25:31-46; 1 Thes. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:11-15