The Scriptures: We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, infallible and God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; 2 Pet. 1:20, 21; Matt. 5:18; John 16:12, 13)
T
We believe in one triune God, eternally
existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--coeternal
in being, coeternal in nature, coequal in power and glory, and
having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor.
13:14).
The Person and Work of Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the second person of the trinity, and that he is co-equal with God the Father (John 10:30). Jesus Christ is also fully human—a reality that occurred during his incarnation (John 1:14). Consequently Jesus Christ has two natures—he is fully divine and fully human (Philippians 2:6).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a member of the Godhead and a
person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment; and that He is the supernatural agent in regeneration,
baptizing all believers into the body of Christ one time at
conversion (1 Cor. 12:12-14), indwelling them and sealing them
unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor
12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 5:18).Holy Spirit:
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God,
but that through Adam's sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful
nature, and became alienated from God. Man has a radical propensity
to sin, and of himself is utterly unable to remedy his lost
condition (Gen. 1:26, 27; Rom. 3:22, 23, 5:12; Eph. 2:1-3, 12).
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace
and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose
precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Eph.
2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowing of spiritual
gifts. It is, however, the believer's responsibility to attempt to
develop their sovereignly given spiritual gift(s). We also
believe that particular spiritual gift(s) are neither essential
(proving the presence of the Holy Spirit), nor an indication of a
deep spiritual experience (1 Cor. 12:7, 11, 13; Eph. 4:7-8).
We believe it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer
to minister according to the gift(s) and grace of God given to him
(Rom. 12:1-8; 2 Cor. 13; 1 Pet. 4:10-11).
We believe that the churchis a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this present age (Eph. 1:22, 23, 5:25-27; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor 11:2). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament scriptures (Acts 14:27, 18:22, 20:17, 1 Tim. 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11). We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, that they are to be free of any external authority and control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4). We recognize believers' baptisms and the Lord's Supper as scriptural means of testimony for the church in this age (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; 2 Cor. 11:23-26).
The Second Coming of Christ: We believe in the "blessed hope," the personal, imminent, coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. (I Thes. 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Zech. 14:4-11; Rev. 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6). In the end, this should propel us to take risks for Jesus because the battle has already been won.
