Our Faith
Our
Faith
Our faith is based upon the principles outlined in the historic creeds, namely the Apostles’ Creed, and the Nicene Creed.
We believe That the Bible, consisting of 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God, without error in the original texts. The Bible alone is fully truthful in all of its teachings; it is all-sufficient and supremely authoritative in all matters of Christian faith and conduct.
(Isaiah 8:20; Luke 16:29-31; Ephesians 2:20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Exodus 20:1; 2 Samuel 23:1-3; 2 Peter 1:18-21; 1 John 4:6; Revelation 14:13; 22:19; 1 Corinthians 2:13-13; 6:16; 9:10; 14:37; Galatians 1:11-12; 3:8;16,22; 4:30; Deuteronomy4:2; 12:32; Matthew 15:1-9; 22:29,31,31; Acts 17:11; 28:23-25; Revelation 22:18,19)
We believe in one and only one living, true God, creator and preserver of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Nehemiah 9:6; Jeremiah 10:10; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 4:11; Psalm 18:30; James 1:17; Matthew 3:16,17; 28:19; Hebrews 9:14)
We believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. He is Father to His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, whom He raised from the dead, by and for His glory. He is also Father to all who are adopted as His sons and daughters through faith in Jesus Christ. He has made Himself known to us through His Son, through the Spirit and through the Scriptures, and has blessed us in Christ with every blessing of the Spirit. He has sovereignty over us, affection toward us, and glory for us. To Him belong all glory and honor.
(Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21; 1 Cor 8:6; Ephesians 1:3; Romans 6:4; Philippians 2:9-11; Galatians 4:5-6; Ephesians 1:5; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Ephesians 1:3; 3:5; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:27-28; John 3:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:16; 1 John 3:1; 1 Peter 4:11; Galatians 1:5)
We believe that Christ Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the promised Messiah, fully God and fully man. He is the mediator between God and man; prophet, priest and king. In His incarnation Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived on this earth as a man under God’s law, was tempted in every way just as we are, yet did not sin. He died on the cross bearing mankind’s guilt and penalty of sin, suffered God’s wrath in mankind’s place, and rose bodily on the third day to guarantee eternal life to all who repent and believe; 40 days afterward He ascended to the right hand of the Father, from where he poured out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
(Matthew 16:15-20; Luke 1:35; John 1:1,14,45; 5:18; 6:68,69; 10:33; 20:28; Romans 1:3-4; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 2:9; Luke 1:32; John 1:45; Deuteronomy 18:18; Hebrews 7:21; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 20:28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16-18; Acts 2:22-39; 4:12; Romans 5:9,10; 6:23; 8:32; Revelation 5:9,10; Acts 1:3; 2:33; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired the holy men of old to write the Scriptures; He enables men to understand the truth; He exalts Christ; He convicts the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and of judgment. And He calls men to the Savior in regeneration, baptizes every believer into the body of Christ, indwells and seals the believer unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guides believers into all truth; comforts them; and grants them the spiritual gifts for service in His church. His presence is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into fullness of the stature of Christ. The Holy Spirit enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism and service.
(John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14; Psalm 51:11; 139:7ff; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18,19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16,17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6,7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17)
We believe that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, by the power of His Word. He created everything good and perfect for the glory of His name. (Genesis 1:1 – 2:3; Hebrews 11:3; Psalm 104:31; Romans 11:36)
We believe that through the temptation of Satan, Adam and Eve deliberately broke God’s command and therefore lost their integrity and communion with God. God intended Adam to stand in the place of all mankind, and as a result each of his descendants inherits the guilt and penalty of his sin. Therefore, all people inherit a sinful nature from birth (inclined to declare their independence from God like their original ancestors, Adam and Eve) and so are subject to God’s wrath, and to death. Apart from regeneration by the Holy Spirit, man is unable of himself to turn towards God and exercise faith in Jesus Christ.
(Genesis 3:1-19, 22-24; Romans 5:12-19; 3:10-19; 1:21; Psalm 51:5; Ephesians 2:1-3; Matthew 11:27; 16:17; Romans 8:7; 1 John 5:1; 3:4)
We believe that salvation is wholly of grace, being planned by the Father, provided for by the blood of the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit. In justification the believer is absolved of his guilt and declared righteous in the sight of God. In adoption the believer is constituted a member of the household of God. In regeneration the principle of a new life is implanted in his or her heart. In sanctification the principle of the new life is strengthened and developed increasingly. In glorification this work will come to perfect culmination in an ultimate and complete renewal of human nature. Repentance and faith are essential attitudes to be found in any one person who rightly claims the blessing of salvation. They emphasize the fact that it is not through human merit of any kind, but by the grace of God that salvation is achieved.
(Ephesians 2:8-9; 1:1-3; Titus 3:5; 2:14; John 3:3-5; Romans 5:1,9; 4:4-5; 6:8; 8; Acts 13:39; John 3:3; 1 Corinthians 13; 1 John 5:11-13)
We believe that the true Church, according to Scripture, is composed of all persons who through personal faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ of which He is the Head, and every local church has the right under Christ to govern its own affairs. The church has to offer acceptable worship to God, look after the flock through the ministry of the Word, and provide leadership, stewardship, daily pastoral care, and social justice by relieving human distress and need. The church must strive to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord Jesus Christ – to preach the Gospel, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything He has commanded.
(1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:22; Hebrews 12:23; Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1,4; 1 Corinthians 3:9,16; 5:4-7,13; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 14:27; 20:17,28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8)
We believe In the ordinances of believer’s water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as scriptural means of testimony – visible signs – that were appointed by Christ and are rites for new covenant continuity.
We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and the believer’s death to sin, burial of the old life, and resurrection to walk in newness of life in Jesus Christ. It is a testimony to the believer’s faith in the final resurrection of the dead. It is a prerequisite for church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 28:19,20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-42; 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:9-12).
We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (Matthew 26:26-30; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26)
We believe that at a time known only to God, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly with power and glory to the earth; He will raise the dead, judge all people according to the deeds done in the body, and establish His kingdom. Then the unrighteous will be condemned and separated from God’s presence, but the righteous will live and reign with Him forever; and the new earth and new heaven shall proclaim the glory of God.
(Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27-44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-38; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 15:24-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 5:1ff; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Rev 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13)
We believe that marriage is only between a man and a woman. The first mention of marriage, Genesis 2:24, describes it as a man leaving his parents and being united to his wife. In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2-16 and Ephesians 5:23-33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman.