What we believe

What We Believe

God Almighty
We believe that there is only one, living and true God: omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. He is The Creator and Sovereign Ruler of all, inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three separate and distinct persons, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Each is equal in perfection and in executing distinct but harmonious positions in the great work of redemption for His pleasure.

Reference scriptures: Exodus 15:11, Psalm 83:18, Matthew 28:19, Mark 12:30, John 4:24, John 10:30, John 15:26, II Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 2:18, Philippians 2:13, I Peter 1:15-16, Revelation 1:4-5, Revelation 4:11.

The Holy Bible
We believe that God is the author of the Holy Bible, and He wrote it through divinely inspired men. It is instruction to humanity with salvation by grace. It is truth without any mixture of error for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God will judge us, and therefore, is and shall remain to the end of the world, the supreme standard by which each person's conduct, creeds, and motives shall be judged.

Reference scriptures: Proverbs 30:5-6, John 17:17, Acts 11:14, Romans 2:12, I Corinthians 4:3-4, Ephesians 4:3-6, Philippians 3:16, II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:21, I John 4:1, Jude 3-5.

Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in a state or condition of holiness, and subject to the law of his Maker. By a voluntary transgression, man fell from that holy state. In consequence of which, all mankind were and are sinners by choice. Being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God and therefore inclined to evil, mankind is under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse.

Reference scriptures: Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3:6-24, Psalm 51:5, Isaiah 53:6, Ezekiel 18:19-20, Romans 1:18, Romans 3:9-18, Romans 5:12-19, Romans 8:7, Galatians 3:10, Ephesians 2:1-3.

Our Savior
We believe that the redemption of sinners is wholly by grace. The Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Himself a flesh body, yet without sin. Jesus Christ honored God's divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death, made a full atonement for sin. Having risen on the third day from the tomb, He is now in heaven at the right hand of The Father, and He is every way worthy to be the only Savior, which He is.

Reference scriptures: Psalm 45, Psalm 89:19, Isaiah 42:21, Isaiah 53:3-5, Matthew 20:28, John 1:1-14, John 3:16, John 4:10, Acts 15:11, Romans 3:21-26, Romans 9:13-15, II Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 2:5, Ephesians 2:8-10, Philippians 2:6-7, Colossians 3:1-4, Hebrews 1:3, Hebrews 1:8, Hebrews 4:14, Hebrews 7:25.

The Gospel
We believe that the great, gospel blessing--which Christ secures to those who believe in Him--is salvation. This includes all the divine redemptive acts of God on behalf of the sinner; such as justification, which is the divine act of God whereby He declares a believer just; redemption, the divine act of God whereby He purchased by the shed blood of Christ, and by His mighty power, the freedom of the believer from the power and dominion of sin; grace, the divine disposition of God wherein He saves men, not because of any merit or work of their own, but wholly by the work and merit of Christ; propitiation, the divine act of God in offering Christ as the sinner's substitute; imputation, the divine act of God whereby He imputes or counts the righteousness of Christ to the believer; forgiveness, the divine act of God by which He remits the sins of a believer; sanctification, the divine act of God whereby He imparts His holiness to the inner man, or new born one; glorification, the divine act of God whereby that element or part of man which is mortal will be changed into a state of immortality.

Reference scriptures: Matthew 1:21, John 17:17-19, Acts 4:12, Acts 5:31, Acts 10:43, Acts 20:32, Romans 1:16, Romans 3:24-25, Romans 4:1-5, Romans 4:8-9, Romans 4:13-25, Romans 5:1, Romans 8:17, I Corinthians 1:2, I Corinthians 1:30, I Corinthians 6:11, I Corinthians 15:51-53, Galatians 3:11, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:5, Ephesians 2:8-10, Ephesians 5:26, Philippians 3:20-21, Colossians 1:14, I Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 9:12, I Peter 1:18, II Peter 1:4, I John 1:2, I John 3:1-2, I John 3:9.

Free Salvation
We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel, and it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a profession of faith. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth, but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Jesus Christ, which condemns him to eternal torment.

Reference scriptures: Proverbs 1:24, Isaiah 55:1, Matthew 11:20, Matthew 23:37, Mark 1:15, Luke 14:17, Luke 19:27, John 3:19, John 5:40, Romans 1:15-17, Romans 9:32, Romans 16:26, II Thessalonians 1:8, Revelation 22:17.

Grace In Regeneration
We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or "born from above." Regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the heart; that it is effected in a manner which is above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel, and its evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.

Reference scriptures: Ezekiel 36:26, Matthew 3:8-10, John 1:13, John 3:3-8, Romans 2:28-29, Romans 5:5, I Corinthians 1:14, II Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 5:19-23, Ephesians 5:9, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 3:9-11, James 1:16-18, I Peter 1:22-25, Revelation 21:27, I John 4:7, I John 5:1, I John 5:4, I John 5:18.

Repentance and Faith
We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy. At the same time, we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and relying on Him alone as the only and all sufficient Savior.

Reference scriptures: Mark 1:15, Luke 18:13, John 16:8, Acts 2:37-38, Acts 16:30-31, Acts 22-23, Romans 10:9-11, II Corinthians 7:11, Ephesians 2:8, II Timothy 1:12, James 4:7-10, I John 5:1.

God's Purpose In Grace
We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners. His work is perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, and it encompasses all the means in connection with the end. It is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable that it utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy. This also encourages the use of means in the highest degree that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the gospel. It is the foundation of Christian assurance, and that He demands and deserves our utmost diligence.

Reference scriptures: Exodus 33:18-19, Hosea 11:1, John 10:16, Acts 13:48, Romans 8:28-31, Romans 11:28-29, I Corinthians 4:7, I Corinthians 9:22, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 1:16, Philippians 3:12, I Thessalonians 1:4-10, II Thessalonians 2:13-14, II Timothy 1:8-9, II Timothy 2:10, James 1:17-18, I Peter 2:9, II Peter 1:10-11.

Harmony of The Law and The Gospel
We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government, and that it is holy, just and good. We believe that the inability of fallen men to fulfill its precepts, which the Scriptures ascribe to, arises entirely from their love of sin. To deliver them from which and to restore them through the Mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law of God is one great end of the gospel, and of the means of grace.

Reference scriptures: Joshua 24:19, Psalm 119, Jeremiah 13:23, Matthew 5:17, Matthew 16:17-18, John 5:44, John 6:44, Romans 3:20-21, Romans 4:15, Romans 7:12, Romans 8:2-4, Romans 8:7-8, Romans 10:4, I Corinthians 12:28, Galatians 3:21, Hebrews 12:14.

New Testament Church
We believe that a church that worships Jesus Christ is a congregation of believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The church observes the ordinances of Christ, governed by His law, and exercises the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in her by His Word, and her only Scriptural officers are bishops or pastors, and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.

Reference scriptures: Matthew 18:15-20, Matthew 28:20, John 14:21, Acts 2:41-42, I Corinthians 1:1-13, I Corinthians 5:12-13, Ephesians 4:7, Philippians 1:27, I Timothy 3, II John 9.

Baptism and The Lord's Supper
We believe that water baptism is the submerging into and removal from the water of a believer in Christ, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. This symbolism shows forth a solemn and beautiful representation of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect, in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. We consider it a privilege to confess Jesus Christ and to partake of the Lord's Supper, in which the members of a church by the reverent use of the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, are to commemorate together the undying love of what Christ did, preceded always by a solemn self-examination.

Reference scriptures: Matthew 3:5-6, Matthew 28:18-20, John 6:26-71, Acts 2:41-42, Acts 8:36-39, Romans 6:4, I Corinthians 11:26-28, I Corinthians 5:1, I Corinthians 5:8.

The Lord's Day
We believe that the first day of the week is commonly known as the Lord's Day. It is to be kept sacred as a memorial of the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and that Christians should refrain from all secular labor and worldly recreations for self-edification. We should devoutly use all the means of grace, both private and public, by which we may be drawn closer to God and provoked to holier living, and in preparation for our eternal abode in the presence of God which is shown by extending ourselves and doing for others.

Reference scriptures: Psalm 118:24, Isaiah 58:13-14, Acts 20:7, I Corinthians 16:1-2, Colossians 2:16-17, Hebrews 4:3-11, Hebrews 10:24-25, Revelation 1:10.

The Righteous and The Wicked Contrasted
We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked, fatherless. Only the righteous as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, are truly righteous in His esteem. The fatherless continue in unbelief and impenitence and are in His sight under the curse, and this distinction holds among men both in and after their physical death.

Reference scriptures: Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 14:32, Malachi 3:18, Matthew 13:14, Luke 16:25, Acts 10:34-35, Romans 1:17, Romans 7:16, Galatians 3:10, I John 2:29, I John 3:7.

The Resurrections
We believe that there will be a resurrection for both the righteous and the wicked. There will be one thousand years of time intervening between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the wicked. Those in Christ shall sit with Christ, and at the expiration of the one thousand years, the wicked will then be raised and judged.

Reference scriptures: John 5:28-29, Acts 26:8, Acts 24:15, Acts 24:21, I Corinthians 15:51-52, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 20:12-15.

The Judgments
We believe that there will be a judgment of rewards for the righteous, and this judgment will take place at Christ's coming to receive His saints. The wicked will be judged after the millennial age, or at the close of it.

Reference scriptures: Psalm 58:11, Proverbs 11:18, I Corinthians 3:8, 11-15, II Corinthians 5:10, Revelation 11:18, Revelation 20:12-15, Revelation 22:12.

The Final States
We believe that this earth itself will be redeemed from the curse of sin and fitted as the eternal dwelling place of the people of God. This fitting of the earth for the eternal home of the redeemed will be by a process of purification by fire, or melting, and that the impenitent and incorrigible wicked will be cast, both souls and resurrected bodies, into The Lake of Fire, where they shall remain and be punished forever and forever.

Reference scriptures: Psalm 9:17, Proverbs 27:20, Isaiah 66:17, Ezekiel 31:16, Matthew 5:29-30, Matthew 10:28, Luke 12:5, Romans 8:20-22, Hebrews 1:10-12, II Peter 1:10-13, Jude 7, Revelation 21 and 22, Revelation 20:10.