1.) We believe in one eternal God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, creator and sustainor of the universe. (Duet. 6:4, Eph. 4:4-6; Jn. 10:30).
2.) We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God (Mt. 16:16-18), our Lord, God manifest in the flesh, born of the virgin Mary, and without sin. We believe in his divine miracles, his expiatory and redemptive death, his bodily resurrection, his ascension, his mediation and his personal return in power and glory. (Jn. 1:14, Mt. 1:23, 2 Cor. 5:21, Jn. 3:2, I Jn. 4:10, 1 Cor. 15:20, Acts 1:9, 1 Tim. 2:5, 1 Thess. 4:16-17)
3.) We believe in the Holy Spirit and His agency in the inspiration of the
Scriptures. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment (Mk. 16:8), and that He comes to live within one's heart at the time of one's baptism (Acts 2:38) and that He gives us the power to serve Christ and to live a righteous life. (Jn. 16:7-8, Romans 8:12-16, 1 Cor. 6:19)
4.) We believe the Bible is the infallible Word of God, totally and divinely
inspired, worthy of confidence, authoritative and sovereign in matters of faith and conduct. (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Mt. 24:35, 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
5.) We believe that man is a sinner, separated from God and that his
salvation is by grace, through faith in Jesus. Grace we understand to be the unmerited, undeserved gift of God. Faith we understand to be an obedient faith which includes hearing and believing the Gospel, repentance from sin, public confession of faith and baptism (Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:8, James 2:22, Rom. 10:9-10, Rom. 10:14-16, Acts 2:38-39, Rom. 6:4-5, Col. 2:11-12). We believe that God applies his saving grace at the time of our baptism (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Romans 6:3-4, Galatians 3:26-27, Colossians 2:11-12, 1 Peter 3:20-21). We believe that salvation from the penalties of sin and from death is a process, not an event.
6.) We believe that the Church is a divine institution composed of the
redeemed from every tribe, tongue, nation and people (Rev. 7:9). The Church is one by God's design "so that the world may believe" (Jn. 17:20-21). We believe that Christ is the only head of the church and that he commissioned the Church to evangelize the world (Mt. 28:18-20); therefore, the proclamation of the Gospel is the primary task of the Church. We believe that individual congregations are autonomous in polity and are called by God to voluntarily and cooperatively build His Kingdom (2 Cor. 8:1-15, 19).
7.) We believe in the bodily resurrection of all mankind; the saved to eternal life and the lost to eternal condemnation (Jn. 5:28-29, 1 Thess. 4:16-18).
8.) We believe that the term 'marriage' has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one adult man and one adult woman in a single, exclusive union, as defined in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography or any attempt to change one's sex, or disagreement with one's biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy, His help and His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the church. Gen. 2:24; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-32; 1 Cor. 5:1-2; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23; Mark 10:6-9
These articles are published for information and are by no means intended to be an authoritative creed nor a test of Christian fellowship. We affirm these articles to be true and encourage all men everywhere to accept Christ as the only Christian creed and the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice, striving not to be the only Christians, but Christians only. .
