Statement of Faith
What We Believe
About Scripture
All sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and written by faithful men who were sovereignly guided by God. God’s inspiration did not override the authors’ personalities and education, but ensured that every word of Scripture is indeed God’s word. Consequently, the Bible is without error in its original manuscripts; and it remains the highest authority for churches and Christians today in all of life and doctrine.
(2 Tim 3:16; 2 Pet 1:20-21; Prov 30:5; Ps 12:6)
About the Triune God
God has revealed himself through Scripture, the created order, and Christ as the one and only true God who has existed for all eternity as three persons of one essence; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is Spirit, eternal, unchanging, self-existent, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, creator of all things, sovereign, transcendent yet immanent, knowable yet beyond searching; perfect in holiness, love, and justice; compassionate, merciful, long-suffering, and worthy of all glory, honor, and praise.
(Gen 1:1; Exod 34:6-7; Deut 6:4; Job 38-41; Ps 50:10-15, 78:38, 99:1-9; John 1:1-4; Matt 28:18-19; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Cor 1:3-4; Col 1:15-17; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 1:1-3; James 1:17; 1 John 4:8)
About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the pre-existent, uncreated, eternal Son of God. He is the second member of the Trinity, fully God and fully man, through whom God the Father created and sustains all things, and unto whom all worship is given. As prophesied in Scripture, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary without a human father. As prophesied in Scripture, Jesus Christ lived a sinless life, died upon a cross for humanity’s sins, and then was bodily and immediately resurrected by God three days after his death. His resurrection was the firstfruits of the resurrection of all believers, and ensures the justification of our sins before God. Afterwards Christ ascended into heaven and is now at the right hand of God the Father.
(Isa 7:14; Lk 1:26-35; Matt 16:21, 28:1-10; John 1:1-4, 1:14; Rom 4:25; 1 Cor 15:16-17, 15:20; 2 Cor 4:14; Phil 2:5-6, 3:10; Col 1:15-17; Heb 1:1-3; 1 Pet 1:3; Rev 5:13)
About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity, fully God, personal, invisible, eternal, present at Creation, and worthy to be worshipped. He was sent into the world by God the Father and His Son to glorify Christ, testify to truth, convict of sin, regenerate the sinner, sanctify the saint, empower the church, teach all disciples, and counsel and comfort believers. He is the seal of our salvation, the guarantee of what is to come, and the manifest presence of God upon the earth.
(Gen 1:2; Isa 32:14-18; Ezek 36:26-27; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 28:18-20; John 3:5-8, 14:15-27, 15:26-27, 16:5-16; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4; Rom 5:5, 8:1-17; 1 Cor 2:6-16; 2 Cor 1:22; Gal 5:16-26; Eph 5:18-20; 2 Pet 1:21; 1 John 4:13)
The ministry of the Holy Spirit towards the believer is multi-faceted, and begins when He regenerates the sinner who repents of sin and places trust in Christ. At conversion the Holy Spirit also begins the life-long process of producing holy character and spiritual fruit in the believer. At conversion, the Holy Spirit also bestows upon the believer spiritual gifts which are for the building up of the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit’s ministry to the believer further encompasses illuminating Scripture, teaching truth, enabling prayer, counseling and comforting, bringing an awareness of the presence of God, and unifying the church.
(John 3:5-8, 14:26, 15:26-27, 16:5-16; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4; Rom 5:5, 8:1-17, 26-27; 1 Cor 2:6-16, 12:1-11; 2 Cor 1:22; Gal 5:16-26; Eph 4:30-32, 5:18-20; 1 John 4:13)
About Human Beings
The first human beings, Adam and Eve, were created in God’s image by an immediate work of God. They were created sentient, uncorrupted by sin, perfect in His moral attributes, and unmarred in their reflection of God’s glory. In God’s perfect wisdom, He created humans in His image so they may represent Him to the world, and enjoy blessed fellowship with Him.
However, Adam and Eve’s willful disobedience to God’s command plunged them into sin and brought a curse upon humanity. God’s curse brought physical and spiritual death, toilsome labor, increased pain for women in childbirth, and rebellion and oppression in the marriage relationship. Each new human life thereafter is born with original sin perpetuating the curse.
The nature of unregenerate human beings is continual rebellion and hostility towards God and His will. All the faculties of human beings have been affected by sin resulting in a state of total depravity. Therefore their souls are spiritually dead and cut off from fellowship with God. However, God’s image still remains on each person, although marred. And so every person still has the potential for redemption in Christ and doing great good in the world.
(Gen 1:26-27, 3:1-19, 6:5, 9:6; Ps 51:51; Isa 53:6, 59:2; Jer 17:9; Rom 3:10-18; 7:18, 8:7; 1 Cor 15:49; Eph 2:1-2; James 3:9)
About Salvation
God in His perfect love, justice, and grace sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live a blameless life, die upon a cross, and rise from the dead as a substitutionary payment for our sins and the only means for our salvation. The conditions for salvation are repentance of sin and personal faith in Christ. Repentance comes by confessing our sins before God, and changing our minds and lives to align with God’s will. Saving faith is total trust in Christ’s atoning work on the cross, and is proven by our outward confession of belief, transformation of character, and good deeds.
Once a person has placed personal faith in Christ, and the Spirit has regenerated him to new life, then Scripture assures us that the believer’s salvation will be sustained until the glorious Second Coming of Christ. Although the assurance of salvation comes from the gracious work of God alone, the believer has the duty to persevere in the faith by maintaining trust in Christ and obedience to His Word.
Since Scripture is clear that those who are genuinely saved will persevere to the end and those who persevere to the end are genuinely saved, we can conclude that anyone who apostatizes from the faith was not a true born again believer. Furthermore, Scripture teaches that a person can experience the goodness of God, the enlightenment of the Word, even the gifts of the Spirit, and yet not have saving faith as in the example of Judas Iscariot.
(Matt 4:17, 7:22-23, 13:1-23, 24:13; Mark 1:15; John 10:28, 15:5-6; Acts 2:38, 3:19, 26:20; Rom 3:23-24, 5:1, 5:17, 8:30, 10:9-10; 1 Cor 15:2-4; Gal 2:16; Phil 1:6; James 2:17; Col 1:23; 2 Pet 3:9; Heb 3:14, 6:4-6, 1 John 2:19)
About Spiritual Growth
Spiritual growth in holiness is a work of God in the believer that begins at the moment of salvation. This spiritual growth progresses over a lifetime for a believer, and will not be completed until after death. This process is primarily a work of the Holy Spirit in guiding, convicting, disciplining, and empowering the believer to live holy lives. Scripture is clear, however, that believers have an important role to play in their spiritual growth, such as yielding their bodies to God, living moment by moment in dependence on the Holy Spirit, abstaining from immorality, and disciplining themselves in righteousness.
(Rom 4:5, 5:1, 6:13, 8:4, 8:9a, 8:13, 12:1; 1 Cor 9:27; Gal 5:16, 22-25; 1 Thess 4:3; Heb 12:1-11, 12:23; 1 John 3:2)
About Spiritual Gifts
The gifts of the Holy Spirit are an expression of God’s grace towards a believer and the church. Scripture teaches that the gifts are distributed to each believer according to the sovereign will of God by the Holy Spirit. The gifts themselves are for the edification of the church, and never as a measure of one’s spiritual maturity. We believe that Scripture supports the view that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still functional today.
(Rom 12:6; 1 Pet 4:10; 1 Cor 12:11; 1 Cor 12:7-31, 13:1-13)
About Baptism & The Lord’s Supper
Baptism is one of the two holy ordinances of the church. When a new convert undergoes baptism, it beautifully symbolizes two realities that have taken place in the person’s life: the washing away of sins, and dying and rising again to new life in Christ. Baptism is a public testimony to the inward reality of salvation. Only those who have professed faith in Christ and have been born again can be baptized. Baptism is not a requirement for salvation, only an act of obedience in response to salvation.
Furthermore when a person is baptized, the grace of God conveys blessings upon his/her life such as strengthened faith and joy. We believe the Scriptural mode of baptism is immersion in water. This mode was exemplified by John the Baptist with Jesus, and the disciples of the early church in Acts.
(Matt 1:9-11, 28:19; Acts 2:41, 8:12, 8:34-39, 10:44-46, 22:16; Rom 6:1-11, 10:9-10; Eph 2:8-9)
The Lord’s Supper is the other holy ordinance of the church. Jesus instituted this ordinance for all believers on the night He was betrayed to be crucified. We are to keep it until His return. It is to be a perpetual reminder of Jesus’ death for the forgiveness of our sins, our participation in His death, our benefits from His sacrifice, and the unity we have with Christ. Anyone who has placed saving trust in Christ and has examined his/her life may participate in the Lord’s Supper.
(Matt 26:26-29; 1 Cor 10:16-17, 11:17-34)
About the Church
The church is the community of born-again believers gathered in Christ’s name for the following purposes: to celebrate and worship God; to build one another up in faith, hope and love; to serve the city in Christ’s love, and to go into all the world to make disciples of all nations. The church is not merely an organization, but a spiritual entity referred to in Scripture as the body and bride of Christ. We believe Scripture teaches God’s mandate for the continual planting and support of new local churches.
(Matt 22:37-40, 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47, 14:21-27; Eph 1:22-23; 5:25–27; 1 Cor 12:12–14; 2 Cor 11:2; 1 Thess 5:10-11)
About the End-Times
We hold to the Historic Premillennial view of the End-times.
Christ’s Second Coming is the hope of all believers when Jesus bodily, visibly, and with great glory returns upon the earth to setup His Millennial Kingdom. Prior to His coming there will be several signs in the heavens and the earth during the Tribulation period. After the Tribulation period, Jesus will return at which time there will be a sudden catching up of believers in the air, both dead and alive in Christ. Soon afterwards Christ will return with His angels, his saints, and loud trumpet blasts to establish His Millennial Kingdom. This is the resurrection of believers unto eternal life.
After Christ’s Second Coming He will set up His Millennial Kingdom. The Millennium will be the physical and earthly reign of Christ for a thousand years with His saints. Satan is bound in a bottomless pit during this time. This will occur at the end of the church age after the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus will rule over the Millennial Kingdom with His saints, and it will be a unique time of peace, extended life, and renewal in the created order. The Millennium is separate and distinct from the final Eternal Order.
After the Millennium, Satan will be unbound, he will raise a rebellion against Christ and His followers, and he will be defeated along with his fallen angels.
Afterwards Christ will bodily resurrect all unbelievers for final judgment. He will then sit on His Judgment Seat for the Final Judgment of believers, non-believers, and angels. The judgment of believers is not for their sins which were wiped away by Christ’s death, but for their service rendered to God in life. Each believer will be rewarded in varying degrees based on their works, both good and bad. Christ will then judge unbelievers and rebellious angels unto eternal punishment and death. Resurrected and glorified believers will participate with Christ in judging the wicked.
(Psa 72:8-14; Isa 11:6-11, 65:20; Matt 24:4-31, 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; Acts 10:42; Rom 14:10-12, 1 Cor 3:12-15, 6:2-3, 15:51-52; 2 Cor 5:9-10; 1 Thess 4:16-17; Rev 20:1-15, 21:1-4)
About the Eternal State
Upon death, believers will be immediately ushered into the presence of God in heaven. Here the disembodied souls of believers will enjoy perpetual bliss in worship and service to God without the curse and weight of sin. At the time of Jesus’ Second Coming, the dead in Christ will be resurrected and their souls will be united with glorified bodies to dwell eternally with the Lord.
Upon death unbelievers will be immediately ushered into a place of judgment and then conscious eternal punishment. At the end of the Millennium all unbelievers will be resurrected and then face the final judgment at the Great White Throne of Christ.
(Matt 25:31-32, 25:41-46; Luke 16:22-23; 1 Cor 15:52-57; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23; Heb 9:27; Rev 20:11-15)
It’s our prayer that everyone would know God’s love by receiving His gracious gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Scripture says, God in His unconditional love desires none to perish but all to receive eternal life (2 Peter 3:9). Scripture also says, anyone who confesses with her mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes in her heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, will be saved (Romans 10:9)
