The gospel above all


The following video from the BibleProject gives an overview of what we believe.

 
 

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Statement of Faith


The Scriptures

We believe that all the words and all the parts of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament are the only inspired Word of God. The Bible is the product of men controlled by the Holy Spirit, and in the original manuscripts it is truth without any mixture of error. God, in His providential care, has also kept these Scriptures authentic and trustworthy from the time of their composition until the present time. The Bible is the center of true Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human life and conduct will be evaluated and judged. (2 Timothy 3:15–17; 2 Peter 1:19–21)

God

We believe that there is one and only living and true God, the Creator and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth. God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption. (Exodus 20:2–3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11)

God the Father – We believe that God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity, orders and accomplishes all things according to His own purpose and grace (Psalm 145:8–9; 1 Corinthians 8:6). As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption (Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36). His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. As Creator He is Father to all humanity (Ephesians 4:6), but He is spiritual Father only to believers (Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18). He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass (Ephesians 1:11). He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events (1 Chronicles 29:11). He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own (Ephesians 1:4–6). He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. He adopts as His own all those who come to Him, and He becomes, through adoption, Father to His own (John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5–9).

God the Son – We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He was not created, but is the Second Person of the Trinity. He came into this world as foretold in the Scriptures to manifest God to mankind and to be the Redeemer of the sinful world. Jesus took upon Himself human flesh and a sinless human nature through the supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit in a virgin, Mary. Jesus was both fully God and fully man, and His earthly life sometimes functioned in the realm of the humanly and at other times in the realm of the divine. He came to die for the sin of the world—the just for the unjust. Jesus Christ alone is the full and complete propitiation for sin—the full satisfaction of the Father’s justice regarding sin. He rose from the dead, according to the Scriptures, retaining the same body, though glorified. His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven, where He now serves as the High Priest for the redeemed of God and head over the Church, gives proof to the fact that His sacrificial death was fully acceptable to the Father for sin. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 53:1ff; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:30–35; 24:34–39; John 1:1–2; 20:20; Acts 2:22–6; Romans 3:25–26; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:3; 2:17; 4:14–15; 7:25; 10:1–14)

God the Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature. He was active in the creation. He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony, and He is the agent in the new birth. He seals, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer (Genesis 1:1–3; Matthew 28:19; John 14:16–17, 26; 16:8–11; Hebrews 9:14).

Mankind

We believe that Adam and Eve were created in innocence under the laws of their Maker, but by voluntary transgression, Adam fell from his sinless and happy estate. Adam represented all humanity and all humanity sinned in Adam. As a result, all men and women are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam’s fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct and, therefore, are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Genesis 3:1–6, 24; Romans 1:18–32; 3:10–19; 5:12, 19, Ephesians 2:1-3)

Salvation

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be born again. The new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus. Salvation is instantaneous and not a process. In the new birth, someone who is dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life. Salvation is the free gift of God’s grace, based entirely on the merit of Christ’s shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. Faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the only condition for salvation. (John 1:12; 3:3–7; Acts 16:30–33; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:7; 2:1, 5, 8–10; 1 Peter 1:18–19; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:1)

The Church

We believe in the unity of all true believers in the universal Church, which is the body of Christ and was formed on the Day of Pentecost. All believers, both Jews and Gentiles, are added to this Church when they believe the Gospel and are spiritually immersed into Christ’s body (Acts 2:41–42; 1Corinthians 11:2; 12:12–13; Ephesians 3:1–6). The universal Church is revealed through local congregations of redeemed, baptized believers who commit to one another in their covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel. The Church observes the ordinances of Christ, is governed by His laws, and exercises the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word. The biblically designated offices are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and pastor-teachers) and deacons, whose qualifications and duties are revealed in the scriptural accounts of the early Church. The true mission of the Church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all as we have opportunity. The local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations. The one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is scriptural for biblical churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel. Each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation. On all matters of membership, polity, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Acts 15:13–18; 20:17–28; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 4:11; 5:23–24; Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 5:1–5)

Ordinances – We believe that biblical baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. That is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scriptures. Baptism has no saving power, but is an act of obedience for those who are already saved. The Bible affirms that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration of His death until He comes and should be preceded by solemn self-examination. The elements themselves represent the body and blood of the Savior in symbol only. God does not extend His grace to us through the elements of communion. (Matthew 3:16; 28:19–20; John 3:23; Acts 2:38, 41;8:36–39; 10:47–48; Romans 6:3–6; 1 Corinthians 11:23–28; Colossians 2:12) Water baptism is a one– time act of identification; communion is a repeated act of rededication.

Separation – We believe that believers are to separate entirely from worldliness and ecclesiastical apostasy unto God (2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1).

Civil Government – We believe that civil government is ordained by God for the interests and good order of human society. Believers are to pray for and conscientiously honor and obey their civil authorities except when ordered to disobey Scripture and the will of God. (Exodus 18:21, 22; 2 Samuel 23:3; Acts 23:5; Romans 13:17)