Truths We Hold Dear
* In essential beliefs - we have unity.
* In non-essential beliefs - we have liberty.
* In all our beliefs - we show charity.
ABOUT GOD:
God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are One God.
ABOUT THE FATHER:
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with providential care over the universe and the flow of human history goes goes according to his purposes and plans.
ABOUT JESUS:
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all the people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven's glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lord's.
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT:
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth; exalts Christ; convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; cultivates Christian character, comforts believers; bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God; and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
ABOUT THE SCRIPTURES:
The Bible is God's word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because God inspires it, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.
ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS:
People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God's creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from from God and causes many problems in life.
ABOUT SALVATION:
Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his or her life by faith.
ABOUT ETERNAL SECURITY:
Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have genuinely been saved, you cannot "loose" your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is in the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
ABOUT ETERNITY:
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
ABOUT BAPTISM BY IMMERSION:
We believe that Scriptural baptism must be; (1) by being completely immersed under the water and (2) must be after salvation, not before salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion. These two facts set standards for baptisms today. Baptism has no saving power but it is the first act of obedience symbolizing (1) the believers faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believers death to the reign of sin in their life, and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the Christian's belief that they will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect them from the dead.
ABOUT THE LORD'S SUPPER (COMMUNION):
The Lord's Supper (Communion) is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents His shed blood for the forgiveness of sin.
ABOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT:
In the New Testament Jesus emphasizes that for the true believer everything they own belongs to Him and that we should give systematically, proportionally, regularly, liberally, and cheerfully. We believe that the biblical example and standard of giving is the tithe - 10% of gross income (not net). Christ's standard for the advancement of His kingdom and cause on the earth is the church partnering together to impact our community and world for Him.
ABOUT EVANGELISM:
We believe that it is the duty of every born again follower of Christ and of every church to endeavor to make disciples of all men everywhere. It is the command of Christ for every believer to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
ABOUT THE CHURCH:
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. A local church is to observe two ordinances: (1) baptism, and (2) the Lord's Supper (Communion). This group of believers is to exercise their God given gifts and endeavor to reach their world and the ends of the earth with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are equally responsible as they serve with the Scriptural offices of the church led by the pastor.
ABOUT CHRISTIAN UNITY:
To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. It is further the responsibility of each member to bring all gossiping and slanderous speech to an end.
