Our Beliefs

About God

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. His eternal existence is defined within the Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal, yet uniquely different, while inarguably one.

Genesis 1:1, 26, 27 and 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I Peter 1:2

About Man

Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. He is the supreme object of God’s creation. Although man has great potential for good, he is marred by a disposition toward God called "sin". This sin is what separates man from God.

Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans3:23

About Eternity

Man was created to live forever. Therefore, he will live either eternally separated from God due to sin, or eternally in the presence of God through his salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell, or eternal separation. To be eternally in the presence of God is Heaven, or eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.

Matthew 1:8; Matthew 2:44, 46; John 2:25; John 3:16; John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:15

About Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with God the Father. He was born of a virgin in the city of Bethlehem. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, through His death on the cross of Calvary. Three days later, he arose from the dead to demonstrate His authority over death, hell and the grave. He ascended to heaven and will one day return to the earth to reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.

Isaiah 9:6 ; Matthew 1:22-23 ; John 1:1-15, 14:10-30 ; Acts 1:9-11 ; Romans 1:3-4; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 4:14-15

About Salvation

Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man cannot make amends for his sin by any means of self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offering of forgiveness can man be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his/her life by faith.

John 14:6; Romans 5:1, 6:23; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2: 8-9; Titus 3:5

About Eternal Security

Because it is God that grants man eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation forever. Salvation is assured and maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-efforts of the believer.

John 10:29; II Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14; I Peter 1:3-5

About the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. He is present in the world to make mankind aware of the need for Jesus Christ. He is also a gift granted into the heart of mankind at the moment of salvation. The Holy Spirit is the grantor of spiritual gifts and He is the source of power available to believers to live holy lives, to understand spiritual truth, and to be guided in doing what is right. Every believer is instructed and should yield to live submitted to His control on a daily basis.

John 14:16, 16: 7-13, 17 ; Acts 1:8 ; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16 ; I Corinthians 12-14; II Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:25 ; Ephesians 1:13, 5:18

About Spiritual Gifts

All of the spiritual gifts revealed in the New Testament are still operable within the church of today. They are "spiritual" gifts, thus we must recognize that it is the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit) that grants such gifts. According to scripture, the Spirit grants gifts within the church as He sees fit, for the purpose of edifying the Body toward the building up of the Church. All spiritual gifts are to be exercised within the Body as taught by scripture and should not be used to draw attention to oneself.

I Corinthians 12-14

About the Bible

The Bible is God’s Word to all mankind. It was written by human authors, under the divine inspiration (supernatural guidance) of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for the Christian’s belief and way of life. Because the Bible is inspired by God, it is absolute truth without any measure of error.

Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 30:5; II Timothy 1:13, 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21

About the Priesthood of the Believer

Every believer is a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ and is equipped by the Holy Spirit to the work of a minister. Every believer, through the death of Jesus Christ, has direct access to God through prayer. By the power granted through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, every believer is also capable of rightly interpreting the words of scripture.

I Peter 2:9; II Peter 1:20-21

About Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Water Baptism and the Lord’s Supper ("ordinances") are visible symbols that represent great truths to believers. The act of being baptized in water DOES NOT bring about salvation, it is merely the outward expression of what has happened in the heart of the believer. Water baptism symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as well as the conversion experience (salvation). Every baptism in the New Testament was an act of immersion, thus presenting the picture of death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper symbolizes the sacrificial death and imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 3: 16, 28:19-20; Romans 6:4; I Corinthians 11:23-28; Ephesians 2: 8-9; Colossians 2:12

About the Church

In an eternal sense, the "Church" represents the universal body of believers throughout all the ages who are joined together through their profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the temporal, the "church" is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every church is an autonomous (self-governed) body, committed to operating under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 16:15-19; Acts 2: 41-42, 47; Romans 1:7; Ephesians 1:22-23

About Stewardship

God is the source of all temporal and spiritual blessings. As believers, we are under scriptural obligation to be responsible stewards (overseers) of our time, testimony, talents, and treasures (earthly possessions). Though the giving of the first 10% of a person’s income reflects an understanding of the Old Testament’s teaching regarding the "tithe", we believe that an understanding of the New Testament is reflected in our willingness to follow the example set by Jesus as He gave 100% of Himself for our sake. Thus, biblical stewardship is demonstrated by our willingness to acknowledge that all we have belongs to God and we are to give in obedience to the leadership of the Holy Spirit as He speaks to our hearts. If we practice such stewardship, the church will always have what is needed to accomplish its ministry and the needs of people around us will always be met.

Genesis 14:20; Malachi 3:8-12; Matthew 6:1-4, 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 8 & 9; Philippians 4:10-19