What We Believe
- The Old and New Testaments are the
inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God. In the
Word, we find the revelation of God's eternal and unchanging
will for men of all ages. It is the Divine and final
authority for the Christian life. (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Thess.
2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)
- There is one God, the Creator of all
things, who is infinitely perfect and eternally existent in
three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (1 John 5:7;
Col. 2:9; Matt. 28:19)
- Jesus Christ is the union of God and man.
He is True God and True Man, conceived of the Holy Spirit,
and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and
died on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of all men. He
arose bodily from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is
presently seated at the right hand of the Father as our High
Priest and Advocate. (Phil. 2:6; John 1:1, 14, 18,
6:28, 14:28, 15:26)
- Man was created in the image of God but
fell into sin, which resulted in his spiritual death or
separation from God. Only through regeneration by the Holy
Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained. This
process of regeneration, called "born again" in
the Word, takes place through a combination of faith and
confession. As a person makes the decision to believe in the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then confesses with
his mouth the Lordship of Jesus in his life, a miracle of
regeneration by the Holy Spirit takes place. A new Christian
is born into the Kingdom of God - for him old things are
passed away and all things are new! (Rom. 3:10, 23, 5:12,
10:9-10; 1 John 3:8; Eph. 2:8; 2 Cor. 5:17)
- Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are
ordinances to be observed by the Church during the present
age. They are not, however, to be confused with or regarded
as a means of salvation. The shed blood of Jesus Christ and
His resurrection provide the only grounds for justification
and salvation. (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12; Acts
8:36-38)
- The present day ministry of the Holy Spirit
is to comfort and guide the believer with the final purpose
of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the earth. During
this age, He indwells guides, instructs, and empowers the
believer for godly living and service. Every believer should
be filled with the Holy Spirit with speaking in tongues as
the initial physical evidence. (Matt. 3:11; John 14:16-17;
Acts 1:8, 2:4, 38-39; 19:1-7)
- Every born-again, spirit-filled believer
should maintain a consistent prayer life in both praying
with the understanding and praying in the Spirit. (Heb.
12:14; 1 Thes. 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18; 2 Cor. 3:18; Phil.
3:12-14; 1 Cor. 1:30)
- Without faith it is impossible to please
God. The Word tells us that the just (those who have been
justified by the Blood of Jesus) shall live by faith. The
redemptive work of Jesus not only provided salvation for the
believer but provided healing and prosperity as well for our
spiritual, soulish, and physical man. We are redeemed from
the Curse of the law - poverty, sickness, oppression, etc.
Our lives can be prosperous and healthy in every realm as we
walk in the light of this redemption by faith in God's Word.
(James 5:14-15; Mark 16:18; Isa. 53:4-5; Matt. 8:17; 1 Peter
2:24)
- The Universal Church is composed of all
those who are born again. Through this new birth we are
united together in the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ is the
Lord and Head of the Church, and has provided leadership for
the local church through the ministry gifts, which only He
can give. Every local church has the right, under Christ, to
decide and govern its own affairs. (John 3:3; Eph.
1:22,4:8)
- The pre-millenial Second Coming of Jesus
Christ is two-part in nature: He will come in the air to
resurrect the righteous dead and catch away the living
saints; He will then come to the earth to establish His
physical Kingdom and begin His thousand-year reign. (Acts
1:11; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:6)
- There will be a bodily resurrection of the
dead, of the believer to everlasting joy with the Lord, and
of the unbeliever to judgment and eternal punishment. (Heb.
9:27; Rev. 19:20)
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