We Believe…

THE SCRIPTURES

The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. We accept the Bible as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine.
(2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:21)

THE GODHEAD

Our God is one, but manifested in three persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal.
(Philippians 2:6)

God the Father is greater than all; the sender of the Word (Logos) and the Begetter. 
(John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14)

The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning.
(John 1:1; John 1:18; John 1:14) 

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His atoning death, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the Father as our present mediator, and His future return to this earth in power and glory.
(Matt. 1:23, 25:31; Heb. 9:14; Rom. 3:25; John 20:17; 1 Tim. 2:5; Titus 2:13).

The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal, empowering every believer to live out the Christian walk.
(John 15:26)

Man, His fall and redemption

Man is a created being, made in the image of God. Through Adam’s transgressions and fall, sin came into the world. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to destroy the work of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God. Salvation is a gift made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God.
(Eph. 2:8, Eph. 2:18; Rom. 5:14, 3:23; 1 John 3:8).

ETERNAL LIFE AND THE NEW BIRTH

The New Birth is necessary to all men, and when experienced, produces eternal life. 
(2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 5:12; John 3:3-5)

The only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ. Regeneration, the new birth of the human spirit, is absolutely essential for personal salvation, and is affected when one believes in their heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confesses with his mouth that Jesus is Lord.
(John 1:12, 3:3-16; Rom.3:21, 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-9).

WATER BAPTISM

Baptism in water is by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
(Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39)

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT

The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift from God promised by the Lord Jesus. It is a baptism of power to be experienced by all believers subsequent to salvation. The initial physical evidence accompanying this experience is speaking in other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance.
(Matt. 3:11; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8, 2:4, 38-39, 19:1-7).

SANCTIFICATION

The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a holy life. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ’s return.
(Hebrews 12:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Peter 3:18; Acts 19:1-7; Acts 2:4)

DIVINE HEALING

The redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides for the healing of the physical ills of the human body and deliverance from demonic power to all who ask in faith. and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith and the laying on of hands. This is the covenant privilege of every believer.
(Isaiah 53:4-5; Ps. 103:3; Matt. 8:17; Mark 11:23-24; Mark 16:18; John 14:13; Rom. 8:11; James 5:14-15; 1 Peter 2:24; Matthew 8:17;)

RESURRECTION OF THE JUST AND THE RETURN OF OUR LORD

The angels said to Jesus’ disciples, “…this same Jesus … shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” His coming for the church is imminent. When this “catching away” or “rapture” of the church occurs… “The dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) Following the Tribulation, Jesus shall return to earth the second time as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and together with His saints, who shall be kings and priests, He shall reign a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

HELL AND ETERNAL RETRIBUTION

The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the Lake of Fire and, therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The Lake of Fire is literal. The terms “eternal” and “everlasting,” used in describing the duration of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the presence of God. (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 19:20)

HEAVEN

Heaven is a real place — referred to as the Heaven of heavens where God is, not the atmospheric or celestial heavens. (Revelation 4:1-2) Heaven is the eternal dwelling place of God; and where Jesus Christ is seated. Heaven is also a place that God has prepared for those who believe in Jesus Christ. When a believer dies he immediately goes to Heaven – absent from the body, preset with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) To the one who believes in the redemptive work of Jesus, Heaven is their eternal home. “There shall be no curse, no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.” (Revelation 21:1-8)