Statement of Faith

 

         Scripture

 

     We believe that the Word of God is fully contained within the 66 books of the Bible.  We believe the canon to be closed, and the original manuscripts to be fully inspired and inerrant.  It is the complete revelation of God and the words contained within are the fullness of his communication to man.  The Word is sufficient for all truth, faith, and life. It is inerrant in the autographs, infallible, and God-breathed. Moreover, God primarily speaks to us in these latter days through His Son, the God-man Jesus Christ (Heb 1, Deut 4:2, Matt 5:18, John 16:12-13, 2 Tim 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Rev 22:18-19). 

 

         Trinity

 

     We believe in one God, truine in personhood. These persons exist simultaneously  without end.  We believe that the Father, Son, and Spirit have existed as one in perfect fellowship for all of eternity. Seeing that their fellowship is perfect, the Godhead is completely self-sufficient (Gen 1, Matt 3:16-17, John 10; 17, 1 John 2:23).

 

         Father

 

     We believe the Father is the author of creation, the One who makes and sustains all things.  Nothing can thwart His design or change His mind, for he is unchanging and without variation.  In the course of redemptive history, he gave the Son over to death in the fulness of time, and it was by His will and good pleasure that He was crushed.  This was done to bring His people unto Himself and make His name great.  It was by His will that all of the past has transpired, and by his same will eternity will perfectly progress.  He rules over all and His holiness is the standard by which all is measured.  His perfect nature and holiness are shown through both wrath and grace, and He has set apart vessels for both in order to make His glory known.  Because He is perfect, His showing off of His fame is an act of supreme love (Malachi 2:10; Matt 23:9; John 10, 14:9-11; 1 Peter 1:3).

 

             Spirit

 

     We believe the Holy Spirit is the supernatural agent in salvation, bringing those whom the Father has given the Son into conversion, through the quickening of their spirits, indwelling and sealing them until the day of Christ’s return.  He is the encourager  of all believers, interceding on their behalf and comforting them in their afflictions (John 14:26, 16:8-11; 1 Cor 12:12-13; 2 Cor 3:6; Rom 8:9; Eph 5:18).

 

                   Christ

 

     We believe that Christ was, in the course of human history, born into this world in the flesh of man.  Though he was fully man, he was also fully God.  Though he lived in the weakness of the flesh and was tempted, he did not give into any sin.  This enabled him to both sympathize with our weakness and stand as our perfect substitute.  We believe that on the cross he bore the sins of his elect, though this did not taint the Godhead.  By his death and resurrection he secured the inheritance of his elect (2 Cor 5:21, Rom 5, Philippians 2, Heb 4:14-16; 7-8, Rev 5).

 

        Creation

 

     We believe that God alone created the universe to magnify His name, though He did so out of no need or want.  His creating was the overflow of His glory.  Outside of creation, nothing existed except God Himself.  All things were called into existence by Him alone (Gen 1:1, John 1:3, Col 1:16, Rom 11:16, James 1:18).

 

        Holiness of God

 

     We believe that God alone is holy and perfect, that he is unable to sin or to be tainted by sin (Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:26, Habakkuk 1:13, James 1:17, 1 Peter 1:16).

 

        Man

 

     We believe that man was created by God on the final day of the creation order, and woman shortly thereafter from the man.  They were created in the image of God and without a sin nature.  Though the Imago Dei was corrupted in the fall, they did retain an aspect of it afterward.  We too, as children of Adam, carry the same from birth.  In short, we affirm an historical Adam and Eve and their presence and fall in a historical garden.  In lieu of Adam's fall, we believe that man is born into sin, hating God and his truths and ultimately pursuant of only his self-interest.  Furthermore, we believe that he is incapable of changing this basic nature (Gen 3, Psalm 14:3; 51:5, Rom 1; 3:10-12; 3:23; 5, Eph 2).

 

      Conversion

 

     We believe that conversion is wrought entirely by God, wherein he awakens the dead soul of his elect and causes them to see his true glory.  We also believe that God's glory is such that any man shown its truth is unable to resist its allure.  Finally, we believe that just as God's glory is unable to be resisted, so it is unable to later be rejected.  The Lord protects those whom he calls.  As such, any man truly converted will stay in such state forevermore.  In short, God the Father chooses and adopts, Christ the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit seals. Though works do not save, repentance and a changed life will always result from true conversion (John 10, James 2, Eph 1-2, Rom 3:24-6; 5).

 

       Church

 

     We believe that church local is the primary manifestation of the gospel.  All ministries and missions should be routed through a local church and have the ultimate goal of involving believers in their respective local churches.  A true local church is one in which the gospel of Christ is preached and the ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, rightly practiced.  All true local churches make up the church universal, the bride of Christ that he is keeping pure and undefiled until final glorification  (Matthew 28:18-20, 2 Cor 8:1-5; 11:8, James 1:27).

 

       Satan and his defeat

 

     We believe that Satan is a real entity who was created as a heavenly being by God and later fell from grace.  He manifested himself as a serpent in the garden, and now prowls like a roaring lion.  Though his manifestation changes, his strategy does not.  He is the father of lies and uses all of his limited power to to foster lies and disobedience against the triune God. We believe that God has always been victorious over sin and Satan.  We also believe that this victory will be seen in its final form in the age to come.  The serpent's head has been crushed, is presently being crushed, and will be crushed fully and forevermore at the second coming of the Lord (Gen 3, Luke 10:17-20, 1 Cor 10:13, Rom 6:14-23, 1 Peter 5:8, Rev 20).

 

       End Times

 

     We believe that the second coming of the Lord will usher in the new heavens and the new earth, wherein God will reign in perfect nature forevermore.  Believers, both dead and living, will be granted resurrected bodies and will taste perfection for the first time.  They will live in perfect harmony with God for eternity (1 Thess 4:13-17, Rev 21).