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We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being verbally inspired of God, inerrant, infallible, preserved intact (in our day in the King James Version), and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and practice.
By The Holy Bible, we mean that collection of sixty-six books from Genesis through Revelation, which does not only contain the Word of God, but is the very Word of God. By inspiration, we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.
It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct and religious opinions should be tried.
(Exo 24:4; Deut 4:1-2; 17:19; Josh 8:34; Psa 12:6-7; 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Pro 30:5; Isa 34,16; 40:8; Jer 15:16; 36; Matt 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16; 17:11; Rom 15:4; 16:25-26; II Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1-2; 4:12; I Pet 1:25; II Pet 1:19-21)
We believe there is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being; the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence, confidence, and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. The three Persons of the Trinity co-existent, are co-equal, and execute distinct, but harmonious offices, in the great work of redemption.
(Gen 1:26; 17:1; Exo 20:2-3; Psa 90:2; Matt 28:19; John 4:24; Rom 11:33; Eph 4:6; Phil 2:5-6; Col 2:9; II Tim 1:17; I John 5:7; Rev 4:11)
A. God, the Father.
We believe that God, as the Father, is the first person of the Trinity. He reigns with providential care over His universe and His creatures. He is omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (exists everywhere), omniscient (all-knowing), and all-loving. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
(Gen 1:1; 2:7; Exo 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11; 20:1; Lev 22:2; Deut 6:4; 32:6; I Chr 29:10; Psa 19:1-3; Isa 43:3, 15; 64:8; Jer 10:10; 17:13; Matt 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom. 8:14-15; I Cor 8:6; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6; Col 1:15; I Tim 1:17; Heb 11:6; 12:9; I Pet 1:17; 1 John 5:7)
B. God, the Son – Jesus.
We believe that God, as the Lord Jesus Christ, is the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Word, and the only begotten Son of the Father. The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man (flesh), yet without sin and without ceasing to be God; He will continue forever to be both God and man.
In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death, as the perfect and sinless Lamb of God, on the cross, shedding His innocent blood, as a vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of mankind, suffering sin’s full penalty of divine wrath in our place. After being buried in a tomb for three days and three nights, the Lord was literally and physically resurrected from the dead, thus providing all believers with our justification. The Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.
He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
(Gen 3:15; 18:1; Psa 2:7; 110:1; Isa 7:14; 9:6; 53; Matt 1:18-25; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9-11; 2:18-36; 7:55-56; 9:4- 5, 20; Rom 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; I Cor 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28; II Cor 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:7, 20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:13-22; 2:9; I The 4:14-18; I Tim 2:5-6; 3:16; Tit 2:13-14: Heb 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8; I Pet 1:3-5; 2:21-25; 3:22; I John 1:7-9; 2:1-2; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; II John 7-9; Rev 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16)
C. God, the Holy Spirit.
We believe that God, as the Holy Spirit, is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He restrains the Evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; for He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He indwells and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. He anoints, baptizes, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
(Gen 1:2; Judg 14:6; Job 26:13; Psa 51:11; 139:7; Isa 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 3:5-6; 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17, 39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Rom 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; I Cor 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; I The 5:19; I Tim 3:16; 4:1; II Tim 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8, 14; II Pet 1-21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17)
God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly, in order that they can do the work of the ministry.
(Rom 12:3-8; I Cor 12:4-11, 28; Eph 4:7-12)
The sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. The ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing.
(I Cor 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
We believe that the Devil is an actual being, and not an imaginary influence; that he once enjoyed high-heavenly honors and glorious heavenly privileges; that through pride, ambition, and self-will, he betrayed God and, as a result, the judgment of God was brought down upon his head. He is the constant adversary of God and His people, the leader of all wicked and evil spirits, and operates today as the god of this evil world and the Prince of the power of the air; that he is the arch deceiver, and father of all lies, that he is the greatest enemy, the biggest tempter, and the greatest opposition of the saints. He is the author of confusion and the king of all the powers of darkness.
His powers are vast but strictly limited by God and that he was defeated and judged at the cross, making his final doom certain. Believers can overcome him only by the whole armor of God, the blood of the Lamb, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. His final abode shall be the lake of fire, which is the eternal place of punishment prepared for the Devil and his angels.
(Isa 14:12-15; Eze 28:14-17; Matt 4:1-3; 25:41; John 8:43-44; II Cor 4:4; Eph 6:12; Col 1:13; I Pet 5:8; I John 3:8; Jude 6, 9; Rev 12:9-11; 20:10)
We believe in Genesis’ account of creation and believe that man was created by the special act of God in the image / likeness of God and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by His Creator with freedom of choice. But by his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God. Man is now, by virtue of his fallen nature, void of holiness, positively inclined to evil and condemned to eternal ruin without excuse.
Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence; whereby he inherited a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become transgressors (in thought, word, and deed) and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every man deserves dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Gen 1:1, 11, 24, 26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; 3:1-6, 15; 9:6; Psa 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isa 6:5; Jer 17:5, 9; Matt 16:26; John 1:1-3; Acts 17:26-31; Rom 1:18-32; 3:10-19, 23; 5:6, 12, 19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18, 29; I Cor 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22; Eph 2:1-22; Col 1:16-17, 21-22; 3:9-11; Heb 1:1-3; I John 8-10)
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins and that to be saved, sinners must be born again. Jesus Christ was the only one who lived a sinless and perfect life, thus the only way to salvation.
Salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
A. Regeneration.
Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The new birth is instantaneous and not a process; it is the only way that the one dead in trespasses and sins can be a partaker of the Divine nature and receive eternal life (the gift of God); it is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, not by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with Divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.
Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a change of direction because of regret over some past action or intention (i.e.: genuine turning from sin and unbelief toward God). Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
B. Sanctification.
Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerating person’s life.
C. Glorification.
Glorification is the culmination of salvation. We will finally be conformed to the image of God and receive our glorified body as we enter the Lord’s presence.
(Gen 3:15, 19; Exo 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Isa 55:13; Matt 1:21; 3:1-2; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; 13:3; 24:47; John 1:11-14, 29; 3:3-21, 36; 5:24; 10:9; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21, 38; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:21, 32; Rom 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 10:9-10, 13, 13:11-14; I Cor 1:18, 30; 6:19-20; 15:10; II Cor 5:8, 17-21; Gal 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Eph 1:7, 12-14; 2:8-22; 4:11-16, 30; Phil 2:12-13; 3:21; Col 1:9-22; 2:12-13; 3:12; I The 1:4; 5:23-24; II Tim 1:12; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8, 14; Jam 2:14-26; I Pet 1:2-23; I John 1:6-2:11; 5:4-5; 5:11-13; Rev. 3:20; 21:1-22:5, 17)
We believe in the eternal security of the believer. It is impossible for one born into the family of God to ever be lost; he is always a son as an earthly father-son relationship. All who receive, by faith, the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God. It is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word. However, the Bible forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(John 1:12; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom 8:35-39; 13:13-14; I Cor 1:4-8; Gal 5:13; I Pet 1:4-5)
We believe that a local church is a visible, pastor-led, organized congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; voluntarily united together for the purpose of worship, edification, fellowship, service, and observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures.
The mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have opportunity in the local community and unto the uttermost parts of the earth (the Great Commission). The local church is self-governed and free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only Superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is Scriptural for churches of like-faith to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that each local church is the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; that on all matters of membership, of polity and practice, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final; that the local church is to be autonomous (independent) and Baptist in doctrine.
All ministries should go through the local church and under its authority. Para-church organizations are unbiblical because they usurp the local church. God has always had a faithful testimony of sound, Bible believing, local, New Testament churches throughout the church age who were not ashamed to be identified with Baptist doctrine, and neither could the gates of Hell prevail against them. Furthermore, the local church is not a building, but a called-out assembly of born-again, baptized believers and is the body and the espoused bride of Christ.
(Matt 16:15-19; 18:15-20; 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 2:41-42, 47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-4; 14:23, 27; 15:1-31; 16:5; 20:17-32; Rom 1:7; 16:1, 4; I Cor 1:2; 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 7:17; 9:13-14; 11:2; 12:12-14; II Cor 11:2; Eph 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:1-11, 21; 4:11, 15; 5:22-27; Phil 1:1; Col 1:18; I Tim 3:1-15; 4:14; Tit 1:5-11; I Pet 5:1-4; Rev 2-3; 21:2-3)
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only two ordinances set forth in the Scriptures for the local church by Jesus Christ.
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour; baptism pictures the new believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members (baptized believers) of the local church, through partaking of the sacred use of unleavened bread and the unfermented fruit of the vine, are to memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. This memorial supper, which symbolizes the broken body and the shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, is always preceded by a solemn self-examination to ensure that the participants are qualified by possessing the proper spiritual relationship between themselves and the Lord and the church (i.e.: fellow believers).
Matt 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22- 26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 18:18; 20:7; Rom 6:3-5; I Cor 10:16, 21; 11:23-31; Col 2:12
We believe in the imminent return of Jesus Christ in the clouds for His Church, known as the pre-tribulational rapture, to take His Saints out of this world. (I The 4:13-18; II The 2:1-2)
We believe in the pre-millennial return of Jesus Christ to earth and His literal, 1,000 year, millennial reign on earth, seated on the throne of David as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (I Sam 7:14-16; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 15:16; Rev 19:11-20:6).
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost. When a saved person dies, the immaterial part (soul / spirit) of that person goes instantly in the presence of God. The unsaved will be raised up at the conclusion of the millennium to be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and be sent to spend eternity in the lake of fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels.
(Matt 25:41; 28:6-7; Mark 16:6; Luke 24:2-6, 39; John 20:27; I Cor 15:4; II Cor 5:8; Rev 20:11-15)
We believe the Biblical account of the creation of the physical universe, angels, and man; that this account is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate creative acts of God without any evolutionary process; that man was created by a direct work of God in His image, after His own likeness, and not from previously existing forms of life nor any product of evolution; and that all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, the first parents of the entire human race.
(Gen 1-2; Exo 20:11; Jer 10:12; Neh 9:6; John 1:1-3; Acts 4:24; 17:23-26; Rom 1:20; Col 1:16-17; II Tim 3:16; Heb 11:3; Rev 10:6)
We believe that all Christians are first to be separated wholly unto the Lord, and as a necessary result, they must be:
A. Separated from worldly and sinful practices.
They are to be holy, even as He is holy, and this desired behavior will always be diametrically opposed to the course of this present age.
(Rom 12:1-2; I Cor 6:19-20; I Pet 1:13-16; 1 John 2:15-17)
B. Separated from apostasy and unbelief.
A believer must not be “unequally yoked together with unbelievers,” thereby being identified with unbelief by association, whether in ministry, worship, or by joint religious activities.
(Amos 3:3; II Cor 6:14-18; I Tim 6:3-5; II Tim 2:19-22; 3:1-5)
C. Separated from disobedient brethren and doctrinal compromise with respect to all ministry and service.
A believer is identified with the doctrinal positions and practices of those he is in fellowship with, both before God and man. Separation from one who is not walking according to truth provides a faithful warning to the erring believer and illuminates your intolerance to compromise.
(Rom 16:17; I Cor 15:33; Gal 2:9-11; II The 3:6,14-15; II John 10-11)
We believe that civil government is ordained of God for the interest and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed; except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Lord of the kings of the earth.
(Exo 18:21-22; II Sam 23:3; Psa 72:11; Pro 21:1; Dan 3:17-18; Matt 10:28; 22:21; 23:10; Acts 4:19-20; 23:5; Rom 13:1-7; Phil 2:10-11; Tit 3:1; I Pet 2:13-14, 17)
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. A Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made.
(Gen 14:20; Pro 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Cor 16:2; II Cor 9:6-7; Gal 6:6; Eph 4:28; I Tim 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
We believe that God has commanded that no intimate physical activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography is a sinful perversion of God’s original intent for a physical relationship between a husband and wife.
(Gen 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Lev 18:1-30; Rom 1:26-29; I Cor 5:1; 6:9; I The 4:1-8; Heb 13:4)
We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced and re-married persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in a church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon of a church.
(Mal 2:14-17; Matt 19:3-12; Rom 7:1-3; I Tim 3:2, 12; Tit 1:6)
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, inexcusable taking of an unborn, human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable.
(Job 3:16; Psa 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go throughout our nation as well as every foreign country and not wait for them to come to us.
(Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8, II Cor 5:20)
We believe every born-again Christian has a duty and a responsibility to live a clean, holy, and separated life that is not conformed to this world, not as a means of salvation, but as evidence and fruit of salvation. Every believer should deny himself, take up his cross, and follow his Saviour’s example, walking as He walked. The believer also has a duty to study the scriptures, pray for guidance and wisdom, and bear the Gospel to a lost and dying world.
(Luke 9:23-26; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:10; II Tim 2:15)
