What We Believe

 

 

God

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

• The Father – He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with care over the universe and the flow of human history goes according to His purpose and plan.

• The Son (Jesus) – Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man through the virgin birth. He lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He physically arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

• The Holy Spirit – He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.

Scripture: The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it has salvation for its end and is truth without any mixture of error.

Giving: We believe in giving the tithe – ten percent of our gross income (not net income) – as the biblical standard of giving. The tithe is to be given as an undesignated offering to the “storehouse” ministry of a local church. According to the Scriptures, we are to give cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally so unbelievers can come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Human Beings: People are made in the image of God and are the supreme object of God’s creation. All of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called sin. Sin separates people from God and causes many of the problems in life.

The Church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by their common faith and fellowship with Jesus. The church should exercise their God-given gifts and extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body serving under the Lordship of Christ. All members are equally responsible as they serve with the scriptural officers of the church, the pastors, elders and deacons.

Salvation: Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one received Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.

Ordinances: There are two ordinances found in the Bible.

• Baptism by Immersion – Scriptural baptism includes: (1) complete immersion under the water and (2) after salvation. Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion thereby setting the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but is the first act of obedience symbolizing(1) the believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, (2) the believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ, and (3) the Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.

• The Lord’s Supper – The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Jesus Christ. The bread is symbolic of Jesus’ body and the juice is symbolic of Jesus’ blood.

Membership: Is precious and comes with expectations of unity, service, and giving. If these expectations are not met the church may choose to exercise discipline on individual members with the sole purpose to teach and restore the believer to right standing with God and other members.

• Unity: To live in harmony with other believers is clearly the teaching of the New Testament. It is the responsibility of each believer to endeavor to live in fellowship with each member of the congregation. Each member has the responsibility to bring all gossiping and backbiting to an end.

• Service: Each believer has been given spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts are to be utilized to encourage and strengthen other believers and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to unbelievers. Spiritual gifts are utilized corporately in the local church, but should also be utilized individually outside the local church. Each member is expected to serve corporately within the local church and individually outside the local church.

• Giving: All members are expected to give of their financial resources. Tithing is the standard of biblical giving, but some may not be in a position give the full 10% of their gross income. Members are expected to either give the complete tithe or be in the process of achieving this goal.