Statement of Faith

***Article III:  Articles of Faith***

Article III, Section 1:  THE SCRIPTURES

We believe in the inspiration of the Bible in its original manuscripts as the inerrant and infallible Word of God, being comprised of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Spirit divinely revealed the message of God to the writers of Scripture, controlling their thoughts and words as they wrote, providing for us God’s inspired message. As God’s Word, the Bible is true and authoritative in all of its content and is the final authority for believers in faith and practice.

Reference:  2 Timothy 3: 16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18;  Matthew 24:35; and I Peter 1:25.

Article III, Section 2, Part A:  THE GODHEAD

We believe in one true living God, a triune Godhead in three persons:  the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  God’s existence is infinite and eternal, with no beginning and no end. God is the source of all life and substance and through Him all things are sustained.

Reference:  Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; I2 Corinthians 13:14; Isaiah 57:15; and Colossians 1:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; Isaiah 44:6; Jeremiah 10:10, Psalm 102:25

 Article III, Section 2, Part B: THE FATHER

We believe that, in love, God the Father concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He ordains and controls all things according to His Sovereign purpose.

Reference:  John 3:16; Psalms 19; Ephesians 1:18-19; Genesis 1:1; John 13:3; and Psalms 90:2.

Article III, Section 2, Part C:  THE SON

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son of God, who became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.  He was sinless in life, the revelation of God to man.

We believe in His substitutionary death on the cross to redeem us from our sins; in His physical bodily resurrection; in His ascension to heaven and exaltation to the right hand of the Father where He lives to make intercession for His own; in His personal pre-tribulation and pre-millennial return to receive His own unto Himself; and in His subsequent return to Earth, where He will rule with His Saints in His kingdom.

Reference:  John 1:1, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:17; Hebrews 7:25;  Hebrews 9:14; I John 2:1-2;  Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20:1-6.\; Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:34-35

Article III, Section 2, Part D:  THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit who came to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement; that He regenerates and baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption; that He is the believer’s guide, power, teacher, and companion.

Reference:  John 16:7-11, 13; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:1-4, 9; John 1:11-13; and John 3:3-8.

Article III, Section 3, PART A:  ANGELS

We believe that angels are immortal spirit beings, created by God, each with an individual personality and free-will.  They were created to worship and serve God, act as messengers of God, and to defend and protect God’s people.  Angels have the ability to appear on earth in the form of men.

Article III, Section 3, Part B:  SATAN and FALLEN ANGELS

We believe in the personality of Satan, called the Devil, and his present control over un-regenerated mankind.  He was originally created by God as a perfect angel but rebelled against God in pride and was cast out of heaven.  He now reigns as the prince of this world with his host of fallen angels (demons) who fell with him in rebellion against God.  As the originator of sin, he is the enemy of God and believers, and works against men to deceive them and turn them away from God’s truth.  He is ultimately destined to be cast into the lake of fire for eternity.

Reference: Isaiah 14:12-15; Matthew 4:2-11; Matthew 12:24-26; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:9; Revelation 20:10; Ephesians 2:2; and II Corinthians 4:3-4; 1 Peter 5:8; Matt 13:19; Rev 20:10.

Article III, Section 4, Part A:  CREATION OF MAN

We believe that man was created by God from the dust of the ground on the sixth day of Creation; that God created man in His own image, breathed into Him the breath of life and gave to him an eternal soul.  We believe that Adam and Eve were the first humans created by God, first Adam, and then Eve from one of Adam’s ribs.

Reference:  Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:22.

Article III, Section 4, Part B:  FALL OF MAN

We believe that all men are lost and born into sin, being the descendants of Adam, who willfully disobeyed God, bringing sin unto all mankind. All men have sinned and come short of glorifying God in all their actions and thoughts. As sinners, all men are inherently and totally depraved and cannot save themselves from the effects and penalty of sin, nor restore themselves to fellowship with God, making necessary the new birth in Jesus Christ. As a result of man’s sin, all are destined to an eternity in hell.

Reference:  Genesis 3:13, 16-17; Romans 1:18-25; Romans 3:10-12, 23; Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23.

Article III, Section 5 , Part A:  REDEMPTION AND SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the free gift of God offered to all, and that men are justified by God’s grace alone and through faith alone in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to redeem men from sin.  In salvation, men are cleansed from sin and accounted to be righteous before God through the merit of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As redeemed believers, men are regenerated unto eternal life in Christ, reconciled to fellowship with God, and freed from the power and penalty of sin. Once saved, men are eternally secure as God’s children in Christ Jesus.

Reference:  Acts 4:12; John 10:17-18; Eph 2:8-9; and Hebrews 2:9; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19; John 10:27-30; I John 5:11-13; and Romans 6:4-11.

Article III, Section 5 , Part B:  HOLINESS and SEPARATION FROM SIN

We believe that all the saved are called by God to holiness and should live in a manner so as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation unto God from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded in the Scriptures.

Reference:  2 Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1-2; Romans 14:13; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 1:9-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-17; 2 Corinthians 7:11; James 1:27

Article III, Section 5 , Part C:  SANCTIFICATION

We believe that we are being continually sanctified and cleansed by the Holy Spirit and that we will be perfected when we die and meet Jesus Christ or when He returns to gather His Church to Himself.  Grace is not an excuse to sin and we will suffer the consequences if we choose to sin.

 Reference: Romans 6:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Philippians 3:21; 1 John 3:2

Article III, Section 6, Part A:  UNIVERSAL CHURCH

We believe that the Church is the Bride of Christ and is made up of all believers who are born again and baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, from the day of Pentecost until Christ returns in the clouds to claim His own, for whom He now makes intercession in Heaven.

Reference: Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 5:24-27; I Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2.

Article III, Section 6, Part B:  LOCAL CHURCH

We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. The local church is the physical and visible representation of the Body of Christ and is God’s ordained institution through which believers glorify God in carrying out His objectives of worship, service, evangelism, and edification of the saints. The Church is primarily a spiritual organism of which Christ is the Head, and not an earthly organization. All church authority is derived from Jesus Christ and from His Holy Word, the Bible.

Reference:  Acts 2:47; Acts 14:27; Acts 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:13-15; Titus 1:5-11; Eph 4:7-16; Eph 1:22-23; Eph 5:23-24; 1 Cor 12:1-31; Hebrews 10:24-25.

Article III, Section 6, Part C:  MISSIONS

We believe Christ’s great commission to the Church, to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every person, is the supreme responsibility of every true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Reference:  Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; and 2 Corinthians 5:19-20.

Article III, Section 6, Part D:  ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH

Item 1) BAPTISM:

We believe that baptism by water is the symbol of one’s union by faith with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection, and constitutes the public confession of these spiritual realities to the world and is the answer of a good conscience toward God.  Baptism is therefore to be administered by immersion to those who have been born again by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and who give evidence of the genuineness of their salvation.

Reference:  Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-41; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; and Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21.

Item 2) THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, was instituted by Christ Himself on the night of His betrayal.  We believe that it is as a memorial of Christ’s death, a center of communion and fellowship, a testimony to saving faith, and a visible seal of Christ’s redemptive covenant.  It is observed only by the children of God and consists in partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, which symbolizes the death of Christ for the remission of our sins and continual dependence upon Him for life and sustenance until He comes again.  While the Lord’s Supper is open to all true believers regardless of denomination, each one is strongly exhorted to examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

Communion shall be held on the first Sunday of each month, the Thursday before Easter and may be held at any other time at the discretion of the Pastor.

Reference:  Matthew 26:26-30; I Corinthians 10:16; and I Corinthians 11:23-30

Article III, Section 7: THINGS TO COME

We believe in the imminent return of Christ to gather His church unto Himself, when all saints of the church age, dead and alive, will be taken up bodily from the earth to meet the Lord in the clouds.  Christ’s second advent will be a visible, pre-millennial personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth, and the establishment of a world-wide 1000-year kingdom of righteousness and peace with the redeemed.

Reference:  Luke 1:32–33; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 3:10-11; and Revelation 21:27.

We believe in the resurrection and everlasting, conscious blessedness of the saved in Heaven and in the resurrection and everlasting punishment of the unsaved in hell.

Reference:  Romans 14:10; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 19:20; and Revelation 20:12-15.

Article III, Section 8, Part A:  GENDER & MARRIAGE

We believe that all persons have been created as either male or female and that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27).

We recognize that males and females are biologically different but equal in personal dignity as created in the image of God, yet have different divinely appointed roles in marriage and in the church (Eph 5:22-33; 1 Timothy 2:12).

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning sanctioned by God: the uniting of one man and one woman in an exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25).

Article III, Section 8, Part B: CHILDREN

We believe that the Scriptures teach the divine concern for the well-being of little children and their commitment to God.   All children are an heritage from the Lord, and Christian parents should train up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord beginning when they are young.

Reference: Psalm 139;  I Samuel 1:22-28; Proverbs 22:6; Matthew 19:13-15; Eph 6:4.