A. The Holy Scriptures. We believe the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and are, therefore, the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined by the pastor. We receive our faith from the Authorized Version King James Bible, and this shall be the official and only translation used by the church. No other Bible or Scripture quotations are to be used for decoration, reference, study, preaching, or teaching. We believe it is by this Book that we will be judged. All literature used in this Church must first be approved by the pastor. (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
B. God. We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Exodus 20:2,3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 5:7; Revelation 4:11)
C. Jesus Christ
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, without a human father, and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men.
(Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2,14; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24)
3. We believe that 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 ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
4. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Creator of all, both seen and unseen. (John 1:1-18; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:14-18; Hebrews 1:2-3)
D. The Holy Spirit
1. We believe in the personality and deity of the Holy Spirit. We believe that it is He that convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment; He indwells a born-again believer enabling him or her to live a godly life, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20-27)
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the church to do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11,28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
4. We believe that 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. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, although God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
E. Satan. We believe in the reality of the person of Satan, the serpent, called the Devil, whose main purpose is to deceive the whole world. He is the enemy of God and man. We believe he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10)
F. Creation. We believe the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth. We believe God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the gap theory, theistic evolution, the day-age theory, and intelligent design not attributed to God as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
G. Fall of Man. We believe that man was created a moral being, holy in the image and likeness of God his maker. But by choice, he fell from his sinless state, making all mankind now sinners and hopeless apart from divine grace. (Genesis 1:26-27; 3:1-6; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
H. Salvation. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. It is a free gift available for all that will call upon the name of the Lord. We believe Christ took our punishment, paid our sin debt, and conquered death, Hell, and the grave for us. By being “saved”, we hold true that we are saved from sin’s price of death, and sin’s payment of eternal damnation in the Lake of Fire, and sin’s position under God’s wrath. Salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way man can be forgiven of sin, and gain access to God’s eternal Heaven. We reject the teachings of Calvinism’s TULIP. (John 3:16; Ephesian 2:8,9; Romans 6:23; Romans 10:9,10,13; Revelation 20:11-15)
I. Eternal Security. We believe that once a person is saved, he is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5)
J. Sanctification. We believe there are three parts to Bible sanctification. That we are sanctified when we are saved, set apart from this world. That we are being sanctified daily as we study and read God’s Word. That we will be fully sanctified when Christ returns in the Rapture for His saints, for we will have a body liken to His. (Hebrews 10:10; 2 Timothy 2:15; Philippians 3:21)
K. The Church
a. We believe that the local church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again believers. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
b. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches are clearly taught and defined in the New Testament. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
c. We are an independent Baptist Church. We believe in the autonomy of the local church, free of any external authority or controls, and any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, conventions, or agencies. None other shall have any authority in the matters of church practice or belief. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
L. Separation. We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon the Church, the Kingdom of God, or our Lord and Saviour. We are to conduct ourselves in a way to maintain a godly testimony. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations; and to refrain from all immodest appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. We stand against any and all worldly philosophies that seek to destroy or undermine the truth of Biblical Christianity. (Leviticus 19:28; Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
M. The Last Days. We believe in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures in their grammatical and historical context.
a. We believe in the premillennial view of the Bible. (Revelation 4:1)
b. We believe in the “blessed hope”, the next, personal, imminent, return of Christ. That will be the rapture of the truly born-again Christians (the “Church”) prior to the 7-year tribulation. (1 Corinthians 15)
c. We believe in the Judgment Seat of Christ, where all born-again believers will be judged according to their works to determine their awards. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
d. We believe in the visible, personal, second coming of Christ with His saints at the end of the 7-year tribulation, and His literal ruling of 1,000 years (the “millennial kingdom”) which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
e. Following the 1,000-year reign will be the Great White Throne Judgment, and then the new Heaven and the new Earth.
N. Eternity
a. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men; the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
b. We believe the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, body, and soul are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
c. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with the soul and body are reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
O. Baptism. We believe that Christian baptism is immersion in water, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. It is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Saviour. We do it to show the world that we have died to sin and self, and have been raised to a new life in Christ. (Romans 6:1-10; Matthew 28:19-20)
P. Communion. We believe in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper, using unleavened bread and grape juice. These two elements represent and remind us of the broken body and the blood given as a sacrifice for our sins by Christ on the cross. Anyone that participates in this sacred act must first be a born-again believer, and must also be in good standing with the brethren. (1 Corinthians 11:23-24)
Q. Civil Government. We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. We believe that we must obey the state unless it requires us to act contrary to our faith at which time we must obey God rather than the state. (Matthew 22:15-21; Acts 5:29; Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Titus 3:1-2; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14)
R. Human Sexuality
a. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, pornography, and other forms of sexual deviancy are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1: 26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
b. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one naturally-born man and one naturally-born woman for life. Homosexuals or anyone engaged in any form of sexual deviancy will not be permitted to hold membership, office, or be employed in any way by the church. Any member found to be, in the opinion of the pastor and deacons, a homosexual or another form of sexual deviant shall be subject to any applicable rules of discipline contained herein. (Genesis 2:24; Roman 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)
S. Family
a. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastor, deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
b. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the leadership of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural, corporal correction. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
T. Divorce and Remarriage. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage are regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
U. Abortion. We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child, or “fetus”, is a living human being with an eternal soul. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. Any member who has an abortion shall be subject to any applicable rules contained herein. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
V. Euthanasia. We believe that the direct taking of innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment. (Exodus 20:13; 23:7; Matthew 5:21; Acts 17:28)
W. Lawsuits Between Believers. We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32; Matthew 18:15-17)
X. Missions. 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 both across the street and across the sea, not waiting for them to come to us. Missions begin at home, and then to the uttermost part of the earth. The chosen method of financial giving to missions will be that of the Faith Promise Missions Giving plan. We support our missionaries and organizations independently and retain the right to screen all candidates. We may drop support and take on the support of a missionary or organization at any time for any reason deemed necessary by the pastor. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20)
Y. Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to them is obligated to financially support their local church. We believe that 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. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
