We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Bible as contained in the Old and the New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed as the final authority in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises. (1 Tim 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
We believe that there is one living and true GOD, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all things. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:8, 48:16; Matthew 28:19-20; John 10:30; Hebrews 1:3).
GOD THE FATHER
We believe in the person of God the Father; infinite, eternal, self-existing, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalm 90:2, 102:27; John 3:16, 4:24; I Timothy 1:17; Titus 1:3).
GOD THE SON
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal, pre-existent Son of God. He appeared and ministered in the Old Testament. He became flesh in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and was born of the virgin Mary by miraculous conception and virgin birth. He is fully God and fully man; perfect deity and humanity. He lived a sinless human life, perfect by fulfilling the divine law and then offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of every person. He died on the cross, shedding His blood, in full substitution and atonement for the sins of all men everywhere. He was buried, and on the third day He arose bodily from the dead, alive forevermore. He later ascended bodily into heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father, He now intercedes for those who believe in Him. He will come again to earth to judge the living and the dead . (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23; Mark 16:19; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1-2, 8:58,11:25; I Corinthians 15:3-4; I Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8; I John 1:2; Revelation 1:8).
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ (John 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:26, 15:13,16; II Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 9:14). We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide (John 6:13, 14:16-17, 16:8-11; Romans 8:26).
We believe in the existence of angels who are created by God. They are superior to man, yet inferior to God. There are both good (holy) and fallen (demonic) angels.
Good angels
The holy, elect angels minister on behalf of God to believers, the nations of the world, and to unbelievers. They carry out God’s instructions. Holy angels had significant ministry to Christ. These angels are not to be worshipped, prayed to, or commanded by human beings. They worship the triune God alongside all believers and do not accept worship from man.
Fallen angels (demons)
The fallen angels were persuaded to rebel against God by Satan, the fallen guardian angel. Satan rebelled against God out of pride and now actively opposes God at every level and by every possible means. His main scheme is to lead mankind away from worshipping God and seduce them to worship him (Satan). The fallen angels (demons) assist Satan in his scheme to lead humanity away from God. Eventually, Satan and all his demons will be judged by God and condemned to eternal punishment. (John 3:8, Eph 6:10-20, Rev. 20:1-3, 10)
Man was created in the image of God. He sinned by disobeying God and he was alienated from his Creator. That historic fall brought mankind under condemnation. Man’s nature is corrupted. We believe that all people are sinners by nature and by choice, falling short of God’s standard and breaking His commandments—and therefore are under God’s righteous judgment. Yet, God saves and gives new life to all who come to Him in repentance and faith, trusting in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. At the cross, Jesus Christ died in our place as our substitute, absorbing God’s wrath that should have come upon us. Because Jesus died for the sins of the world, the invitation to believe is open to all, and whoever desires may come to Jesus for new life and for forgiveness of sins. Only through regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit can salvation and spiritual life be obtained.
It is appointed for man to die once. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead. At physical death, the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with God and awaits the resurrection of the body to everlasting glory and blessing. At physical death, the unbeliever enters immediately into eternal, conscious separation from God and awaits the resurrection of the body to everlasting judgment and condemnation. (Gen 1:26-27, 3:1-24, Rom 5:12-21, Titus 3:5-7, Rev 19:1-22:21)
The salvation of man is wholly a work of God’s grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness or religious ceremony. The shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation for all who believe, and only such as receive Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit, and thus become children of God. (Eph. 2:8-10; Rom 3:21-26, John 1:12,13, John 5:11-13)
It is the privilege of all who are born again of the Spirit to be assured of their salvation from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their Savior. This assurance is not based upon any kind of human merit but is produced by the witness of the Holy Spirit, who confirms in the believer the testimony of God in His written word. (1 John 12:5-13, Jude 1:24, Rom. 8:16, John 10:29)
We believe in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration, occurring either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a greater dynamic in the Christian’s life, enabling that person to be a bold and more effective witness. We believe in the gift of speaking in tongues as one of the evidence of baptism in the Holy Spirit. We hold that the supreme evidence of the Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit in the life of the believer. We believe in the present-day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us (1 Cor. 12-14, Gal. 5:22).
We believe that the Church of Jesus Christ is to be understood in two senses, namely universal and local. In the universal sense, the church is composed of all such persons everywhere who through saving faith in Jesus Christ, have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united together in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. In the local sense, a church is a called out living assembly of believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship, organized by New Testament principles, assembling regularly together under common leadership for edification in the word, worship, fellowship and mutual encouragement, observance of ordinances and for ministry.
(Acts 2:41, 42, 1 Cor. 12:20-28, Eph 1:22-23, 1 Thess. 4:13-18, Col. 3:16)
The Lord Jesus Christ commanded all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to disciple all nations. The fulfillment of the Great Commission must be the priority and commitment of every believer and every local church. We commit ourselves to be witnesses of Jesus beginning from where we are and intentionally spreading the gospel to the furthest ends of the world.
We are to make disciples by the proclamation and teaching of the gospel. We are to integrate the new disciples into local churches which then nurture them into mature soul-winning disciples of Christ. (Matt 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:7-8)
We believe in the sanctity of the family as created by God and as described in the Scriptures. A family is the product of the union between one man and one woman who are joined together in the holy union of marriage. We believe marriages must be performed in the manner prescribed in the Scriptures. The family, as instituted by God, is the foundation of a healthy society. God hates divorce. Marriage and the family must be treasured and guarded at all costs. We are commanded to bring up our children in the way of the Lord and the church has the responsibility to empower families towards that end. (Gen 2:24; Mal. 4:14-16; Matt 19:7-9; Eph 4:22-6:4; Heb 13:4)
Ordinances
We believe that the Lord, Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: water baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Water Baptism
Water baptism is by full immersion. Those who qualify to be baptized are believers who have knowingly and publicly confessed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. (Matthew 28:19; Matt. 3:16; Acts 2:38; Col. 2:12)
While there is no set age for baptism, we believe baptism is for all believers who have knowingly repented their sins and chosen to follow Christ. As such, children who have attained the age of at least seven years and have knowingly repented their sins and chosen to follow Christ qualify for water baptism.
Holy Communion
The Lord Jesus instituted the Holy Communion (also referred to as The Last Supper as The Lord’s Table) on the night he was betrayed and instructed the disciples to hold the ordinance in memory of his substitutionary death. The non-alcoholic elements used in the Lord’s supper are only an illustration and reminder of the body of Christ broken on the cross and his blood that was shed for us at Calvary. Believers are to share in the holy communion regularly. (Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26). Children who have attained the age of at least seven years and have knowingly repented their sins and chosen to follow Christ qualify to partake in the Holy communion.