Doctrinal Statement
I. Of the Scriptures
We believe that the Holy Bible as originally written was verbally and plenarily inspired, has God as Its Author, and is truth without any admixture of error. It is the product of Holy Spirit-controlled men.
We believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried.
We believe the “Holy Bible” to mean that collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation which, as originally written, does not merely contain and convey the Word of God, but is the very Word of God.
We believe “inspiration” to 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 inspired and free from error as no other writings have ever been or will ever be.
I Corinthians 2:13; Psalm 68:11; II Timothy 3:16-17
II. Of the True God
We believe in one living and true God, the infinite, intelligent, eternal Spirit, Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth, inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one in substance, equal in power and glory, executing distinct by harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.
Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 20:2-3; John 1:1; 14:16-17; II Corinthians 13:14; Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 28:19; Titus 2:13
III. Of Jesus Christ
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God; that He was and is both true God and true man existing from all eternity, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit; that Jesus Christ became a man, while never ceasing to be God, having been supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary; that Jesus could not sin and did not sin in his humanity.
We believe that Jesus Christ physically died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice; that He remained in the grave three days and was literally and physically raised from the dead in the same body in which He was crucified and buried; that after forty days Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He fulfills the ministry of Intercessor and Advocate as our High Priest and that He will come again in keeping with His promises. We believe that Jesus Christ was and is now possessed of both absolute deity and true humanity.
Matthew 1:18-25; 27:27-50; Isaiah 7:14; I Corinthians 15:3, 4, 13, 14; John 20:27-31; Hebrews 7:24-25; 9:24
IV. Of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, being of the same nature; He was active in creation; He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled; He convicts of sin, judgment, and righteousness; He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testifying to the glory of Jesus Christ; He is the agent in the new birth; He seals, baptizes, fills, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, comforts, and helps the believer. We further believe that the fruit of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance) found in
Galatians 5:22-23 is the evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling of the believer, rather than speaking in tongues and other spectacular demonstrations.
John 14:16-17; 16:7-11; Matthew 28:19; Genesis 1:1-3; II Thessalonians 2:7; Romans 8:14-16; I Corinthians 2:11-13; Ephesians 5:18-21; Acts 5:30-32
V. Of the Devil of Satan
We believe that Satan was once holy and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels. Because of this action he is now the Maligning Prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be the great tempter of man, the enemy of God and His work in redemption, the accuser of the saints, the author of false religions, the chief power behind the present apostasy, the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all powers of darkness. We believe that Satan and his angels were defeated at the cross, he will be bound for a thousand years following the return of Jesus Christ to earth, and he will ultimately be cast into the lake of fire, a place prepared for him and his angels.
Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; II Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 20:1-3; 7-10; 12:9
VI. Of Creation
We believe in the literal, not allegorical or figurative Genesis account of creation; man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness from the dust of the ground; man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or theistic evolution from lower to higher forms; all animals and vegetable life were made directly by God, with command that they should bring forth only “after their kind”.
Genesis 1-2; Colossians 1:16-17; Acts 17:24-26; Jeremiah 10:12; Exodus 20:11
VII. Of the Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression, he fell from that sinless and happy state; now all mankind are sinners, not by constraint but by choice, being inclined to evil and, therefore, under the just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense of excuse.
Genesis 1:27, 31; 3:1-6; Acts 17:26; Romans 1:18-20; 3:19-23; 5:12, 17-19; John 3:18
VIII. Of Sin
We believe that sin is failure to meet one’s obligations toward God, disrespect toward the person of God, disobedience toward the revealed will of God, disbelief in the person and work of the only begotten Son of God, and was originally conceived in the mind of Satan who became the father of all sinners. The subtle adversary, Satan, has brought sin’s effect upon all creation, resulting in man’s separation from God in fellowship, death, and eternal condemnation.
Romans 3:23; 6:23; James 4:7; I John 3:4; I Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:11-12; II Corinthians 6:14-15.
IX. Of the Atonement for Sin
We believe the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediatorial work of the Son of God. By the appointment of the Father, He freely took our humanity upon Him, yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience and made full and vicarious atonement for our sins by His death. We further believe His atonement consisted, not in setting us an example by his death as a martyr, but of Him making Himself the voluntary substitute in the sinner’s place, the just dying for the unjust. Jesus Christ the Lord bore our sins in His own body upon the cross. Having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven and, by uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, He is qualified to be the suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior in every way.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:24; John 3:16-17; Isaiah 53:4-7; Hebrews 9:12-15; I John 2:2; John 10:18; I Peter 2:24; 3:18
X. Of Grace in the New Creation
We believe that sinners must be born again in order to be saved; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, nor by character, nor 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; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and the newness of life.
John 1:12-13; 3:3-7; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; Acts 2:41; Ephesians 2:1; Galatians 5:22-23
XI. Of Salvation
We believe in God’s electing grace according to the good pleasure of His will. We further believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all through the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept these blessings by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel. This rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.
I Thessalonians 1:4; Romans 8:29-30; Acts 2:38; John 3:15-18; 5:40; I Timothy 1:15; Ephesians 1:4-5
XII. Of Justification
We believe that man is “justified freely from all things” and given the position of a child in the family of God through personal faith in the crucified and risen Christ; that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares the believing sinner righteous, no longer under condemnation, through the merits of Jesus Christ to whom the believer is united by faith.
XIII. Of Sanctification
We believe the Scriptures teach that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of God’s holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it was begun in regeneration; that it is carried on in the hearts of all believers; that in experience the saved person retains his fleshly nature, which is not eradicated in this life, and thus his present state is no more perfect than his daily experience; and that when Jesus Christ appears, the saved person will be fully sanctified so that his state will conform to his standing in Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:10; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 4:11-14; I John 2:28; I Thessalonians 3:12-13
XIV. Of Repentance and Faith
We believe repentance and faith are solemn obligations and inseparable graces wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God. Thereby being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, helplessness, and that the way of salvation is only through Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; that at the same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confess Him as our only all-sufficient Savior; that it is solely by faith alone that we receive salvation and not by any merit of our own.
Acts 20:21; Romans 10:13; Isaiah 55:6-7; Luke 12:8; Romans 9:11; Ephesians 2:8-9.
XV. Of the Preservation of the Saints
We believe that all those who accept Jesus Christ as personal Savior are kept by God’s power and are secure in Jesus Christ forever, never to fall from grace; that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty and security as an occasion to the flesh.
John 6:39; 10:27-29; Philippians 1:6; Romans 6:1,2; 11-18; 8:35-39.
XVI. Of the Righteous and the Wicked
We believe there is a marked difference between the righteous and the wicked; that only those who through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of our God are truly righteous in the sight of God; that all who continue in impenitence and unbelief are wicked and under the penalty of eternal condemnation in His sight; that this distinction holds among men both in and after death, ending in the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost.
Malachi 3:18; Genesis 18:23; Romans 6:17-18, 23; I Peter 4:18; I John 2:29; 3-7; Matthew 7:13-14.
XVII. Of Things to Come
We believe the Scriptures foretell certain events among which are the following:
1. The Rapture of the Church.
We believe that Jesus Christ will return to the atmosphere of this earth; that the dead in Christ will rise first, that believers who are sill living will be caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air and to ever be with Him, that the rapture is the next event on the revealed calendar, that no prophecy need be fulfilled before it occurs and this rapture is both pre-tribulational and pre-millennial.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 15:51-54; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10.
2. The Tribulation.
We believe that the rapture of the church will be followed on the earth by Israel’s seventieth week also known as the tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble, and the great day of the Lord; that though individuals will be saved during this period, it will be a period of great judgment upon the earth as God pours forth His wrath; that this period will consist of a three-and-a-half-year period of peace in which the antichrist will consolidate his power; that the final three-and-a-half years will be a time of enormous persecution and suffering, commencing with the antichrist setting himself up in the temple of Jerusalem and declaring himself God. This latter half will be known as the Great Tribulation.
Daniel 9:26-27; Revelation 4:19; Daniel 12:1
3. Second Coming.
We believe Christ will return to the earth with His glorified saints to establish His millennial kingdom following the tribulation; that Satan will be bound and Christ will rule with a rod of iron during the 1,000 years of peace and prosperity; that Satan will be released for a short time, deceive many, and lead them in one final rebellion at the end of the millennium but be defeated and cast into everlasting fire with his armies.
Hebrews 9:28; Daniel 12:1-2; Matthew 24-25; Revelation 20:1-10
4. Eternal State.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. At death the souls of the redeemed are absent from the body but present with the Lord where, in conscious bliss, they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are united to be glorified forever with the Lord. We believe that after death, the souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery until the second resurrection which will occur after the millennium when with soul, body, and spirit reunited, they shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment.
I Corinthians 3:13-15; 15:12-23, 35-57; II Corinthians 5:8-10; Revelation 20:13-15; 21:8.
XVIII. Of the Church Which is His Body
We believe each born again believer is baptized into the Body of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit at the time of his regeneration through Jesus Christ; that the Body of Christ is referred to in the Word as the Bride of Christ and called by men “the Universal Church”; that the universal church began on the Day of Pentecost with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and will continue until Jesus Christ returns in the air to rapture His Bride.
John 14:16, 17; Acts 2; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23-24; Colossians 1:18
XIX. Of the Local Church
We believe a local New Testament church is a congregation of organized, immersed, professing believers who are associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel. These believers observe the two ordinances of Christ, are governed by His laws, and exercise the gifts and privileges invested in them by His Word. The church’s scripturally designed officers are Pastor (elder) and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. The true mission of the church is found in the three-fold teaching of the great commission: (1) to make individual disciples; (2) to baptize them; (3) to each and instruct them as Christ has commanded. It is the duty of the local church to watch over its members, to purify itself from all impurities, to build itself up in the “most holy faith”, to engage zealously in evangelistic and missionary work, and to train and educate its members and their children to do effective work in God’s service.
We believe the Bible teaches that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the one and only Lord and Master is Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches that are in obedience to God’s Word to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and the furtherance of the gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that on all matters of membership, policy, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final.
Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:2; 12:4, 8-11; 16:2; 6:1-3; 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:22-23; I Timothy 3:1-13; Matthew 28:18-20; I Peter 5:1-4.
XX. Of the Ordinances
We believe there are two and only two ordinances set forth in Scripture, baptism and the Lord’s Supper; that these ordinances were commanded by Jesus Christ to be observed by the local church until He comes; that these ordinances are outward testimonies of inner spiritual experiences and have no saving merit or value to those who practice them.
We believe true Christian baptism involves the believer’s singular immersion in water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In a solemn and beautiful emblem, this ordinance shows forth our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect being our death to sin and resurrection to a new life. In scriptural order, baptism precedes the privileges of church membership and is the public recognition of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service in which the elements of the bread and the fruit of the vine are symbols which remind us of the love of God in Christ Jesus “Who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all”; that this ordinance is to be observed in anticipation of His coming and preceded by self-examination.
Acts 8:36-39; Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; Romans 6:4-5; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:23-28.
XXI. Of the Ministry and Spiritual Gifts
We believe God is sovereign in the bestowment of His gifts; that evangelists and pastor-teachers are given for the perfecting of the saints; that each individual has been given at least one spiritual gift which he is to use for the glory of God, the advancement of the gospel, and the edification of the local church; that speaking in tongues, prophesying, and the working of sign miracles ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed.
I Corinthians 12:4, 11, 28; 13:10; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 5:7-12.
XXII. Of Missions
We believe the solemn obligation and glorious privilege of the saved is to witness by life and word to the truths, admonitions, and directives of the Holy Scriptures; that the burden and effort of the local church should be to support church-approved Baptistic missions in their endeavor to carry the Word and Its message to all mankind.
Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 6:19-20.
XXIII. Of Separation
We believe in whole-hearted devotion to the cause of Christ and in separation from all sinful worldly practices as the necessary scriptural basis for a happy and useful Christian life. For this reason, we oppose all indulgences and all practices which detract from a separated Christian life.
We believe in separation from apostasy including those churches which, in whole or part, deny the faith as given in the Scriptures; joining in councils or associations with such pastors or churches is unscriptural. The National Council of Churches and World Council of Churches and their agencies are apostate organizations.
We do not cooperate with the National Association of Evangelicals and their agencies because of their indefinite or compromising stand taken in this day of apostasy.
I John 2:15-17; I Corinthians 10:31; II Timothy 4:1-4; II John 7-11; II Corinthians 6:14-18.