Statement of Faith

+ THE TRINITY

God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature or essence of being. 2 Corinthians 13:14; Genesis 1:26

+ GOD

There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all; and to Him all creation owes the highest love, reverence and obedience. Genesis 1:1; Corinthians 8:6

+ THE MEDIATOR

Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the divinely appointed mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the law and suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried and rose again the third day and ascended to His Father, at whose right hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest, and King of the church and Sovereign of the Universe. Isaiah 53; Colossians 1:1-13

+ THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Paraclete sent from the Father by the Living Christ as the personal and powerful presence of God in the world; whose purpose is to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; Who by means of spiritual gifts, instructs and empowers the saints to boldly testify of Jesus Christ and to carry out the work of Christ in the world and Who is not limited to using man as His only agent to supernaturally accomplish the ultimate purposes of God in His created order. I Corinthians 2:10-14; John 14:26

+ PROVIDENCE

God from eternity decrees or permits all things that come to pass and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creation and all events; yet so as not in any wise to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the responsibility of man. Romans 1:18-20; Ephesians 1:11

+ INSPIRATION OF SCRIPTURE

God so supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture that without waving their human intelligence, literary style, or personal feeling, His complete and coherent message to man was recorded with perfect accuracy, the very words of the original manuscripts bearing the authority of Divine Authorship. II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21

+ SCRIPTURE

The Holy Bible is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions will be tried. The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ. Psalm 119:11; Hebrews 4:12

+ THE FALL OF MAN

God originally created man in His own image and free from sin; but through the temptation of Satan, he transgressed the command of God and fell from his original holiness and righteousness; whereby his posterity inherited a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law, and under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable to moral action, become; actual transgressors. Genesis 3; Romans 3:10-18; 5:12-21

+ FAITH

Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatsoever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ and the accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification, sanctification and eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit and is the key to all other experienced graces and leads to a life of holiness. Hebrews 11; Galatians 2:16

+ REPENTANCE

Repentance is an evangelical grace wherein a person is made aware of the manifold evil of his sin by the Holy Spirit and humbles himself for it with Godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, and purposes in his heart to walk with God so as to please Him in all things. II Chronicles 7:14; James 4:6-10

+ REGENERATION

Regeneration is a change of heart wrought about by the Holy Spirit, who quickens the dead in trespasses and sins, enlightens their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the Word of God, and renews their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone. John 3:3-7; Ephesians 2:5

+ JUSTIFICATION

Justification is God’s gracious and merciful acquittal of sinners from all sin, who believe in and receive Christ, through the satisfaction that Christ made; not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but on account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, they receive and rest on Him and His righteousness by faith. Romans 3:20-26; 5:1-2

+ SANCTIFICATION

Sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God we are made partakers of His holiness and through grace set apart for a sacred purpose. It is a progressive work begun in regeneration and carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. I Thessalonians 4:3-7; John 17:16-19

+ PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved and sanctified by His Spirit will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall through neglect and temptation into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Romans 8:28-39; Ephesians 4:30

+ THE CHURCH

The Lord Jesus is the founder and the Head of the Church, composed of all His true disciples, and in Him is vested supremely all power for its government. According to His commandment, Christians are to assemble themselves into unified fellowships known as the visible or local church. To each of these churches He has given His authority for administering that order and to worship and discipline in the spirit which He has appointed. The scriptural officers of a church are Elders and Deacons. Ephesians 4; Ephesians 1:22-23

+ BAPTISM

Baptism, one of the two ordinances instituted by the Lord Jesus, is commanded by Him for every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a public confession of his identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and is symbolic of giving himself completely to the Lordship of Christ to live and walk thereafter in newness of life. Romans 6:3-4; Luke 3:21-22

+ THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Lord’s Supper is the other ordinance instituted by the Lord Jesus and commemorates the giving of His body, represented by bread, and His blood, represented by wine, for the remission of sins, which each believer receives as a reminder of that sacrifice and in anticipation of His second coming. Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-31

+ THE LORD’S DAY

The first day of the week that Christians celebrate is the day God visibly showed His acceptance of the atoning work of His only Begotten Son by raising Him in victory over sin and death. This day symbolically acknowledges God’s sovereignty over the remaining six days and as such should be spent in both private and corporate worship and in resting from normal secular activities such that the physical and spiritual man may be refreshed. Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 2:27-28

+ THE FAMILY

Marriage was divinely ordained by God and consummated within His perfect will by the giving of man and woman to one another. This was done in order that each would be completed in the other and be faithfully committed to one another for life. The family thus created was to be inviolate and sacred and to be the human unit that embodied and showed to the world the very love of God. This unit is to be based on God’s principles and thus no believer should join themselves to an unbeliever in this life-long union. Man is subject to God, the woman to the man, and the children to the parents. The ideal Christian family is the one blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit where Christ is supreme in the lives of each and where each respects the other as an individual child of God. We shall as believers resist and totally defeat through the Power of the Holy Spirit any threat which shall endanger this holy unit. Our total commitment to God and to each member within the family should be embodied in the thesis, “What God joined together, let not man put asunder.” Genesis 2:21-24; Mark 10:9; Ephesians 5:22-23

+ LIBERTY OF CONSCIENCE

God alone is Lord of the conscience; and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are in anything contrary to His Word, or not contained in it. Civil magistrates are ordained of God and thus believers should submit to them in all lawful things commanded by them, as unto the Lord, not only for wrath but also for conscience’ sake. Matthew 6:22-23; Romans 2:14-15

+ SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE

Both church and state are ordained by God for which each has specific duties and obligations. Each are to compliment the other but neither to dominate the other. Romans 13; I Peter 2:17

+ THE RESURRECTION

The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God - the righteous to rest with Him; the wicked, to be reserved under darkness to the judgment. At the last day, the bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised. I Corinthians 15; II Corinthians 4:14

+ THE JUDGMENT

God hath appointed a day, wherein He will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when every one shall be judged according to his relationship with the Lamb of God; the wicked, without justification through the blood of the Risen Savior stand condemned to everlasting punishment; the righteous, having accepted the atoning work of Christ Jesus, are delivered to everlasting life. Hebrews 9:27; Romans 14:10-12

We affirm the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 & the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy