Doctrinal
Statement
- The Holy Scriptures - We believe
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally
inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life,
inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed
(II Tim. 3:16,17; II Pet. 1:20,21).
- The Godhead - We believe in
one Triune God, eternally existing in three Persons - Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit - co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature,
co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and
perfections (Deut. 6:4; II Cor. 13:14).
- The Person and Work of Christ
-
- 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 and born of the virgin
Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men
(John 1:1,2,14; Luke 1:35).
- 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 (Rom. 3:24,25; I Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; I Pet. 1:3-5).
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
ascended into heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of
God, the Father, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry
of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9,10; Heb.
9:24; Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1,2).
- The Person and Work of the Holy
Spirit -
- We believe that the Holy Spirit is
a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration,
baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ, indwelling and
sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; I Cor.
12:12-14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 1:13,14).
- We believe that He is the Divine Teacher
Who guides believers into all truth; and that it is the privilege
and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (John 16:13;
Eph. 5:18; I John 2:20).
- The Total Depravity of Man
- We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of
God, but that in Adam's sin, the race fell and inherited a sinful
nature, and became alienated from God, and that man is totally
depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition
(Gen. 1:26,27; Rom. 3:22,23; Eph. 2:1-2,12).
- Salvation - We believe that
salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received
by personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood
was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins, and Who was
raised for our justification and to give us new life (John 1:12,13;
Rom. 4:24,25; 5:8-10; I Cor. 15:1-4; Eph. 1:7; 2:4-9; Col. 1:14,30;
II Tim. 2:8; Heb. 9:20,22; I Pet. 1:3, 9-22,28,29).
- Eternal Salvation - We believe
that all redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are
thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; John 10:27-30; Rom.
8:1,38,39). However, believers should live in such a manner as
not to bring reproach upon their Saviour, church, or Christian
testimony (Titus 2:11-15; Rom. 13:13,14; Gal. 5:13).
- The Two Natures of the Believer
- We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, with
provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature
through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit; and that all
claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural
(Rom. 8:12,13; Gal. 5:16-25; Rom. 6:13; Eph. 4:22-24; Col. 3:10;
I Pet. 1:14-16; I John 3:5-9).
- The Ministry of Spiritual Gifts
- We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His
gifts; that the gifts of evangelists, pastors, and teachers are
sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and that speaking
in or with other tongues, and the working of sign miracles gradually
ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their
authority became established (I Cor. 12:4-11; Eph. 4:7-12; I Cor.
13:8).
- The Personality of Satan -
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause
of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of
God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake
of Fire (Job. 1:6,7; Isa. 14:12-17; Rev. 20:10).
- The Second Advent of Christ
- We believe in the "Blessed Hope," the personal, imminent,
pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus
Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to
earth, with His saints, to establish His Millennial Kingdom. We
believe His first coming was to redeem our souls; and His second
coming shall redeem our bodies (I Thess. 4:13-18; Zech. 14:4-11;
Rev. 3:10;19:11-16; 20:1-6; I Thess. 1:10; 5:9).
- The Eternal State
- We believe in the bodily resurrection
of all men; the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment
and everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28,29; 11:25,26;
Rev. 20:5,6,12,13).
- We believe that 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, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with
the Lord (Luke 23:43; Rev. 20:4-6; II Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; I
Thess 4:16,17; Phil. 3:21).
- We believe that the souls of the unbelievers
remain, after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection,
when with soul and body 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
(Luke 16:19-26; Matt. 25:41-46; II Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6,7; Rev.
20:11-15).