Our Faith

Briefly what we believe:

There is one God,
There is only one God.
More than this….God loves us.
But God is utterly Holy.
So because of the sin of man, we are separated from God.
Jesus Christ is the (only) Son of God.
Jesus came to earth in human form.
He allowed himself to be crucified.
He rose from the dead three days after the crucifixion.
He ascended into Heaven.

By putting our faith alone in what Jesus Christ did for us and repenting of our sins we enjoy the salvation and forgiveness of sin that God has freely given to us.

There is a place called Heaven.
There is a place called Hell.
This present life is temporary and is preparation for our eternal destiny.
Where we spend eternity will be based on our relationship with Jesus Christ (accepting His free gift of salvation) at the time of our earthly departure (or the return of Christ) and not on our religion or religious affiliations.

The Bible is the inspired Word of God and what the Bible states takes precedence over what any man or woman thinks or says.

 

Our Faith in more detail:

THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s Word to all people. Although human authors wrote the words of each of the 66 books, they were under the careful and supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Since God inspired the very words of Scripture, we believe that the Bible is truth without any error and is the final authority for faith and practice. We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God; furthermore, we believe that the Holy Scriptures, as originally written, do not only contain and convey the Word of God, but is the very Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore, are the final authority for faith and life. According to Paul’s writing to Timothy, Scripture teaches us doctrine (what is right), reproof (what is wrong), correction (how to make things right), and instruction in righteousness (how to keep things right) (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).

THE PERSON AND WORK OF GOD
God is the Supreme Being, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. God is infinite (1 Tim. 1:17), incomparable (2 Sam. 7:22), and unchanging (Mal. 3:6). God exists everywhere (Ps. 139:7-12), knows everything (Ps. 147:5; Is. 40:28), and possesses all power and authority (Eph. 1; Rev. 19:6). Scripture teaches that He created everything we can see and everything we cannot see out of nothing (Gen. 1), even though it might be difficult for the human mind to understand how this is possible. The Bible also teaches that God is a spirit (John 4:24) who is One, yet eternally exists as three distinct and equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (referred to as the Trinity). Although each person of the Trinity possesses unique functions, each possesses equal power and authority (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14).

THE PERSON AND WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, became man (the incarnation) when He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Is. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8). Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; and our justification (being declared righteous) was accomplished by His resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:3-5; 2:24). Following His resurrection from the dead, 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; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).

THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14). He is the divine Teacher who indwells and enables believers to understand the Bible (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27). The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to every believer so that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12). 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; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14).

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, and the ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

MAN
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature and became separated from God. Man is totally sinful and unable to remedy his lost condition through his own efforts or works. Without divine intervention on his behalf, man would die and be eternally separated from God (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19).

SALVATION
Salvation or being “saved” is the act of being delivered from the power and penalty of sin. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received through personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (unbelief), are forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9).

THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER
When a person expresses faith in Jesus Christ’s death for sin and His resurrection, he is kept by God’s power and secure in Christ forever. A person with genuine, life-changing faith cannot lose his salvation if he sins or disobeys God’s revealed commandments. Although a believer is capable of committing the same sins as an unbeliever, his sins are forgiven based on Christ’s payment on the cross. Nothing can separate a believer from the love of God (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; Eph. 4:30; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).

HEAVEN AND HELL
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men – the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment in hell (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13). The souls of those who believe are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await the first resurrection, when soul and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; Phil. 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6). The souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15).

Authority of the Statement of Faith
The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members.