We are a body of believers who profess a living faith which is rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ, who is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” Our sole authority for faith and practice is Jesus Christ, whose will is revealed in the Holy Scriptures.
- The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the record of God’s revelation of Himself, His plan, and His purpose to man. We accept it as the final authority in both doctrine and practice. The criterion by which it is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.
- God
There is only one living and true God, infinite in holiness, all powerful, all loving, and all wise. He reveals Himself to us as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
A. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over creation as well as nations. He is Father in truth to those who become children of God through repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
B. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ he was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, and provided redemption from sin for all men through His death and resurrection. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the one mediator between God and man. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, who enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ and convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates the believer and indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. He bestows spiritual gifts upon each believer; empowers them for witness; and fills those yielded to Him.
- Man
Man was created by God in His own image. By his free will man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Only the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ can bring man into God’s holy fellowship again and enable man to fulfill the creative purposes of God.
- Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin towards God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace with God.
B. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual perfection through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
C. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
We believe that Christ’s redemptive work was performed once for all, a finished work. Recipients of this provision are thus brought into unity with Christ as joint heirs. Possession of this new life and position in Christ is irrevocably secured by God, who has given His Holy Spirit as the seal of His promise and the pledge of His love. In other words, all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
- Satan
The Bible teaches Satan is a fallen angel. He was created perfect by God, but through his rebellion became the originator of sin. He is the chief enemy of God, and is active today using his evil ways to keep man from the Lord.
- The Church
The New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of baptized believers voluntarily banded together for worship, nurture, and service. The local church is a self-governing body subject only to Christ, its head. Operating through democratic processes, members of the local church are equally responsible under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The New Testament also speaks of the church as the body of Christ which includes the redeemed of all the ages.
- Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the church.
A. Baptism of the believer by immersion is an act of obedience performed in relation to Christ’s Great Commission where upon preaching the Gospel to all, He instructed to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism symbolizes the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Baptism witnesses before all the heavenly hosts as well as mankind that a change of ownership has occurred and that one takes his or her stand as a child of God.
B. The Lord’s Supper is a sober searching of the believer’s heart, a thankful remembrance of Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross, a blessed assurance of His return and a joyous fellowship with the living Christ and His people. It is observed through the consumption of bread and the fruit of the vine (non-alcoholic), which symbolically represent the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is open to all believers in accordance with 1 Corinthians 11:27-28.
- The Lord’s Day
The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day as it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It should be observed as a special day in that it symbolizes the “firstfruits” given to our Lord out of a grateful heart.
- Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
- Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtor ship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.
- Cooperation
Members of New Testament churches should cooperate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom. Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations when such cooperation involves no violation of conscience or compromise of loyalty to Christ and His Word as revealed in the New Testament.
- End Times
According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.
Non-believers will be consigned to hell, the place of everlasting punishment. Believers, in their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and will dwell with the Lord forever. Christians should be anticipating the second coming of Christ, however, God will bring the world to its appropriate end in His own time and in His own way.