Statement of Faith

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Scripture

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      We believe that all Scripture of the Longer Old Testament; and the New Testament, in all its words and thoughts are the God-breathed Word of God, the complete “canon,” and are the books belonging to the Bible. Consequently, these writings are without error, free from all falsehood, and/or mistakes, and therefore infallible. They are not only pure, but they are also purifying. Since Holy men communicated their truth as they were “carried along by the Holy Spirit,” they are the ultimate authority and standard of truth, faith, life, and practice, an all-sufficient source of wisdom and counsel for all true believers. Therefore, believers are to avoid the “counsel of the ungodly” and the “wisdom of men” found in humanistic psychology and psychotherapy.

      We believe that there is no part of Scripture that contradicts any other part of Scripture. It is whole and unblemished throughout the ages. Its content shall not be, added to, superseded, corrected, contradicted, or changed by any man, later tradition, churches, councils, creeds, or revelations. All doctrinal declarations are subordinate to the authority of Scripture itself. Although heaven and earth will “pass away,” God’s Word will endure forever, accomplishing the task that God has ordained for it.

      We believe that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture, properly interpreted, is to disbelieve or disobey God Himself, for God and His Word are one. The intent of Scripture is for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, and contains the universal will of God for believers everywhere, giving man light for his daily path, and enabling man to become wise for salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. In fact, Scripture supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to its authority.

      We believe that since error results from poor knowledge of Scripture, it is a noble task to examine the Scriptures daily. In fact, it is most profitable for a man to study, ponder, and meditate upon the Scriptures both day and night, and diligently teach the same to his children. However, like the two on the Emmaus Road, all true spiritual comprehension and application of it depend upon the illumination of the Holy Spirit, for the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit, being folly to him. Moreover, we are to pray that God would quicken our minds in our understanding of His Word. If interpreted correctly, the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ become known throughout its writings, for it is truthful as to the doctrine of salvation.

      We believe that the Word of God is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for governing the Church.

      We believe that although inscripturated revelation no longer takes place, normative revelation, that is, illuminative, non-canonical, and informational revelation does indeed continue to this day.

      We believe that Scripture is truthful as to the six days of creation, history, and science. 

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The Godhead

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      We believe that the one true living eternal Godhead exists in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three distinct persons sharing one nature. He is infinite, all-knowing, and perfect in all His attributes.

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The Father

     

      We believe the Father is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, honor, wisdom, power, and love. He is self-existent, eternal, omnipresent, and unchanging. He is the Creator of all things and is the omnipotent ruler of all creation. As the eternal sovereign, He continually upholds, directs, and governs creatures and events according to His own wisdom, will, and grace. However, He is neither the author nor approver of sin nor does He diminish the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures for their own choices and actions. As an expression of His sovereignty, the Father bestows each person with genuine free will to respond and cooperate to God’s gracious call to His salvific process by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel.

      We believe as the eternal Father of the Son, he is relational, loving, and self-giving. He exercises loving, glorifying headship over the Son and Holy Spirit. The Fatherhood of God manifests itself as He provides a means of atonement to redeem His people from sin and bring them into fellowship with Himself and the family of God. In one sense, the fatherhood of God as our creator extends to all humanity, yet in a greater sense, he is Father only to his people who have come to repentance and faith.

 

 

The Son

 

      We believe the Son, who is the Second Person of the Eternal Godhead, possesses all the divine attributes, and in these, he is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. All things were created through the Son, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation.

      We Believe that in the incarnation, the Son took on all the essential characteristics of humanity, without altering His divine nature or surrendering any of the divine attributes, yet was without sin, and so became the God-Man, Jesus Christ - true God and true man in perfect, indivisible oneness. He is therefore very God and very man, yet one Christ, the only mediator between God and man. As the God-Man, Jesus Christ came to reveal God as the Image of God, redeem his people, and rule over God’s kingdom, thus fulfilling God’s intention for humanity.

      We believe that Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the virgin Mary, and thus born of a woman, so that two whole, perfect, and distinct natures, the divine, and the human, became joined together in one person, without confusion, change, division, or separation. Thus, He became God’s only begotten Son. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father identified Jesus as his Son, and the Holy Spirit anointed and empowered Jesus for his ministry

      We believe that Jesus Christ proclaimed the good news that “the Kingdom of God is at hand,” calling people to repent and follow him as king. He revealed his deity and kingship through his authoritative teaching and miracles, by which he demonstrated his authority over Satan, demons, sickness, the material world, and even death.

      We believe Jesus Christ is Israel’s promised Messiah, born in the royal line of David. Through His obedience, He fulfilled the covenant law God had given to Israel, and through his death and resurrection, he inaugurated the New Covenant, through which His people from all nations share in the blessings of his kingdom.

      We believe Jesus Christ is the second Adam who succeeded where the first Adam failed. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, experienced the same temptations to sin that all people experience, yet submitted to the Father’s authority even to the point of death on the cross. As a result, through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus has become the representative head of a new humanity, reconciling his people to God, and granting his people the gift of grace, righteousness, and eternal life, in place of the sin, condemnation, and death that came through the first Adam.

      We believe Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam’s race, provided each person responds through repentance and faith. As the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ took his people’s sin upon himself when he died on the cross, receiving the just punishment that they deserved, to remove their guilt and make them righteous in the Father’s sight. As the honorable Son of God, Jesus perfectly honored the Father through his obedience to the point of death, even a shameful death on a cross. His sacrifice removed the shame that man’s sin brought upon both them and God. Jesus Christ also upheld the Father’s honor by fulfilling his promise to bring salvation to all nations. Therefore, the Father honored and exalted the Son by raising Him from the dead, confirming His deity, giving proof that He accepted Jesus’ atoning work, and seated him in glory at his right hand. Thus, the Father provided a future resurrection life for his people while honoring and exalting his people to share in Christ’s glory.

      We Believe that as the conquering Son of God, Jesus secured the decisive victory over Satan, sin, and death through his own death and resurrection. As a result, he has liberated his people from Satan, sin, and death, and the Father has transferred them into his kingdom and brought them into the salvific process. After his resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven to reside at the right hand of God the Father. From this exalted position, Jesus released the Promised Holy Spirit from the Father. Presently he rules over all things, is the head of the church, and intercedes before the Father on his people’s behalf Jesus Christ is the one appointed by the Father as the final Judge of all humanity, awaiting the time when, having placed all of his enemies under his feet, he will return in glory to gather his people to himself, judge the living and the dead, and consummate his kingdom on the earth.

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The Holy Spirit

     

     We believe the Holy Spirit, who is the Third Person of the Eternal Godhead, possesses all the divine attributes, and in these, He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father and the Son. Moreover, He possesses intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and truthfulness.

      We believe that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will in relation to all humankind. We recognize His sovereign activity in creation, the incarnation, the written revelation, and the work of salvation.

      We believe the work of the Holy Spirit in this age began at Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ to initiate and complete the building of the Body of Christ, which is His church. The broad scope of His divine activity includes convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ, and transforming believers into the image of Christ. He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration. He baptizes believers into the Body of Christ when water one is baptized. He indwells, empowers, and seals believers when they receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He also sanctifies, comforts, guides, and instructs.

      We believe that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays, but He does glorify Christ by implementing His work of redeeming the lost and building up believers in the most holy faith.

      We believe that the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today and that all spiritual gifts are available in this present age.

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