THE BIBLE: GOD'S WORD
We believe the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it was inspired by God, the Bible is truth without any mixture of error and is trustworthy as a manual for living and the basis for belief.
(2 Timothy 3:15-17. See also Psalm 119:105; Isaiah 40:8; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12)
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GOD, THE TRINITY: THREE IN ONE
We believe in only one living and true God, externally existent in three persons. The members of the Trinity-the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- are co-eternal in being and in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections yet distinct functions. (Deuteronomy 6:4. See also Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2)
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GOD THE FATHER: GOD OVER US
We believe God the Father is the first person of the Trinity in authority. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, ever present, unchanging, completely worthy of our trust, and perfectly holy. He reigns with love and care over the universe according to His purpose and for His glory. God is Father of all people creatively, but the spiritual Father of only those who have been adopted into His family through faith in His Son.
(Romans 8:15-16. See also Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Isaiah 64:8; Malachi 3:6; John 1:12; 3:16; Acts 17:28; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 5:7)
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GOD THE SON, JESUS CHRIST: GOD WITH US
We believe God the Son, Jesus Christ, is completely human and completely God. He became human without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary to reveal God and redeem sinful people. After a perfectly sinless life, Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. Our right standing with God is made sure by his literal, physical, and victorious resurrection from the dead. We believe Jesus Christ ascended into heaven is now seated at God's right hand and is coming again to judge the living and the dead.
(Philippians 2:5-11. See also Isaiah 7:14; 53; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; Romans 8:34; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
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GOD THE SPIRIT: GOD IN US
We believe God the Holy Spirit, co-equal with the Father and Son yet glorifying them always, is present in the world to make people aware of a need for Jesus Christ. He is the supernatural agent in making people alive in Christ, baptizing believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and empowering. His presence assures of a believer's relationship with God. He guides them in life and understanding spiritual truth. He convicts people of sin, God's righteousness, and coming judgment. He comforts, gives spiritual gifts, and makes believers ore like Christ. (John 16:7-14. See also Joel 2:28-29; John 15:26; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 2:13)
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HUMANITY: GOD'S IMAGE BEARERS:
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race, religion, gender, or socio-economic class possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Genesis 1:26-30; 2:7, 18-22; 3. See also Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23-24; 1Corinthains 15:21-22; Ephesians 2)
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SALVATION: GOD'S REDEMPTIVE GIFT
We believe salvation is a free gift of the Father brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Son who died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. We believe all people are spiritually dead and in need of the Holy Spirit to be made alive. They must turn to Christ, who is the only way of salvation, in faith and repentance in order to be saved. Salvation is a gift from the Trinitarian God, not earned through self-improvement, good works, good intentions, or belief in other gods. We believe the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are forever secure in their salvation in Christ. Salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification.
(John 3:16. See also Isaiah 53:5-6; Matthew 27:22-28:6; John 10:10; 14:6; Romans 3:23; 5:8; 6:23; 10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Ephesians 2:8-10)
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THE CHURCH: THE BODY AND BRIDE OF CHRIST
We believe the Church, the body and the bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all who have been made new in Christ across all ages and locations. We believe planting and strengthening local churches is clearly taught and defined in the Bible. Existing under the authority of Jesus Christ, local churches are free of any external control. We recognize baptism and communion as the means of testimony for the Church. Believer's baptism by immersion symbolizes the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior; death to sin and the old life; and resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ. Communion, the Lord's Supper, is a symbolic act of obedience in which Christians, through eating the bread and drinking the fruit of the vine, memorialize Christ's death and anticipate his return.
(1 Corinthians 12:1-31. See also Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Ephesians 5:25-32; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
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BAPTISM & THE LORD'S SUPPER: THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH
Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing 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. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
(Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1: 9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 21; 11:23-29 Colossians 2:12)
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LAST THINGS
We believe people are created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. Eternal separation from God is Hell. Eternal union with Him is Heaven. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. Ultimately, God, in His time and way, will bring the world to its appropriate "end," its full restoration. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly to earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge people. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell. Those who trusted Christ, in resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and dwell forever with God in a new Heaven and new earth.
(Philippians 3:20-21. See also Isaiah 2:4; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 17: 22-37; John 3:16; Romans 8:17-18 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; Revelation 20:1-22:13)
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IN ESSENTIALS, UNITY; IN NON-ESSENTIALS, CHARITY; IN ALL THINGS, LOVE
In the essential matters of faith, we show unity. In the non-essential matters of faith in Christ, we show charity. In all other things towards Christians and non-Christians, we show the love of God, which He demonstrated at the cross of Christ.
(Ephesians 4:1-6. See also John 17:20-23; 1 Corinthains 12:12-14; 27:13)
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We believe this list is not exhaustive, covering areas of right belief and practice. For an exhaustive list, please see the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which we affirm as a church.