WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that the Holy Scriptures, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, are the verbal, plenary, and inspired Word of God. Being such, the Scriptures are the final authority for our faith, life, and practice, being wholly without error in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

We believe that there are three Persons who share equally the attributes, essence and nature of God (Matt. 28:19; 2 Co. 13:14).

We believe that Scriptures teach that the Father is the ultimate source of all things (1 Co. 8:6). The Son during His earthly ministry, ministered according to the desirous will of the Father (John 3:17; 5:36; 8:42; 11:42). Grace believers are saved according to the Father’s desirous will (Gal. 1:4). The Father is seen in Scripture as being equal to other Members of the Godhead and greater than the Son in their Economical relationship (John 14:28). The Economical relationship is seen in that the Father sends the Son and the Holy Spirit but He is not sent (John 15:26). The Father answers communication (John 16:23). The Father forgives the sins of believers (1 John 1:9).

We believe that the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead, existed eternally as the Son before His incarnation (Ps. 2:7). He became man without any change in His Person through a supernatural conception by the Holy Spirit and the joining of His divine Person to that of a virgin (Matt. 1:20; Lk. 1:35). He is one divine Person possessing two natures, one human and the other divine (Mk. 4:38-39; 5:30-32).

The Son died physically as a substitute for the sins of men by dismissing His own human soul and spirit from His body (Matt. 27:50). He was resurrected on the third day (Matt. 28:1-6; Acts 2:24). He then ascended into Heaven where He is now seated at the right hand of the Father waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool (Acts 1:9-11; 7:55-56; Heb. 10:12-13).

The Son will return to rapture His church before the Tribulation Period (1 Thess. 4:16-17). He will then return after the Tribulation Period to put into effect the promised Millennial Kingdom (Matt.24:29-31; 25:31-34). It is the Son who will judge the unbelieving world of mankind following the Millennial Kingdom (John 5:22; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rev. 19:11-16; 20:4, 11-15). After the Kingdom, the Son will then hand the Kingdom over to the Father and the Godhead will return to their pre-creation relationship (1 Co.15:24-28). The Son intercedes on behalf of Grace Believers today to keep the believer saved (Rom. 8:34; Heb.7:25).

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, who eternally exists. He separates, arranges, and applies what the Father plans and the Son coordinates. (Eph. 4:30; Rom. 8:26; Gen. 1:2)

There is specific New Testament Scripture authenticating the deity of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4). From the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit began a baptizing ministry that immerses Grace Believers into the body of Christ (1 Co. 12:13; Acts 1:4; 11:15-17). As a result of this baptism, the Grace Believer has positions and possessions (Eph. 1:6; 2:10, 13; Rom. 6:1-5, 8:1; Gal. 6:1-5). These include the Grace Believer, in Christ, being redeemed and sanctified. (1 Co. 1:30; Eph. 1:7), part of the New Creation (2 Co. 5:17; Eph. 2:15), given a spiritual gift (1 Co. 12:4-8), placed as a priest (1 Pet. 2:5), placed as Sons (Eph. 1:5), forgiven by God (Eph 1:7), accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:6), made near to God (Eph. 2:13), seated in the heavenlies (Eph. 2:6), counted to have died with Christ in His death, buried with Him and resurrected with Him as a substitute (Rom. 6:1-8) and seen as having no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

Because of His regenerating ministry, Grace Believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Col. 6:19-20), the Father (Eph. 4:6), and the Son (Col. 1:27). Other ministries of the Holy Spirit include: His teaching ministry in which He teaches the believer (1 John 2:27); His sealing ministry in which He seals the believer in Christ until the day of complete redemption (Eph. 4:30; 1:13); His filling ministry in which He fills the believer (Eph. 5:18); His intercession ministry in which He intercedes for the believer in the believer’s communication with the Father (Rom. 8:26-27); His indwelling ministry in which He joins Himself to the believer as an indwelling Person (John 14:17) and His restraining ministry in which He is currently restraining the Man of Lawlessness until God’s appointed time (2 Thess. 2:6-8).

The Holy Spirit removes the blindness from the eyes of unbelievers so that they can believe the gospel for initial salvation (2 Co.4:4). No one is saved apart from the Holy Spirit’s removal of the satanic bind. (Tit. 3:5; John 16:7-10)

We believe the Scriptures teach that salvation in all three tenses is by the grace of God through His free gift which is neither merited nor secured in part or in whole by any virtue or work of man (Eph. 2:8, 9). The gospel, which the Holy Spirit uses as a basis for His conviction of a sinner to bring him to faith in Christ, is a specific limited area of truth (Rom. 1:16). The facts that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again physically after three days are the essential parts of the gospel (1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Tim. 2:8- 10).

The basis of salvation is the death of our Lord Jesus Christ in His human nature on the cross. He became personally separated in His human nature from the Father when the Father made the Son’s Person (Human body and sinless human nature) an offering for sin. Thereby, the Father’s outraged holiness against man’s sin nature was propitiated (Isa. 53:10; Matt 27:46, Rom. 3:25; 1 Jn. 2:2, 4:10). Because of His infinite character, the Son’s blood was a sufficient redemption for all mankind (Rom. 3:24; 2 Pet. 2:1). Since the death of Christ was sufficient for all the world, the world is now positionally reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18, 19, Rom. 5:10). God, therefore, encourages all men to be reconciled unto Him (2 Cor. 5:20).

The single condition whereby the value of these propitiatory, redemptive, and reconciliatory works of the cross may be applied by the Holy Spirit to the individual is by a personal faith in the crucified and risen Son of God (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8, 9). At salvation, the believer is called, regenerated, forgiven all sin, justified, sanctified, made eternally secure, and endowed with every spiritual blessing (Rom. 3:24; 5:1; Eph. 1:3, 13, 14; 4:32, Tit. 3:5; 1 Cor. 1:30). Positionally, the believer is glorified and seated in the heavenlies in Christ (Rom. 8:29, 30; Eph. 2:6, 7).

We believe that the Scriptures teaches that a local church is a group of regenerated, baptized believers, organized and meeting together for the equipping of the saints for their ministry (Eph. 4:11-12); for provoking one another to love, good works and for exhortation (Heb. 10:24-25); for the exercising of spiritual gifts (1 Pet. 4:10) and for the observance of two ordinances: the Lord’s Supper (1 Co.10:15-22; 11:23-29) and Baptism by Immersion (Acts 10:46-48).
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Baptism is by immersion in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:35-39). The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of the Person of Christ, His Body which is the Church, and the new covenant by His blood (1 Cor. 10:15-22; 11:23-29).