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Statement of Faith

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Statement of Faith

Bible: We believe that the sixty-six books of the Bible as originally given are in their entirety the Word of God, that they are unique and final, and that they are therefore the supreme authority for faith and life (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21). We believe that God has providentially preserved the integrity of these biblical scriptures down through the ages so that they remain reliable today (Matthew 5:18).

God: We believe that there is one true and living God, who is the creator and ruler of heaven and earth. He is inexpressibly glorious in wisdom, power, and holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in all their works (Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

Christ: We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God; He became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, so that He has two distinct natures, divine and human, in one Person forever (John 1:2-3; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:15-16; Hebrews 1:2-3).

Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person and not an influence; He is the third Person of the Trinity, and as such is co-essential and co-equal with the Father and the Son (Acts 5:3-4). His convicting, regenerating and sanctifying activity is based upon the redemptive work of Christ and the preaching of the gospel (John 16:13-14; Titus 3:5,6; Ephesians 2:22).

Man: We believe that through the disobedience of Adam all have become sinners both by nature and choice (Psalms 51:5; Romans 5:12ff), and that apart from regeneration, we are at enmity with God (Romans 8:7), disposed only to doing our own will (Ephesians 2:1-3).

Salvation: We believe that God in His grace has provided salvation through the Person and work of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins in His own body on the cross (1 Peter 2:24); that salvation is apart from any human merit; that it is the accomplished by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), producing repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and that this is manifest in a life characterized by obedience to the will of God as it is made known in the Word of God (Matthew 7:21-24; Ephesians 2:10).

Church: We believe that, upon personal trust in Jesus Christ, the believer is baptized by the Spirit into the Church which is the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13); local assemblies, meeting for edification and evangelism, are its visible form.

Missions: We believe that as Christians we are called to make the gospel known to our neighbors and to all nations (Matt. 28:19-20), and to make disciples through prayerful instruction in the Scriptures, with the aim of building up local congregations that are mature in the faith (Ephesians 4:11-13).

Last Things: We believe that Jesus Christ will return bodily at the end of the age to judge the living and the dead; that all people will be raised, those who have personally trusted in Christ to a resurrection of life, and the lost to be sent into eternal punishment (John 5:29; Revelation 20:11-15).

For additional resources, see our "What We Believe" page.