What We Believe

What We Believe

 

Below you will find the essentials of what we believe and teach about the Bible, God, Human Beings, Salvation, Church, and Eternity.

About the Bible

The Bible is God's revelation of Himself to us. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. It is inspired by God, totally reliable, authoritative, and contains no error.

about god

There is only one living and true God. He has eternally existed as three, co-equal personalities: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is worthy of worship, faith, love, and obedience.

About God the Father: 

God the Father is infinite in His holiness, love, freedom, power, goodness, wisdom, righteousness, and perfection. He graciously and sovereignly reigns over all His creation and is self-sufficient and self-sustaining. He has revealed Himself most clearly as the Father of Jesus Christ.

About Jesus Christ the Son:

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and is co-equal with the Father. During His time on earth, He was virginally conceived by the Holy Spirit in His mother Mary, lived a sinless life, offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for our sins by dying on the cross, and He rose up from the dead. He ascended to heaven and will return again someday. He was fully human and fully God yet one person, the only Mediator between God and humans. Jesus now lives in all believers through the Holy Spirit as the living Lord.

About the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit is God's Spirit and is co-equal with Him. He makes people aware of their need for Jesus Christ, and He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living and serving, understanding spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved, which is to be used to build up other believers. Christians are to seek to live completely under His control daily.

about human beings

People were created in the image of God and are His highest work of creation. God affirmed us as humans by sending His own Son Jesus as a man. Every person has a tremendous potential for good, but all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin." Sin separates people from God, causes many problems in life, and ultimately leads to death. In Christ, we find fulfillment of our human lives in loving relationships with God and others.

About marriage

We believe that the term "marriage" refers to the God-sanctioned joining of one man and one woman into a single, exclusive union as taught by the Bible. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other.

about salvation

God freely offers salvation to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Because we are sinners, we can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can we be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus Christ in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. By God's grace and power, all believers persevere in their faith.

about the church

A church is a local group of baptized believers who are voluntarily associated by a commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and obeying the Great Commandment (Mark 12:29-31). The church is an autonomous body, operating under the Leadership of Jesus Christ, the leadership of elders, the service of deacons, and the empowerment of the members for effective kingdom service.

about eternity

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. Hell is eternal separation from God. Eternal life is to be in union with Him forever. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.