Statement of Faith
We are committed to the truths of the Scripture and have a heart to “always be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence (1 Pet 3:14-15).” We are to “remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude 1:17),” and “contend for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints (Jude 1:3).” While we cannot personally remember the spoken words of the apostles like the early church could that Peter and Jude were writing too, we can recover their memory through the historical study of the Scriptures and, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).”
Inspiration of the Scriptures
The Bible is the authority on all truth (John 17:17) as it is the written Word of God. Men inspired by the Holy Spirit wrote the Scriptures (John 14:26). The Bible contains no errors, is clear, sufficient for all, and is meant to be understood by its readers (1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:24-25, Psalm 19:7-11). We have a hermeneutic that is historical, grammatical, and contextual, based upon an understanding of the original languages. In reading scripture, each word is connected to a phrase, to a sentence, to a passage, a chapter, and a book. It is important to be a student of the Word in context to understand the truth of the Word of God. We can see this also in the way that Jesus values and handles the Scriptures (Matthew 4: 1-11, Luke 4:20-21). We believe that the Bible is fully inspired of God, and hence inerrant in all that it affirms, and this includes not only the individual words themselves (Matt 4:4; 2 Ptr 1:21), but also the whole Bible as well (2 Tim 3:16; 2 Ptr 3:16).
The Person of God
We believe that the Triune God of Scripture, consisting of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit is the eternal (Ps 90:2; Isa 40:28), sovereign King of the universe (Ps 47:7; Heb 6:13), who is both love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:7-19) and righteously holy without sin (Ps 145:17; Isa 45:21). He is omniscient (Isa 40:13-14; Col 2:3), omnipresent (Pr 15:3; Ps 139:7-12), omnipotent (Luke 1:37; Heb 1:3), and immutable (James 1:17; Heb 13:8). He is One God sharing the exact same divine essence, yet is also three distinct divine personalities (Deut 6:1-4; Heb 13:8; Ps 139:7).
The Person of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, God the Son, is both fully God and fully man, the perfect representative and mediator, who was born of the virgin Mary and effectively wrought peace between both parties by His own death on the cross (Ps 110; Isa 7:14; 9:1-7; Matt 1:18-25; 22:41-45; John 1:1-14; Matt 1:18-25; Eph 2:14; 1 Tim 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-13).
Man & Sin
We believe that man was originally created in God’s image, holy and innocent (Gen 1-2), but fell into sin through the transgression of Adam who independently sinned against the will of God (Gen 3; Rom 5:12-21). While man did not lose God’s image through the fall (Gen 9:6; Jam 3:9), he is deeply affected by the catastrophic consequences of sin (Rom 1:18-3:20; 7:14-24; 1 John 1:8). As a result, man is under the judgment of God in need of salvation (John 3:16-21, 36; 2 Thess 1:8-9). The Bible shares in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Salvation by Grace & Eternal Security
We believe that salvation is a free undeserved gift given to man through faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Luke 18:16-17; Rom 3:21-31). This means that no works of any kind, whether those done before or after salvation, in the flesh or in the power of the Holy Spirit, can be seen as a condition of salvation (Rom 4:1-8; 11:5-6; Gal 3:1-5). As a result, we strongly believe in the eternal security of the saints as taught in Scripture (John 6:35-40; 10:27-29; Rom 8:31-39). John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in His shall not perish but have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The Work of Christ on the Cross
The Bible describes the work of Christ on the cross as one of substitution in which He sacrificially died for our sins in our place (Mark 10:45; John 1:29). Substitution is a total 100% one for one replacement – the just man for the unjust man – so that God may graciously exchange His righteousness for our sins if we but believe that Christ died for our sins (2 Cor 5:19-21; 1 Pet 3:18). His crosswork is further described as perfect and finished (Heb 10:10-18; John 19:30). In justification, God has dealt with the penalty for sin through Christ’s substitutionary death.
The Resurrection of Christ
We believe in the historic resurrection of Jesus Christ in which He first visibly appeared to Mary Magdalene and other women followers before He appeared to His disciples (showing great authenticity to the resurrection narratives), and then later to 500 other believers at one time, then to James His brother, and lastly to the apostle Paul (Luke 24:1-49; 1 Cor 15:1-8). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is thus the historic basis for our future hope and victory (1 Cor 15:1-19; 1 Pet 1:3-4).
The Life of a Christian: Sanctification
Sanctification is the believer’s walk and is done by faith as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (John 17:17, 2 Peter 3:18). At the moment someone places their faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit regenerates (Titus 3:5), indwells (1 Corinthians 3:16), seals (Ephesians 1:13- 14), baptizes (1 Corinthians 12:13), and gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11) the new Christian. As we walk by faith (Colossians 2:6) we learn that we have been set apart for God’s use and can have experiential knowledge of what we have positionally. (2 Peter 1:3, Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:14-20) In sanctification we have been saved from the power of sin (Romans 6:11). We can live a life of simply trusting Christ (Galatians 2:20). The Lord reveals to us who He is through the Word and what He has done for us. He has given us everything that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-3). The Holy Spirit indwells each believer and teaches the believer through the Word of God (Ephesians 1:13-14) which leads to us growing in knowledge of the Lord. As believers, the Holy Spirit comforts (John 14:16), assures (Romans 8:15-16), sanctifies (Romans 15:16), prays (Romans 8:26-27), and teaches (1 John 2:20). As believers, we are to walk by faith in the Lord through what He has revealed about Himself through His Word (Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 11). We now have the freedom to not present ourselves to sin, but instead present ourselves to the Lord as living sacrifices (Romans 6, Romans 12:1-2), walking by means of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-6, Galatians 5:16 – 25), abiding in Christ, walking in fellowship, and bearing fruit (John 15) as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 4:11-16).
Basic Theological Position
We believe in a dispensational view of Scripture, as the natural outgrowth of the Protestant Reformation in the application of the historical-grammatical interpretive method of Bible study to all Scripture passages equally and consistently, including prophetic passages about the end times in both the Old and New Testaments.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible version unless otherwise noted, The Lockman Foundation, 1995.