STATEMENT OF FAITH
Malls are trendy, churches should be timeless. With the forceful current of constant change sweeping over every part of our lives, people have the need to connect with something enduring and firm. We believe Christ designed the church to fulfill that need by representing an eternal kingdom and ageless truth with no need to imitate the culture. We want you to know that there is still a church that feels like a church. It will not feel like a rock concert, comedy club, or motivational seminar. It is not old-fashioned, as in 50 years ago; it is timeless, as in 2,000 years ago.
Independent & Unaffiliated in Association - Baptist in Doctrine - Fundamental in Truth
The following comprise the Scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
(A) The Bible It consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament and is God’s Holy Word.
Every word was Divinely inspired and has been preserved in the original languages through the Greek Received Text and Hebrew Masoretic Text.
It has been Divinely preserved for the English-speaking world in the King James Version. It is the only English translation we use. (Ps. 12:6-7; Isa. 40:8; Matt. 5:18; Matt. 24:35; I Peter 1:23,25; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)
(B) God There is one God in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14; John 14:10, 26). Co-equal, co-existent, co-eternal.
(C) Jesus Christ He is the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and redeemed sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8)
He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross, shedding His blood for the remission of sins and our justification is made sure by His resurrection. (Heb. 9:22; Rom. 5:9-10; Col. 1:19; Heb. 9:12; Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5)
He ascended to Heaven and is at the right hand of God the Father where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, Advocate, and Mediator. (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2; I Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:6; Heb. 9:15)
He is coming again. Our blessed hope is the return of Jesus, who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period and at the end of the Tribulation, will return to establish His earthly Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; I Thess. 1:10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
(D) Holy Spirit He convicts people of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and is the One who accomplished salvation through regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling, and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6)
He seals the believer, at the moment of salvation, until the day of redemption (Eph 1:13-14)
He teaches believers to understand and apply the Scriptures (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
He empowers believers to live and witness of God’s grace. (Acts 1:8; Rom 15:13; Eph 3:20)
He bestows spiritual gifts to every believer and uses these to accomplish the work of the ministry. The sign gifts of the early church (tongues/languages and healing) were temporary, as evidenced in scripture. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12; I Tim 5:23; I Cor 1:22; 14:22; II Cor 12:7)
(E) Man Man was created in the image and likeness of God. (Gen. 1:26-27)
Man sinned in Adam and the human race inherited the sinful nature that is on full display today. We fell under the penalty for sin, which is death. Our position is one of separation from God. (Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; I Cor 15:22; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)
Man is unable to restore that life and relationship through his own efforts. (Gen 4:4- 7; Exo 12:13; Isa 64:6; Eph 2:8-9; Tit 3:5)
(F) Salvation Salvation is God’s gift of forgiveness and grace received by personal faith in the sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:8; I Cor 15:1-4; Eph 2:4-9)
Salvation is through the blood of Jesus Christ shed on Calvary. (Eph 2:13; Col 1:14; Heb 9:12-14, 22; I Pet 1:18-19; Rev 1:5)
Salvation is received by faith, which scripture defines as repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19; 11:18; 17:30; 20:21; Rom 2:4; II Pet 3:9)
Salvation is forever. Once you receive God’s gift of redemption, you become a part of His family and cannot be unborn. You can lose fellowship with God but not your relationship. (Jn 10:28-30; Rom 6:23; 8:15, 38-39; Gal 4:5-6; I Jn 3:1-2; 5:13)
(G) Eternity We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-13)
The souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; I Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)
The souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection when with soul and body, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
(H) Satan Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the Fall of Man.
He is the enemy of God and man.
He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
(I) Creation God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
(J) Civil Government God has established authority in three basic institutions: the home, the church, and the state.
Every person is subject to these, but all are answerable to God and governed by His Word, including the authorities themselves.
God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities.
No institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)
(K) Human Sexuality God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex.
God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
The only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
(L) Family Men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for them in the home and the church.
Men are to be the leader of the home and in the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church.
The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ.
Children are to honor and obey their parents. They are a heritage from the Lord. (Eph. 6:1-2)
Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and lead them, through a consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; I Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; I Pet. 3:1-7)
(M)Divorce and Remarriage God disapproves of divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies.
Divorced or remarried individuals may serve faithfully in any area of ministry except that of pastor or deacon. (Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
(N) Abortion Life begins at conception and the unborn child is a living human being. Therefore, abortion is the unjustified, unexcused taking of human life. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
(O) Love The example of love is seen in Christ. (Rom. 5:8; John 3:16)
The expression of love is selfless and sacrificial. It seeks not personal gratification but rather the good of others. (I Cor. 13:4-7)
The object of our love is God first and our neighbor/others second. (Matt. 22:37-40) (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
(P) Missions God has given the church a commission - AMBASSADORS (John 20:21; II Cor. 5:20).
God has given the church a command – GO, PREACH, BAPTIZE, TEACH - to preach and teach the Gospel to all people. (Matt. 28:19-20, Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8)