1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES We believe that the Holy Scriptures (Bible) of the Old and New Testament are inspired verbally and in their totality by the Holy Spirit; that they are infallible in the original texts. The Holy Scriptures alone have the decisive authority in all areas of teaching and life, personally as well as corporately. 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; John 16:12-13; Matthew 5:18 2. GOD We believe that there is only one God, eternally existing in three persons (trinity): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, the same in might and divineness. They have the same characteristics; these three are one God. 2 Corinthians 13:13; Hebrews 1:1-3; Acts 5:3-4; Matthew 28:19-20; John 1:1-4; Revelation 1:4-6; Deuteronomy 6:4 3. THE PERSON AND THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became flesh, without giving up his holiness. He was born of the virgin Mary so that God could make Himself known and redeem lost mankind. He offered Himself in our place; He was our substitution. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection He has brought about our salvation. John 1:1-2,14; Micah 5:1; Luke 1:34-35; Romans 3:24-25; Romans 8:34; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 5:8; 1 John 2:1-2; Ephesians 1:7 We believe that Christ is ascended to heaven and He is now seated at the right hand of God where He, as our High Priest, always intercedes for us and is the only mediator between God and man. Hebrews 1:3; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 7:25 4. THE PERSON AND THE WORK OF THE HOLY GHOST We believe that the Holy Spirit a divine person is, and is not an “it”. He enters into the believer through the new birth and He is also the one brings about the new birth. He dwells in the believer and seals him until the return of Christ. John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Titus 3:5 We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher Who leads all believers into the truth and that it is the privilege and duty of every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit. John 16:13-15; 1 John 2:20,27; Ephesians 5:18-21 We believe that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the first day of Pentecost is a one-time event and will never be repeated. Acts 2:1-4, 16 5. SATAN or THE DEVIL We believe Satan was once holy, but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell with the angels who wanted to follow him. We consider Satan to be the enemy of God who tries to snare the believer and tries to keep the unsaved away from the Gospel, but his was defeated on the cross by the Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal destiny for Satan is that he will be thrown into the lake of fire. Isaiah 14:12; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10; Matthew 25:41 6. SPIRITUAL GIFTS We believe that God is sovereign in the giving of spiritual gifts. He gives to everyone as He will for the edification of the local church and for the equipping of the saints for service. Our responsibility lies in the discovering and use of the gifts that we have received. Ephesians 4:12; Hebrews 2:4; 1 Corinthians 12:11,18 We believe that the Scriptures makes a distinction between permanent (edifying) gifts and temporary (sign) gifts. The latter, including tongues and prophecies, have lost their usefulness with the completion of the New Testament. The permanent gifts, however, remain in place and are found among the believers. There is a vast number of spiritual gifts and their presence never serves as a proof of spirituality of special favor. Ephesians 2:18; 1 Corinthians 12:11, 28-31; Hebrews 2:3-4 We believe that God hears the prayers for the sick and answers according to His will. John 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15; James 5:14-15 7. THE TOTAL DEPRAVED STATE OF MAN We believe that man was created in God’s image, but through the sin of Adam mankind has fallen and has thereby inherited the sin nature and by sin is separated from God. We recognize the total lost (depraved) state of man and that man himself cannot change or fix his lost state, nor can he save himself. Genesis 1:26-27; Ephesians 2:1-3,12; Romans 3:22-23; Romans 5:12 8. SALVATION BY GRACE ALONE We believe that salvation of sinners is a gift from God, given to all men by grace and is appropriated through faith (trust) in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by God’s grace alone (His undeserved favor and love), and not by our own accomplishments. Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7 We believe that our salvation is only completed through the shedding of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who was made sin for us and Who died for us. This offer of salvation is available to every sinner who accepts Christ as His Savior. Ephesians 1:7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; John 5:24 We believe that all humanity is depraved and is dead in sin. No one can enter into the kingdom of God, unless he be born again by the Holy Spirit, whereby he becomes a new creature. John 3:5-8; 1 Peter 1:23; Titus 3:5; 1 John 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17 Our justification is not based on our own works or attempts to become righteous, but only by faith in the Redeemer’s blood. This justification includes the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life. Romans 4:1-8; Romans 5:1; Romans 1:17; Hebrews 10:38; Titus 3:5-7 9. THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER We believe that those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are eternally secure. Our security rests on the completed work of Jesus Christ and on God’s promises from His Word, and seeing that God can not lie it is not possible to lose our salvation. Once saved we remain saved. 1 John 5:12-13; John 6:37; John 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39; Titus 2:11-15; Galatians 5:13; John 6:37; 1 John 2:25 10. THE FREENESS OF SALVATION We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the Gospel. There is nothing that prevents the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel. Romans 10:13; John 6:37; John 3:15-16; 1 Timothy 1:15; Ephesians 2:4-5; John 3:36 11. THE DOUBLE NATURE OF THE BELIEVER We believe that every believer has two natures, the old nature (after Adam), and a new (after Christ). Every true believer has the possibility of the new nature defeating the old by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and that all claims of an uprooting (removal) of the old nature in this life are not scriptural. It is expected of every believer that he continually, by conscious choice, crucify his old nature whereby his own self is replaced by the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5; Romans 8:12,13; Colossians 3:10; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ephesians 4:22-24 12. SEPARATED LIFE OF THE BELIEVER We believe that all believers ought to live in such a manner that does not bring shame on their Savior and Lord; and that there be a separation from all false and heretical teachings, and sinful practices and connections which are forbidden by God. 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:1-2; 2 John 9-11; Romans 14:13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 We recognize that we live in this world but are not of this world. We are placed in the world as witnesses in order to bring the lost to Christ, and we seek the fellowship with those who believe and comply with God’s Word. John 17:11; 1 Corinthians 5:9-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 5:16 13. THE CHURCH We believe that the visible church is a fellowship of baptized believers who practice the New Testament principles and who observe the two ordinances that Jesus Christ left behind: 1. Baptism - Baptism of the believer by immersion in water is a public testimony of our new birth and serves as an identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism does not save you. Acts 2:38, 41; Romans 6:1-4 2. The Lord’s Supper - Because of our thankfulness for the fellowship that we have in Christ, this is a time of remembrance, giving thanks, and a proclamation of the broken body and the spilled blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. We observe the Lord’s Supper until His return. Acts 2:42; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-28 14. THE GOSPEL We believe that it is the mission of every believer to be a witness to this life-saving message through word and deed. We shall strive to do everything possible to carry out this mission by sending this message into our own community as well as through missionaries. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 13:1-3; Romans 10:13-15; Mark 16:15; John 20:21 15. OFFERINGS Believers ought to give humbly, regularly, and with joy. The Scriptures command us to bring our gifts with us on the first day of the week and that our gifts are according to how God has prospered us. We give not out of obligation, but out of thankfulness and love. 1 Corinthians 16:2; Malachi 3:10; Leviticus 27:30; Acts 4:34-35, 37 16. CREATION We believe in the Genesis account of creation; it is accepted literally and not allegorically or figurative. Creation of man was not a coincidence or through any evolutionary process. God created man after His own image and likeness. Genesis 1:1, 11, 24, 26-27; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17 17. THE SOUL AND ETERNAL DESTINY We believe in the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the body, and eternal life in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven for those who have accepted Christ as Savior. We believe in the endless punishment for the unsaved (those who have rejected Him during their life here on earth) in hell. Purgatory and second chances after death do not exist in the Bible and are from human origin.