
THE BIBLE: We believe and affirm that
- The Bible is comprised of the 39 canonical books of the Old Testament
(Genesis – Malachi) and 27 canonical books of the New Testament
(Matthew-Revelation). It is the divinely inspired, inerrant word of God,
profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness
(2 Tim. 3:16).
- The Bible is God's revelation to man. It teaches about the character of
God, the fall of man, the way of salvation, and God's plan and purpose in the
ages. It is forever settled in Heaven (Ps. 119:89).
- God has eternally preserved His words for all generations (Ps. 12:7). The
Masoretic text for the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus for the New
Testament are the preserved words of the original Hebrew and Greek texts. The
King James Version (KJV) is without mistakes and is God’s Word for the
English- speaking people of our day. We use, and will continue to use, only
the KJV in our Bible study in our evangelistic ministries.
- The Bible is verbally and plenary inspired. We affirm and submit to its
absolute authority in all matters of Christian faith and practice.
THE GODHEAD: We believe and affirm that:
- There is only one true God (Deut. 6:4). The Godhead eternally exists in
three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matt.
3:16, 17). All three Persons are equally God (John 14:9; Acts 5:3,4). The
Father sent the Son (John 20:21; Rom. 8:3); the Father and the Son send the
Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 26; 16:7).
- Jesus Christ is fully God (John 1:1) and fully man (Gal. 4:4). He is the
image of the invisible God (John 14:9; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3). He was born of a
virgin (Matt. 1:20-25) through the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit (Luke
1:35). He lived a sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:22). He died for our
sins on the cross of Calvary (Rom. 5:11; 1 Cor. 15: 3), shedding his blood to
atone for the sins of the world (Eph. 1:7). He was buried and bodily rose from
the dead on the third day (1 Cor. 15: 4). He ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9)
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father (Col. 3:1).
- The Holy Spirit is a Person, not an intangible influence (Acts 13:2,4). He
teaches the Christian (John 14:26) and helps the Christian pray (Rom. 8:36).
He reproves the unsaved world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment
(John 16:8-11).
MAN: We believe and affirm that:
- Man was directly created by God and is not a product of evolution (Gen.
1:26). Man is a tripartite being, with a body, a soul, and a spirit (1Thess.
5:23).
- Adam was a literal human being. The events related Genesis 1-3 are
historical.
- Through Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden, judgment came upon all men unto
condemnation (Rom. 5:18). Thus all human beings are sinners by birth (Ps. 51:
5) and sinners by choice (Isa. 53:6).
- Man can do nothing by his own efforts to make himself acceptable to God (Isa.
64:6; Jer. 13:23).
- God's wrath abides on the unsaved man (John 3:36), who is therefore
condemned already (John 3:18). The unsaved man is spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1)
and is incapable of receiving spiritual life apart from Jesus Christ (John
5:40).
SIN AND SALVATION: We believe and affirm that:
- God commands people everywhere to repent of their sins and believe the
Gospel (Mark 1:15; Acts 17:30). A person who repents will turn from sin and
will turn to God (Acts 26:20). Repentance of sins accompanies salvation (Luke
19:8,9).
- All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Sin
results in spiritual death (Rom. 6: 23; James 1:15). Those who die in their
sins apart from Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Hell and the Lake of Fire
(Mark 9:43, 45, 47:Luke 16:22-31; Rev. 20:14).
- Redemption from the penalty of sin comes only through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:7). The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin (1
John 1:9).
- Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone
(Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:8). It is the free gift of God through Jesus Christ (Rom. 6
23; Eph. 2:9).
- The finished work of Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross made salvation
available to all (John 3:16). Only those who personally receive Jesus Christ
as Savior obtain the merits of his atonement (John 1:12).
- A person becomes a child of God upon receiving Jesus Christ as Savior
(John 1:12). Those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior are eternally secure and
will never lose their salvation (John 10:28, 29).
JUSTIFICATION: We believe and affirm that:
- Justification occurs when God, through his grace, credits righteousness to
those who believe on Jesus Christ (Rom.. 3:24; Titus 3:7). No one can, or ever
will, receive justification through works (Gal. 2:16).
- Believers are justified by faith (Rom. 3:28), by the Father's grace (Titus
3:7), through Jesus Christ’s shed blood (Rom. 5:9), in the Holy Spirit (1 Tim.
3:16).
ESCHATOLOGY: We believe and affirm that:
- There will be a seven-year period called the Tribulation, during which the
wrath of God will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth (Rev.
6:15-17). No other time before it, or after it, will be like unto it (Matt.
24:21).
- A rapture of the entire Church will occur before the Tribulation (1 Thess.
5:9). This rapture is the believer’s "blessed hope", motivating the believer
to live soberly and righteously in this present world (Titus 2:12, 13; 1 John
3:2,3). The dead in Christ will rise first, followed by those Christians who
are living (1 Thess. 4:16, 17).
- At the beginning of the Tribulation, the Antichrist, empowered by Satan,
will make himself manifest, working signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:9). In
the middle of the Tribulation period, He will perpetrate an abomination of
desolation in the Jewish Temple (Matt. 24:15). God will cast the Antichrist
and his false prophet into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20).
- God will bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit for a literal
thousand-year period (Rev. 20:1,2). During that time, Jesus Christ will reign
on earth, along with His saints (Rev. 20:4). After the thousand-year period
has ended, God will loose Satan, and Satan will rebel against Jesus Christ
(Rev. 20:7,8). God will defeat this rebellion and cast Satan into the Lake of
Fire (Rev. 20:9, 10).
- God will conduct a judgment of the unsaved dead at a great white throne.
These people will be judged according to their works. Whoever’s name is not
found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev.
20:11-15).