TENETS OF FAITH – WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally and plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed, and therefore the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six book of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. (II Timothy 3:16-17, II Peter 1:20-21).
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that God is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the one and only true God – all knowing, all powerful, all present – complete in Himself, always having existed, ever active in the universe, and involved in the lives of all men. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ to be the only begotten Son of God – truly God, truly man. Born of the virgin, He died on the cross for the sins of mankind. He was raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God. (Psalm 90:2, Isaiah 43:10, Matthew 1:23, John 1:14, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Philippians 2:13, Colossians 1:1-2, Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 9:18).
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit to be the Divine Third Person of the Trinity – God as Spirit. We believe that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit for every believer, distinct from salvation, with speaking in tongues being the initial accompanying evidence of being baptized, and that the gifts of the Spirit are manifested for the purpose of meeting the needs of the people. (Joel 2:28, Matthew 28:19, Luke 24:49, John 14:16, Acts 2:4, Acts 13:1-2, Romans 8: 14-16, 26-28, I Corinthians 12:1-11, I Corinthians 14:26-40, I Corinthians 24:2,4,5, 39).
The Godhead
We believe the Holy Spirit to be God revealing Himself in three Divine Persons, each distinct in office from the other, yet perfectly One, constituting One God, not three Gods. (Matthew 28:19, Luke 3:22, John 14:9, 16, John 17:3.
Salvation and the Forgiveness of Sins
We believe that all of us are sinners in need of a Savior, unable to earn our salvation through doing good works and thereby destined for eternal separation and judgement from God. However, we also believe that there is Good News – that salvation is the free gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This abundant, everlasting life with God and the forgiveness of sins is available through Jesus Christ alone and is offered to all who confess their sins and believe and trust in His death on the cross. (Isaiah 53:1-10, Luke 8:6, John 3:16, John 10:10, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:8-10, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, I John 1:9.
Healing
We believe divine healing was provided to the believer through Christ’s finished work on the cross, and it is God’s will for us to be healed in spirit, soul, and body. (Isaiah 53:4-5, Matthew 8:17, Acts 10:38, 1 Peter 2: 24).
Water Baptism
We believe water baptism is for all believers and is to be practiced by immersion. It symbolizes our being buried with Christ unto death of self, and as Christ was raised from the dead, so shall we, too walk in newness of life. (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16;16, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:4-5, Colossians 2:12).
Deliverance
The Lord’s Supper
We believe the Lords’ Supper (Communion), using the physical elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, is to be observed in remembrance of the shed blood and body of Jesus Christ, proclaiming His death on the cross for us. (Luke 22:19, 1 Corinthians 11:17-30, II Peter 1:4).
Christ’s Second Coming
We believe Christ’s second coming includes a pre-tribulation rapture of the church – the sudden catching away of believers on the earth and those who have died in Christ. This is followed by a literal 7-year period of unparalleled tribulation and judgement on the earth, then final judgement of the wicked dead, resulting in everlasting punishment in the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. (Daniel 12:11, Mathew 24:15, 21, 29, Matthew 24:46, Mark 9:43-48, Luke 21:26, John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:13-17, Revelation 3:10, Revelation 7:14, Revelation 10:11-15, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 21:8.