Statement of Faith
A. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. The very light of nature in man, and the works of God declare plainly that there is only one God; but God’s word and Spirit are necessary to reveal God to man for their salvation.
B. The Holy Scriptures. The Holy Scriptures, all 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the word of God. They are the only rule for faith and obedience. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, inerrant in its original manuscripts. The Scriptures teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duties God requires of man. [II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 119:11]
C. God. There is but one, only, the living and true God. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the three persons are the same in substance, equal in power and glory. [Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30]
a. God the Father. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. He alone is worthy of, and requires, all worship. [John 4:24; Exodus 3:14; Exodus 20:3-6; Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 96:13; Psalm 139:3- 10; I John 3:20; I John 4:7-8; Jeremiah 9:24; I Timothy 6:15-17]
b. Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Holy Trinity, the promised Messiah and the only Redeemer of His people. He humbled Himself by becoming fully man, while remaining fully God. He was born of a virgin and lived a perfect, sinless life. He suffered, and was crucified on the Cross, was buried and rose again on the third day; ascended into heaven where He sits on the right hand of the Father, God, Almighty, the Lord and Head of His body; awaiting the day when He shall judge the living and the dead, and whose Kingdom shall have no end. [John 1:1, 14; Luke 2:1-21; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-10; Colossians 1:13-20; Colossians 2:8-12; John 19-20; Acts 1:9-11; Revelation 20:1-6]
c. The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is fully God, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who convicts the world of its sin and guilt. He is the Comforter and Counselor who indwells all believers, teaching them, giving them the ability to seek after God, and interceding in their prayers. [John 14:15-27; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:1-27; Galatians 4:16-26]
D. The Decrees of God. God executes His decrees in the works of creation and providence. God created all things from nothing by the word of His power in the space of six days. God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, powerful, preserving and governing of all His creatures and all their actions. [Genesis 1:1-2:4; I Chronicles 29:11; Psalm 23; Psalm 104; Colossians 1:16-17]
E. Man. God created man, male and female, after His image in knowledge, righteousness and holiness with dominion over the creation. Mankind and all creation resulted from God’s distinct and supernatural creative intervention and did not result from a natural evolutionary process, nor from an evolutionary process that God secretly directed. In particular, God formed the specific man Adam from the dust of the ground, and the specific woman Eve from Adam. The first man and woman were therefore the progenitors of all people. [Genesis 1-3; Acts 17:28; Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12-14, 17-21; Romans 6:23; Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Psalm 139:13-16]
F. The Fall. Our first parents being left to the freedom of their own will, through the temptation of Satan, transgressed the commandment of God in eating the forbidden fruit; and thereby fell from the estate wherein they were created. (Genesis 3:6-13; 2 Corinthians 11:3). Adam being the covenant head of mankind and for his posterity, all mankind descending from him by ordinary generation sinned in him and fell with him in that first transgression. (Romans 5:12-20)
This fall brought all mankind into an estate of sin and misery. (Romans 3:23).
G. Sin. Sin is failing to obey or transgressing the law of God. (1 John 3:4; Galatians 3:10-12) Adam’s sin caused all mankind to be separated from God. (Romans 5:12-19; Romans 3:10; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24; Psalm 51:5; John 3:6; Romans 3:18; Romans 8:7-8; Ephesians 2:3; Genesis 6:5; Psalm 53:1-3; Matthew 15:19; Galatians 5:19-21; James 1:14-15)
H. Salvation. Only God is able to deliver man out of the estate of sin and misery, and to reconcile us to God. Jesus Christ is the only Redeemer. God redeems us from sin, and freely gives eternal life to all who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.
Christ’s substitutionary atonement consists in His living a perfect life on our behalf and dying to satisfy the demands of Divine justice for our sins.
a. Justification is an act of God’s free grace where He pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in His sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. This cannot be earned, nor is it by any basis of human merit or works of any kind or degree. We are saved from the power and penalty of sin. [John 1:12; John 3:16; Acts 17:30; II Peter 3:9; Ephesians 1:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-9; I Corinthians 15:20-22; II Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 6:23; Hebrews 10:1-10; I John 5:11-13]
b. Sanctification is a work of God’s free grace whereby all who are saved are renewed in the whole man in Christ-likeness and enabled by God’s Spirit to more and more die unto sin and live unto righteousness. [II Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 12:1-2; I Peter 1:13-2:3; Romans 8:5-17; Galatians 5:13-25; Philippians 3:7-14]
c. The benefits of salvation are assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, an increase of God’s grace in our lives, and a perseverance until the end.
I. God has ordained three primary social institutions to order human affairs: the family, the church, and civil government.
b. The family was instituted at creation when God made a helper fit for Adam, whom Adam named Eve. This design resembles the unique relationship of Christ and His bride, the church. Therefore, marriage is a sacred God-made union between a man and a woman, which is to be separated by no man. It is to model the reverence, love, sacrifice, and respect exemplified by Christ for His bride. Just as Christ is the head of the Church, husbands are the head of the wife. Husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. Human sexuality is a great blessing created by God to be enjoyed within the context of a monogamous marriage between a man and a woman; any sexual conduct outside the parameters of marriage is sin. One of the many blessings of marriage is children, a gift from the Lord. Children are given to parents to nurture and educate, for the primary purpose of teaching them to love God with all their hearts, minds, and souls and to shepherd them to fulfill this same purpose in the next generation. Parents are responsible before God for the training and upbringing of their children, even when they delegate some of that work to others. [Genesis 2:18-24; Ephesians 5:21-33; Isaiah 45:5; Exodus 20:14; Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:24-28; Psalm 127:3-5; Deuteronomy 11:18-21]
c. Christ and his church have a unique role in society. The Great Commission teaches that the church is to make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit and teach these disciples to be true worshippers of God. This commission is to be carried out in our homes, communities, neighboring areas, and to the nations. The Church of Christ is to be salt in this world restraining evil and light by giving the glorious news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is done by boldly proclaiming the truth in love that all men are to practice charity, lawfulness, justice, and mercy. Where God’s word is proclaimed mankind will be blessed with biblical morality and civil peace. [Proverbs 29:2, 4, 14, 18; Proverbs 28:4, 19, 27; Proverbs 31:8-9; Micah 6:8; Matthew 16:18-19; Matthew 28:19-20]
d. God ordained civil government after the flood of Noah to bear the sword against law breakers. God has commanded that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves. It is necessary to submit to government, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. We are commanded to pray for all who hold public office, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. [Genesis 9; Romans 13:1-5; Proverbs 14:34-35; I Tim 2:1-2]