What We Believe

The Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

(Exo 24:4; Deut 4:1-2; 17:19; Josh 8:34; Ps 19:7-10; 119:11, 119:89, 119:105, 119:140; Isa 34:16; 40:8; Jer 15:16; 36:1-32; Matt 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff; 17:11; Rom 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Tim 3:15-17; Heb 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Pet 1:25; 2 Pet 1:19-21)

There is only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all humanity.

(Gen 1:1; 2:7; Exo 3:14; 6:2-3; Exo 15:11ff; 20:1ff; Lev 22:2; Deut 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chr 29:10; Ps 19:1-3; Isa 43:3,15; 64:8; Jer 10:10; 17:13; Matt 6:9ff; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Rom 8:14-15; 1 Cor 8:6; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6; Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:6; 12:9; 1 Pet 1:17; 1 John 5:7.)

God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of humanity from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present, Lord.

(Gen 18:1ff; Ps 2:7ff; 110:1ff; Isa 7:14; 53:1-12; Matt 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5;27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18; 1:29; 10:30; 10:38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16; 16:28; 17:1-5; 17:21-22; 20:1-20; 20:28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Rom 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3; 8:34; 10:4; 1 Cor 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Cor 5:19-21; 8:9; Gal 4:4-5; Eph 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Phil 2:5-11; Col 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thess 4:14-18; 1 Tim 2:5-6; 3:16; Tit 2:13-14; Heb 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15; 9:24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Pet 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Rev 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16)

God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables us to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls us to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

(Gen 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Ps 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isa 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matt 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17; 14:26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 2:38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:9-11; 8:14-17; 8:26-27; 8:39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; 1 Cor 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Gal 4:6; Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess 5:19; 1 Tim 3:16; 4:1; 2 Tim 1:14; 3:16; Heb 9:8,14; 2 Pet 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Rev 1:10; 22:17)

Humanity is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created us male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man and woman were innocent of sin and were endowed by their Creator with freedom of choice. By their free choice they sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan they violated the command of God, and fell from their original innocence whereby all generations inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as we are capable of moral action, we become transgressors and are therefore under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring us into His holy fellowship and enable us to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created us in His own image, and in that Christ died for us; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

(Gen 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Ps 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isa 6:5; Jer 17:5; Matt 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Rom 1:19-32; 3:10-18; 3:23; 5:6; 5:12, 5:19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Cor 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Eph 2:1-22; Col 1:21-22; 3:9-11)

Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.

Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Saviour.

B. Justification is God's gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.

C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God's purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person's life.

D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.

(Gen 3:15; Exo 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matt 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14; 1:29; 3:3-21; 3:36; 5:24; 10:9; 10:28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Rom 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18; 8:29-39; 10:9-10; 10:13; 13:11-14; 1 Cor 1:18; 1:30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Cor 5:17-20; Gal 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Eph 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thess 5:23-24; 2 Tim 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Pet 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Rev 3:20; 21:1-22:5)

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. It is consistent with the free agency of man, and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility.

All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their joy and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves; yet they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

(Gen 12:1-3; Exo 19:5-8; 1 Sam 8:4-7,19-22; Isa 5:1-7; Jer 31:31ff.; Matt 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22; 24:31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45; 6:65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Rom 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7; 11:26-36; 1 Cor 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Eph 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Col 1:12-14; 2 Thess 2:13-14; 2 Tim 1:12; 2:10; 2:19; Heb 11:39–12:2; Jas 1:12; 1 Pet 1:2-5;1:13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2)

A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. In such a congregation each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord. Its scriptural officers are pastors/elders (or elders) and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

The New Testament speaks also of the church as the Body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation.

(Matt 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42; 2:47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23; 14:27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Eph 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11; 3:21; 5:22-32; Phil 1:1; Col 1:18; 1 Tim 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Heb 11:39-40; 1 Pet 5:1-4; Rev 2-3; 21:2-3)

Baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his or her faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, we consider it a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord's Supper.

The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

(Matt 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Rom 6:3-5; 1 Cor 10:16; 10:21; 11:23-29; Col 2:12)

The Kingdom of God includes both His general sovereignty over the universe and His particular lordship over men and women who willfully acknowledge Him as King. Particularly the Kingdom is the realm of salvation into which men and women enter by trustful, childlike commitment to Jesus Christ. Christians ought to pray and to labour that the Kingdom may come and God's will be done on earth. The full consummation of the Kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.

(Gen 1:1; Isa 9:6-7; Jer 23:5-6; Matt 3:2; 4:8-10,23; 12:25-28; 13:1-52; 25:31-46; 26:29; Mark 1:14-15; 9:1; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:2; 12:31-32; 17:20-21; 23:42; John 3:3; 18:36; Acts 1:6-7; 17:22-31; Rom 5:17; 8:19; 1 Cor 15:24-28; Col 1:13; Heb 11:10,11:16; 12:28; 1 Pet 2:4-10; 4:13; Rev 1:6,9; 5:10; 11:15; 21-22)

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of our spirit by God's Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. Missionary effort on the part of all rests thus upon a spiritual necessity of the regenerate life, and is expressly and repeatedly commanded in the teachings of Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness supported by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.

(Gen 12:1-3; Exo 19:5-6; Isa 6:1-8; Matt 9:37-38; 10:5-15; 13:18-30; 13:37-43; 16:19; 22:9-10; 24:14; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-18; 24:46-53; John 14:11-12; 15:7-8,16; 17:15; 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2; 8:26-40; 10:42-48; 13:2-3; Rom 10:13-15; Eph 3:1-11; 1 Thess 1:8; 2 Tim 4:5; Heb 2:1-3; 11:39-12:2; 1 Pet 2:4-10; Rev 22:17)

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the spiritual unity of a man and a woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

The husband and wife are both created in God’s image and so are of equal worth before God. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to sacrificially love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the sacrificial, servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his co-worker in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to model for their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honour and obey their parents.

(Gen 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exo 20:12; Deut 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Sam 1:26-28; Ps 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Prov 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecc 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal 2:14-16; Matt 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 7:1-16; Eph 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col 3:18-21; 1 Tim 5:8,14; 2 Tim 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Heb 13:4; 1 Pet 3:1-7)

Christ will return personally for His Church and will receive the Church - both the living and the dead. At His coming in all power and glory, there will be the bodily resurrection of all the dead - of believers to eternal blessedness, and of unbelievers to eternal punishment - and the perfection of the glorious Kingdom of God in a new heaven and new earth.

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.

(Isa 2:4; 11:9; Matt 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27; 24:30; 24:36; 24:44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40; 12:48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Rom 14:10; 1 Cor 4:5; 15:24-28; 15:35-58; 2 Cor 5:10; Phil 3:20-21; Col 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thess 4:14-18; 5:1ff.; 2 Thess 1:7ff.; 2 Thess 2; 1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Heb 9:27-28; Jas 5:8; 2 Pet 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Rev 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13)