What We Believe

The Bible

The Bible, consisting of all the books of the Old and New Testament, is the Word of God, a supernaturally given revelation from God Himself, concerning Himself, His being, nature, character, will and purposes; and concerning man, his nature, need and duty and destiny. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are without error or misstatement in their moral and spiritual teaching and record of historical facts. They are without error or defect of any kind in the autographs. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)

There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 44:6-8; 45:5; Genesis 1:26-27; 3:22; Matthew 28:19; Luke 9:35; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

The Lord Jesus, before His incarnation, existed in the exact form of God, and of His own choice, laid aside His divine glory and took upon Himself the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. He is a divine person possessed of all the attributes of deity and should be worshipped as God by angels and men. (John 1:1; Philippians 2:5-11) “In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)

The Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father and the Son, and possesses all of the divine attributes. He is God. (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18)

The Church consists of all who have who have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ, regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It is the body and bride of Christ, which Christ loves and for which He gave Himself.  Therefore, it is the responsibility and privilege of all who are saved to seek to win others to Christ, to seek to live a holy life, and to separate themselves from and forsake all that might dishonor God. (Ephesians 5:25-27; Revelation 21:2; 2 Corinthians 11:2)

Mankind was created in the image of God, after his likeness, and therefore has transcendent, intrinsic worth. (Genesis 1:27) The unjustified destruction of any human being from conception to natural death (e.g., through abortion, embryonic stem cell research, cloning, doctor-assisted suicide, etc.) is wrong. (Exodus 21:22)

Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden. The whole human race fell in the fall of the first Adam. All men and women, apart from spiritual regeneration, are alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, hardened in heart, morally and spiritually dead through their trespasses and sins. They cannot see nor enter the Kingdom of God until they are born again of the Holy Spirit. (John 6:28-29; 8:44; 15:5; Philippians 1:29; Romans 3:10-12; 8:7; John 1:13; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Men and women are saved only by the atoning work of Christ’s voluntary sacrifice on the cross and upon the simple and single condition of faith in Him. They are born again by the quickening, renewing, cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the Word of God. These people alone become children of God and receive eternal life. At death their spirits depart to be with Christ in conscious blessedness, and at the second coming of Christ their bodies shall be raised, transformed into the likeness of the body of His glory. (John 3:16; Romans 3:20-28; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-6; Galatians 2:21)

All those who persistently reject Jesus Christ in this present life shall be raised from the dead, judged according to their deeds, and punished for their moral crimes and rebellion against God.  (Matthew 8:12; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8)

There is a personal devil, a being of great cunning who can exert vast power only so far as God allows him to do so. He shall ultimately be judged and condemned, tormented day and night forever. (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Matthew 25:41)

Biblical marriage consists only of a faithful, heterosexual union between one genetic male and one genetic female, and biblical marriage is the only legitimate and acceptable context for a sexual relationship. (Genesis 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Hebrews 13:4-7)

God created only two biological genders: male and female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We acknowledge that due to the fall, chromosomal and anatomic anomalies can occur, which, in extremely rare situations can make a binary gender distinction very challenging. However, to be “intersex” is not defined as a third gender, but is a medical variation within the binary categories of male and female.