Statement of Faith
Declaration of Faith
I. The Scriptures
“We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were written by men divinely inspired, and are a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; and are the divine authority for faith and practice. That it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore, is and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions shall be tried. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and only translation used by the church and it’s ministries.”
II. The True God
“We believe that there is one, and only one living and true God; an infinite, intelligent Spirit, whose name is JEHOVAH, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.”
III. The Fall of Man
“We believe that man was created in holiness, under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression fell from the holy and happy state; in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, (not by constraint but by holiness required by the law of God,) positively inclined to evil; and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin, without defense or excuse.”
IV. The Way of Salvation
“We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial office of the Son of God; who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon him our nature, yet without sin; honored the divine law by his personal obedience, and by his death made a full atonement for our sins; that having risen from the dead he is now enthroned in heaven; and uniting in his wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections, he is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all sufficient Savior.”
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and is received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)
V. Justification
“We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in him is justification; that justification includes the pardon of sin, and the promise of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood; by virtue of which faith his perfect righteousness is freely imputed to us of God; that it brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God, and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity.
VI. The Freeness of Salvation
“We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth, but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel; which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.”
VII. Grace in Regeneration
“We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind; that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.”
VIII. Repentance and Faith
“We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God; whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and relying upon him alone as the only and all- sufficient Savior.”
IX. Gods Purpose of Grace
“We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end; that it is most glorious, infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable; that utterly excludes boasting, and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy; that it may be ascertained by its effect in all who truly believe the gospel; that it is the foundation of Christian assurance; and to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the up most diligence.”
X. Sanctification
“We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the will of God, we are made partakers of His holiness; that it is a progressive work; that it is begun in regeneration and that it is carried on in the hearts of believers by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the Sealer, and Comforter, in the continual use of the appointed means especially, the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness, and prayer.”
XI. The Perseverance
“We believe that such only are real believers as endure unto the end; that their preserving attachment to Christ is the grain mark which distinguishes them, that special providence watches over their welfare, and that they are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.”
XII. The Harmony of the Law and the Gospel
“We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of moral government; that it is holy, just, and good; and that the inability which the scriptures ascribe to fallen men to fulfill its precepts, arises entirely from their love of sin: to deliver them from which, and to restore them mediator to unfeigned obedience to the holy law, is one great end of the gospel, and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church.”
XIII. A Gospel Church
“We believe that a visible church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His word; that its only scriptural officers are bishops or pastors, and deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles of Timothy and Titus.
XIV. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
“We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost; to show in a solemn and beautiful emblem, our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect, in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation; and to the Lord’s Supper, in which the members of the church by the sacred use of dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn self-examination.”
XV. The Christian Sabbath
“We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, or Christian Sabbath; and is to be kept sacred to religious purposes, by abstaining from all secular labor and sinful recreation, by the devout observance of all the means of grace both private and public; and by preparation for that rest that remaineth for the people of God.”
XVI. Civil Government
“We believe that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interest and good order of human society; and that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of conscience and the Prince of the Kings of the earth.”
We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions; 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Rom. 13: 1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13-17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)
XVII. The Righteous and the Wicked
“We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in his esteem while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in his sight wicked, and under the curse and that distinction holds among men, both in and after death.”
XVIII. The World to Come
“We believe that the end of this world is approaching; that in the last day Christ will descend from heaven, and raise the dead from the grave to final retribution; that a solemn separation will then take place; that the wicked will be adjudged to endless punishment, and the righteous to endless joy: and that this Judgment will fix forever the final state of men in heaven or hell, on principles of righteousness.”
XIX. The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
- We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30, Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1Cor 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
- We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. ( Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
XX. The Church
- We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14;2 Cor. 11:2; Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-27)
- We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27;20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
- We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom 16:1,4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)
- We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Mat. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-38; 1 Cor 11:23-26
XXI. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances, piercing, and bodily markings. (Lev. 19:28, Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7: 1; 2 Tim. 3: 1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)
XXII. The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ, Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
XXIII. The Eternal State
- We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5: 28,29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20: 5-6, 12-13)
- We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. )Luke 23:43, 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3-21; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)
- We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)
XXIV. The Personality of Satan.
We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17: Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)
XXV. Creation
We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution and unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-2; Ex. 20:11)
XXVI. Human Sexuality
- We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)
- We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.
(Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)
XXVII. Family Relationships
- We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual function for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
- We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Det. 6:4-9; Ps. 127; 3-5; Prov. 19:18; 22:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)
XXVIII. Divorce and Remarriage
We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Matt. 2:14-1; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2,12; Titus 1:6)
XXIX. Abortion
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; 139:14-16;Isa. 44:24;49:1; Jer. 1:5;20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
XXX. Euthanasia
We believe that the direct taking of an innocent human life is a moral evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or omission which, of its self or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal or over-zealous treatment. (Ex. 20:13; 23:7; Matt. 5:21; Acts 17:28)
XXXI. Love
We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also toward both those who are not believers, those who oppose us, and those who engage in sinful actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently, and humbly. God forbids the stirring up of strife, the taking of revenge, or the threat or the use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Lev. 19:18; Matt. 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13:34-35; Rom. 12:9-10; 17-21; 13:8-10; Phil. 2:2-4; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18)
XXXII. Lawsuits between Believers
We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation from injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursed without malice or slander. (1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32)
XXXIII. Missions
We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations and not wait for them to come to us. (Matt. 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24; 46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:20)
XXXIV. Giving
We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17)
Upcoming Events
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Feb22
Service
Wednesday, Feb 22, 2012
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Feb25
Visitation
Saturday, Feb 25, 2012
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Feb25
Prayer Time
Saturday, Feb 25, 2012
Many come each Saturday evening to pray for the next day services and other special needs/requests.
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Feb26
Sunday School
Sunday, Feb 26, 2012
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Feb26
Preaching Service
Sunday, Feb 26, 2012
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