Extended Beliefs

I.The Bible
We believe that the Bible consists of both the Old and New Testaments and that it alone is the perfect Word of God, being fully written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and thus is without error in the original manuscripts and has ultimate authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
(2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31,32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32)

II.God
We believe that there is one living and true God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of himself all perfections including holiness, wisdom, power, and love and being infinite in all of them. To Him all of his creatures owe the highest degree of worship, love, reverence, trust, and obedience.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 145:3; John 1:3; Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 10:31; Colossians 1:16-17; 1 Timothy 1:17)

III.Providence
We believe that God from eternity decrees or permits all things that come to pass and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events, yet so as not in any way to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the free choice and responsibility of His moral creatures.
(Isaiah 46:9-11; Proverbs 16:33; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; James 1:13-15)

IV.The Trinity
We believe that God, from eternity, exists in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that these are without division of nature, essence, or being and equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, redemption, and restoration.
(Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19, 20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:5,6)

V.God the Father
We believe that God the Father infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, including the future free choices of all humans, that he concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayers according to His will, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
(Luke 10:21, 22; Matthew 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Timothy 1:1, 2; 2:5, 6; 1 Peter 1:3; Revelation 1:6)

VI.God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth. We believe that He is the divinely appointed and only Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the universe.
(John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26, 27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 14-17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 1:13-14)

VII.God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide.
(John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26, 27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9, 14-17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 1:13-14)

VIII.The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created by God in his own image and free from sin, that he sinned against God and thereby incurred physical, spiritual, and eternal death, which is separation from God, and that, as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature opposed. to God and his law, are sinners by choice, and are under condemnation
(Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:1-7, 19; 6:5, 12; 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9; John 5:24; Romans 3:9-20; 5:12-19; 6:21, 23; 7:13; 8:6-7; 9:22; Ephesians 2:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; James 1:14-15; 1 John 3:14; Revelation 21:8)

IX.Regeneration
We believe that regeneration is a change of the heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who gives life to those dead in trespasses and sins, enlightening their minds and renewing their whole nature so that they love and practice holiness according to the Word of God.
(Ezekiel 36:25-26; John 1:13; 3:3, 5-8; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:1-6; Titus 3:5; 1 John 5:1)

X.Repentance and Faith
We believe that salvation is conditioned upon genuine repentance and faith, which follow God’s gracious drawing of sinners through His Spirit. Repentance occurs when a person, being made sensible by the Holy Spirit made of the manifold evil of his sin, detests and forsakes it, humbling himself with godly sorrow and self-abhorrence, and endeavors to walk before God so as to please Him in all things. Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ and an accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. Faith is accompanied by all other saving graces and leads to a life of holiness.
(Proverbs 28:13; Matthew 3:8-10; Mark 1:15; John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:40, 44, 65; Acts 2:37-38; 11:18; 13:38-39; 17:30; 20:21; Romans 2:4-5; 3:21-28; 4:1-5; 4:17-25; 8:1; 10:3-4, 14, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 1:29; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 3:9; Hebrews 11:6; James 2:14-26; 2 Corinthians 7:10-11)

XI.Justification
We believe justification is God’s gracious and complete acquittal of sinners, who believe in Christ, from all sin through the satisfaction that Christ has made. This not by anything done by sinners, but on the account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, they receive His righteousness by grace and faith alone.
(John 1:16; Acts 10:43; 13:39; Romans 3:24-26; 4:23-25; 5:1-21; 8:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Philippians 3:7-9; Titus 3:5-6; 19; 1 John 2:12)

XII.Sanctification
We believe that those who have been regenerated are also sanctified by God’s Word and by the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit. This sanctification is progressive through the supply of divine strength, which all saints seek to obtain, pressing after a heavenly life in the delightful obedience to all Christ’s commands.
(John 17:17, 19; Romans 12:1-2; 15:16; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 1:4; Philippians 1:9-11; 2:12-13; 3:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:23; Hebrews 2:11; 6:1; 7:1; 10:10; 12:10; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 1:5-8; 1 John 2:29)

XIII.Christian Conduct
We believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well-being of their fellow humans, that their conduct should be blameless before the world, that they should be faithful stewards of all that they have, and that they should seek to realize for themselves and others the full stature of maturity in Christ.
(1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 12:1-3; Hebrews 12:1-2; John 14:15,23-24; 1 John 2:3-6; 2 Corinthians 9:6-9; 1 Corinthians 4:2; Col. 1:9-10)

XIV.Perseverance of the Saints
We believe that those whom God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace but shall persevere to the end and though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit of God, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Christ of Christ and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
(Jeremiah 32:40; Matthew 13:20-21; John 8:31; 6:66-69; Romans 8:28-39; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 13:5; 1 John 2:27-28; 3:9; 5:12, 18)

XV.The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living and spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the autonomous local church, consisting of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, who have given a credible profession of faith and have covenanted together to engage in worship, fellowship, accountability, edification, and missional living. We believe that God has given the members of the local church the primary task of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. We believe in the biblical offices of pastor/elders and deacons/deaconesses.
(John 10:16; Acts 1:8; 2:42; Ephesians 1:22; 2:19-22; 4:11-16; 5:19-21, 23; Colossians 1:18; 3:16; Hebrews 3:13; 10:24-25)

XVI.The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an obligation for every believer, wherein a person is immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of their fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ and of remission of sins. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is in no sense a sacrifice, but was instituted by Christ to remember His death, and to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a pledge and renewal of their communion with Him and with each other. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 26:26-29; 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-31; 12:13)

XVII.The Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His eternal kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of our bodies, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked.
(Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; II Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6,11-15)