The following comprise the scriptural beliefs of this church and its members.
(A) The Holy Scriptures. We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; having 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 should be tried. We believe in the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible, and its divine preservation without error as found in the Authorized Version of 1611, also known as the King James Version. Therefore, believing the King James Authorized Version of 1611 to be the Word of God, we therefore proclaim it as the official Bible version of this church. (II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:19-21; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 12:6-7)
(B) The True God. We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, and 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 honour, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; equal in divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the work of redemption. (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 15:11; I Samuel 2:2; Isaiah 63:16; Matthew 3:13-17; 28:8-20; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:17; 2:9; I John 5:7)
(C) The Fall of Man. We believe that man was created in holiness, under the law of his Creator; but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy and happy state; in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners; not by constraint but by choice; being by nature utterly void of that holiness required by the law of God, positively inclined to evil; therefore, under just condemnation to eternal judgment, without defense or excuse. (Genesis 1:27; 2:7; 3:1-15; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 1:18; 3:10-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:3; Revelation 21:8)
(D) The Way of Salvation.
1. We believe that 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 full atonement for our sins; then 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, compassionate, and all-sufficient Saviour. We believe that Christ was born of the virgin Mary, conceived of the Holy Ghost. (Isaiah 7:14; Mathew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38)
2. We believe in justification by faith; that it is bestowed, not by consideration of any work of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood. (Romans 3:24-28; 5:1; 8:1; John 5:24; Galatians 2:16)
3. We believe that the blessings of salvation are free to all who will believe, calling upon the name of the Lord. (John 3:16; Acts 16:30-31; Romans 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:1-11)
4. We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again by the power of the Holy Spirit. (John 3:1-8; Ephesians 2:1; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:3; I John 5:10-13)
5. We believe that sanctification is the process by which, according to the word of God, believers are made partakers of His holiness; 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, in the continual use of the appointed means: the word of God, self-examination, self-denial, watchfulness and prayer. The sanctification of believers is consummated at the appearing of the Lord. (Hebrews 10:9-10; I Corinthians 6:11; Hebrews 3:1; John 17:17; II Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:27; I John 3:2)
6. We believe that such as are truly regenerated, being born again of the Holy Spirit, shall never perish, but have everlasting (eternal) life; that the believer is eternally secure unto the day of redemption. (John 3:15-16, 36; John 4:14; 5:24; 6:37; 10:27-30; Romans 8:33-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:7, 14; Ephesians 4:30; I John 5:10-13)
(E) The New Testament Gospel Church. We believe that a church is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing ordinances of Christ, governed by His law, and exercising the talents, responsibilities, and privileges invested in them by His word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. Its scriptural officers are bishops or elders or pastors, and deacons. (Matthew 18:15-19; Acts 2:37-47; 16:14-34; Romans 6: Philippians 1:1)
(F) The Ordinances of Christ.
1. We believe that Christian baptism is immersion in water of a believer in Christ, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost; to show forth in solemn and beautiful emblem his faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, with its effect, in his death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is a prerequisite to the privileges of church membership, and to the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41-42; 16:14, 30-34; 8:35-38)
2. We believe that the Lord’s Supper is a provision of bread and the fruit of the vine, representing Christ’s body and blood, partaken by born-again, scripturally baptized believers, in remembrance of the death of their Lord and Saviour, showing their faith and participation in the merits of His sacrifice, their dependence on Him for spiritual life through His resurrection from the dead, and their hope of the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His own. (I Corinthians 11:23-34)
(G) The Second Coming of Christ. We believe in the pre-millennial, pre-tribulation return of Christ for His saints, commonly called “The Rapture.” We believe that, at the end of the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus Christ will physically, bodily, and visibly return to this earth with His saints; that He will reign from His father David’s throne for one thousand years. We believe that only with the return of the King of kings will righteousness and peace dwell upon the earth and rule. (Romans 5:9; I Thessalonians 1:9-10; I Peter 3:18; Revelation 4:1; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; I Corinthians 11:26; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Corinthians 15:51-58; I John 2:28-3:3; Revelation 19:11-16; Revelation 20)
(H) The Righteous and the Wicked. We believe that there is a radical difference between the righteous and the wicked, that such only as are regenerate, being justified through faith in Jesus Christ and sanctified by the Spirit of God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are, in His sight, wicked and under wrath. We believe that the wicked will spend eternity separated from God in the lake of fire and that the righteous will spend eternity with God in the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. (John 3:16-36; John 14; II Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 20:10-15; 21:8; Revelation 21, and 22)
(I) Dispensationalism. We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations or rules of life, which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages. These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations - the law, the church, and the kingdom - are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Genesis 1:28; I Corinthians 9:17; II Corinthians 3:9-18; Galatians 3:13-25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2-10; Colossians 1:24-25, 27; Revelation 20:2-6)
(J) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead and He who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:17,18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip believers in the assembly, in order for them to be able to do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
(K) Separation. We believe that all of the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; I Timothy 2:9,10; I Corinthians 6:19-20)
(L) 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; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)
(M) Creation. We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11)
(N) Civil Government. 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 believer 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. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; I Peter 2:13-14)
(O) Human Sexuality
1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of covenant marriage between a man and a woman. 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. (Genesis 2:24; 19:5, 13; 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a covenant relationship where each other have promised to the other a, “till death do we part” union in a religious or civil ceremony. We reject co-habitation as a biblical marriage. We further reject that mere sexual intercourse constitutes a biblical marriage. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; John 2:1-2; 4:17-18; Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:1-4,10; Ephesians 5:22-23)
(P) Family Relationships
1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions 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 the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for preaching, licensure and ordination by the church. (I Corinthians 11:3; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; I Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5,12)
2. 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 an 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. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; I Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; I Peter 3:1-7)
(Q) Divorce and Remarriage. We believe that God established marriage on the principle of faithfulness and fidelity to one’s spouse and that a permanent, abiding covenant relationship is always right. We believe that God considers divorce to be “dealing treacherously” against one’s spouse and that God’s original intent is that a marriage last until one spouse or the other dies, at which time the living spouse is “loosed from the law” or is “free from that law” of the dead spouse, and that at which time the widowed spouse is “at liberty to be married” to whom he will, but “only in the Lord.” We believe that whosoever “shall put away” or divorce his spouse, “except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth” the spouse “which is put away doth commit adultery.” We further believe that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin; therefore, divorced persons, or divorced and remarried persons, may fulfill positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God in Christian service to the glory of God. We further believe that the church must lead the way in extending and expressing forgiveness and that the church should show love and acceptance to those whose lives have been broken and shattered by divorce. The pastor by exposition of the scriptures and by his own example will teach the church to respect the ministry and service of those who may have experienced divorce or divorce and remarriage. We further believe that the pastor holds so prominent a position as “an ensample to the flock,” an example which the flock is to follow, that the pastor “must be blameless” in this matter of marital relationship and present to the church the example of God’s original intent of “the husband of one wife.” The “office of a bishop,” or the ministry of a pastor, demands an exclusive life long fidelity to his wife as long as she lives because he is an example to the church whose faith is to be followed. (Genesis 2:18-24; Proverbs 31:12; Ecclesiastes 9:9; Malachi 2:11-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Corinthians 7:10-11, 39; I Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:6-11; Hebrews 13:7; I Peter 5:1-3; I John 1:7-9)
(R) 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 are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalms 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
(S) 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 coverage for damages and/or injuries from another Christian’s insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (I Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32)
(T) Missions. We believe that God has given the church and its members a great commission to proclaim the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, I Corinthians 15:1-4, 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 into all the peoples of the world and not wait for them to come to us. We believe Acts 4:12, and therefore preaching Jesus Christ as the one true way of salvation is not a “hate crime,” but an act of love and of obedience to God. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 14:6; 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)
(U) Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. 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 the tithe or offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
Authority Of Statement of Faith
This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible, the King James Authorized Version of 1611, itself is the sole source and final authority of all that we believe and practice. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Statement of Faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature used in the church shall be in agreement with the Statement of Faith.
