The first person of the Godhead is the Father. He is an infinite Spirit a: perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love.b He is sovereign over creation c yet concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of man, saves from sin and death all who come to Him through the Son,d and hears and answers prayer. The Father sent His Son to save the World e and receives glory from His Son.f
a John 4:23-24; b Jude 25; I Peter 1:16; I John 4:8; c Jeremiah 32:17; Daniel 4:17, 34-35; d 1 Peter 1:3-5; Matthew 7:9-11; e I John 4:14; f John 14:13
The second person of the Godhead is Jesus Christ. He is the eternal, preexisting Son of God and was active in creation.a Jesus was supernaturally conceived in bodily form by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin, Mary.b Jesus Christ became man without sin and without ceasing to be God.c His death on the cross paid the redemptive price for sin and makes believers right in the sight of the Father when they place their trust in Jesus to take away their sins.d He was buried and on the third day was literally, physically resurrected.e Jesus Christ ascended to heaven where He is seated at the right hand of the Father acting as our intercessor and advocate.f He will return in the air to receive, in glorified bodies, those believers who have died in Christ and those who remaining alive in Christ. He will return to the Earth in power and great glory.g
a John 1:1-3, 14; Colossians 1:15-16 b Luke 1:34-35; c II Cor. 5:21; Philippians 2:6-7; d I Peter 2:24; John 3:16-17; Romans 3:24; e I Corinthians 15:4; f Romans 8:34; I John 2:1; g I Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Mark 13:26
The third person of the Godhead is the Holy Spirit, a divine person, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.a In this world, He restrains the Evil One.b He regenerates all who believe in Christ, and then baptizes them at conversion into the body of Christ, seals, fills, teaches, guides, witnesses, sets apart (sanctifies) and gifts those believers.c We believe the sign gifts of prophecy, healing, and tongues are not the conventional way the Holy Spirit gifts people today.d The Holy Spirit acts as intercessor for the prayers of the believers.e
a John 16:7-11; b II Thessalonians 2:6-7; c Titus 3:5; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; John 14:26; John 16:13; I Corinthians 12:1-11; Romans 8:16; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; d 2 Corinthians 12:12; 1 Corinthians 14:12-12/Isaiah 28:11-12; 1 Corinthians 12-14; e Romans 8:26-27
Satan was one of God’s most beautiful and highest created beings (an angel). Through his pride and ambition to be like God, he rebelled against God, fell from glory,a and became Satan, the adversary. A host of other angels followed him in rebellion.b He is the enemy of God and the accuser of the believers.c He is now the prince of the power of the air, the unholy god of the fallen world.d Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ at the cross and is destined for final defeat when Jesus Christ returns to the Earth, and will be cast forever into the Lake of Fire prepared for Satan and the fallen angels.e
a Ezekiel 28:11-17, Is. 14:12-15; b Revelation 12:3-9; cRev. 12:7-10; d Eph. 2:2; 2 Corinthians 4:4; e Heb 2:14, Rev. 20:10
The Genesis account of creation is true and literal, and we believe the world was created in six 24 hour days and on the 7th day God rested. All things were created by and exist through the work of the three persons of God. Man is a direct creation of God, not a product of evolution. God created man in His own image, therefore human life is sacred and to be valued and protected.
Genesis 1 & 2; Psalm 139:13-16
Man was originally created in innocence, without sin,a but through volitional disobedience, man fell from his sinless state.b Now, all mankind is born in sin, under the just penalty for that sin, and without defense or excuse or remedy apart from Jesus Christ.c
a Genesis 1:26-27, 31; b Genesis 3: 1-7; c Romans 5:12, John 15:22
Salvation is an act of God’s grace accepted through faith.a The Son of God, Jesus Christ, became man without sin.b He willingly took the punishment for mankind’s sin by shedding His blood and dying on the cross. Jesus’ death paid, in full, the price for man’s sin.c God’s acceptance of this substitutionary payment was demonstrated by the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.d Because of the grace of His substitutionary death, every individual can have a relationship with God, which includes both a present fellowship and an eternal future with God in heaven.e This act of God’s grace is dependent upon acknowledgement, through faith, of Jesus’ substitutionary death for the individual’s personal sins. Through this act of faith, God immediately and permanentlyf declares the individual righteous and adopts the individual as His child.g This act of faith is the only condition for salvation, and does not include any of man’s works.a
a Ephesians 2:8-9; b II Cor. 5:21; c Philippians 2:8, I Corinthians15:3; d Acts 1:9, Romans 4:25; e I John 1:3, John 14:2-3, I Thessalonians 4:17; f John 10:28-29; Hebrews 10:14; g Romans 10: 9-10, Romans 4:24-5:1, Galataians 4:4-7, John 1:12
Sanctification is the process of divinely making believers holy or setting them apart for God’s special use. Sanctification occurs in those that have come to God through faith in Christ’s substitutionary death.a First, sanctification is positional and secured at the moment of salvation by God.b Second, sanctification is a continuing process. The Holy Spirit works within the believer by applying the Word of God to the individual’s life convicting the believer of sin or any worldly activity that comes between them and God. This is a combined work of the Holy Spirit acting with the believer.c Thirdly, sanctification will finally be completed and fully realized at the return of Jesus Christ for believers.d
a Psalm 4:3, Heb. 10:10; b Hebrews 10:14, I Corinthians 6:11; c II Corinthians 3:18, John 17:17, II Tim. 2:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:1; d I Thessalonians 5:23
God will resurrect all mankind in a literal physical bodily resurrection. Those who have accepted the grace of God’s salvation in Christ will be raised to eternal life. Those individuals who have not accepted God’s salvation though faith in Jesus Christ will be subjected to judgment for their sin and everlasting punishment.a
Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 a Matthew 25:41; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-15
God, through the person of Jesus Christ, established two ordinances. Baptism is an act of obedience following salvation that identifies the believer with Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection through complete immersion in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is done as a public recognition of Jesus Christ’s Lordship in the believer’s life.a
The Lord’s Supper is a memorial instituted by Jesus Christ at the last supper. Two elements, the bread and the fruit of the vine, symbolize the body of Jesus Christ broken for sin and His blood shed on the cross. This is done as a public remembrance of Jesus’ death until His return.b
a Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 8:36-39, Matt. 3:11-17; b I Cor. 11:23-30, Mark 14: 22-25
We believe that marriage was ordained by God at creation as the sacred union of one man and one woman.a All sexual relations must, therefore, be reserved for that union.b Christian marriage is a representation of Christ’s relationship to His church,c therefore, God hates divorce.d Ministers of this church are not authorized to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies or civil unions, and will only perform covenant marriage ceremonies for one man and one woman as biologically designed and revealed at birth. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one’s gender, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.e
a Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 2:18, 24; Matthew 19:4-6, b 1 Corinthians 7:2; c Ephesians 5:31-32 d Malachi 2:16, e Romans 1:18-32