What We Teach
THE BIBLE
We teach that Scripture in both the Old and New Testaments is the inspired, inerrant word of God. The closed canon (Rev 22:18-19) of Scripture is comprised of the 66 books beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation.
The canon was determined through the major church councils to follow a consistent authorship of prophets, those with prophetic gifts, and the apostles (or those closely associated to them) and confirming anointing of the Holy Spirit commonly discerned by the early churches. Scripture was written by the hands of men through both direct revelation from God and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:20-21).
As Scripture is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, it is useful to guiding the way Christians live (Ps 119:105) and can be trusted to be without error and is the final authority for believers. Therefore, we teach that the church should be committed to the expository preaching of God’s infallible Word (2 Tim 4:2).
GOD
We teach that there is one God (Deut 6:4; Is 45:5-7; 1 Cor 8:4), infinitely perfect in all ways (Mt 5:48), who created all things, and exists eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Among the attributes of God are that He is eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, immutable, sovereign, holy, just, righteous, faithful, merciful, loving, good, and actively at work in the world and lives of men today (Gen 17:1; Deut 6:4; Ps 86:5, 93:1-2; 97:2, 139:1-4; Mal 3:6; John 1:1-3; John 4:24; Rom 9:14-18; 2 Cor 13:14; Phil 2:13; 1 Tim 1:17; 1 John 4:8; Rev 4:8; Rev 19:11)
JESUS CHRIST
We teach that Jesus is God the Son, the second co-equal (John 10:30; 14:9) person of the Trinity. Jesus was fully God and yet fully man (John 1:14; Col 2:9). He was born to the virgin Mary (Mt 1:23) and carried out an earthly ministry, was tempted in every way (Mt 4:1-11; Heb 4:15), and yet lived a perfect sinless life before He was crucified, dead, and buried. The third day He was resurrected and rose from the dead (1 Cor 15:3-4) to sit at the right hand of God the Father (Rom 8:34, Heb 10:12).
His death served as a perfect, unblemished sacrifice to take away the sins of the world (Heb 9:14; 10:10; 1 Pet 1:18-21). He is the One and only Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5) and the head of the church universal and this local church body (Eph 1:22; Col 1:18). Jesus will return someday to judge mankind and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:16) over the earth (Mt 16:27; Rev 22:12).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We teach that The Holy Spirit is the third distinct, co-equal person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus (John 14:16) and dwells within all believers from the moment of salvation. He works to convict us of our sin and make us aware of our need for Jesus Christ (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit also provides Christians with guidance in speech and action and assists in the believer’s understanding of God’s Word (Rom 8:26-27). The Holy Spirit bestows a variety of gifts on believers within the church to help them share the Gospel.
While we believe the Holy Spirit sovereignly gives gifts to the church (1 Cor 12:4-11), we also teach that He has ceased giving the apostolic gifts such as prophecy, healing, and tongues. We believe that the Holy Spirit does not give gifts to men that enable them to receive revelations which supersede or equal the written Word of God (Eph 2:19-22). The Holy Spirit is also constantly at work bringing sinners to a saving belief in Jesus Christ (Eph 1:13-14; Titus 3:5). The Holy Spirit guided the hands of the authors of God’s Word to ensure accuracy and inerrancy (2 Pet 1:20-21).
MAN
We teach that Man was directly and immediately created by the special act of God, in His own image and likeness, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by His Creator with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God (Gen 2:7; 15-25; James 3:9). God's intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God, enjoy God's fellowship, live his life in the will of God, and by this accomplish God's purpose for man in the world (Is 43:7; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11).
By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. In Adam's sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence; incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death; became subject to the wrath of God; and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost. Man's salvation is thereby wholly of God's grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gen 2:16-17, 3:1-19; John 3:36; Rom 3:23, 6:23; 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 2:1-3; 1-Tim 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8).
SIN
As referenced above in the section on Man, we teach that, though originally created to dwell in the garden with the Lord, Adam and Eve surrendered to the temptation of Satan to be like God when they ate of the fruit they were instructed not to eat. This temptation and response is known as original sin and has been imputed to all subsequent generations of man from the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. Though still created in God’s image, all mankind is tainted by this original sin, this is also known as the concept of total depravity, or that sin is inherent in human nature. The rest of world remains fallen and in a state of perpetual sin unless they turn to Jesus Christ for salvation.
SALVATION
We teach that Salvation is achieved not by the effort of man, but through the free grace of God. Man has contributed nothing to his salvation other than the sin that necessitates salvation (Rom 3:23). Further, no work that man can do will ever help him earn salvation (Eph 2:8-9). It is only through trust in the work of Jesus on the cross that salvation may be given (Rom 10:9). This saving faith naturally includes repentance, which is “godly sorrow” for having offended God (2 Cor 7:10).
Salvation is closely related to the good news of the gospel, that Jesus suffered, bled, and died for the sins of man (John 3:16, Rom 5:6-8). Jesus came to save all, though only those the Father draws to Him may come (John 6:44). Once granted, an individual’s salvation is eternally secure. In the same way that salvation is given by the grace of God, it is maintained by his grace, mercy, and power (Heb 5:9).
THREE INSTITUTIONS ORDAINED BY GOD
We teach that there are three institutions ordained by God, they are the family, the church, and the government. Each have their own God-ordained functions, authority structures, and roles in the life of the believer.
The Family
We teach that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society, with Adam and Eve being the first family (Gen 2-18-22). It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime (Mt 19:4-6). This covenant is to be public, official, and formal. So-called “common-law marriages,” cohabitation, and other relationships are not recognized or treated as marriage (John 4:18). Marriage is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church, and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel for sexual expression according to biblical standards (1 Cor 7:5, 7:9, Heb 13:4), and the means for procreation of the human race (Gen 1:27-28).
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation (Eph 5:22-33, Col 3:18-21, 1 Pet 3:1-7).
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord (Ps 127:3). Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth, and not provoke them to anger (Deut 6:7; Prov 22:6; Eph 6:4). Children are to honor and obey their parents (Ex 20:12; Eph 6:1-2).
The Church
We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual Body, the church (1 Cor 12:12–13), the bride of Christ (2 Cor 11:2; Ephe 5:23–32; Rev 19:7–8), of which Christ is the Head (Eph 1:22; 4:15; Col 1:18).
The formation of the church, the Body of Christ, began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–21, 38–47) and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture (1 Cor 15:51–52; 1 Thess 4:13–18).
The establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:23, 27; 20:17, 28; Gal 1:2; Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1) and that the members of the one spiritual Body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies (1 Cor 11:18–20; Heb 10:25).
The one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Cor 11:3; Eph 1:22; Col 1:18) and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called overseers and pastors, Acts 20:28; Eph 4:11) and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (1 Tim 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Pet 5:1–5).
We teach that the eldership of a local congregation consists of spiritually qualified men who lead or rule as servants of Christ (1 Tim 2:11–12; 5:17–22) and have His authority in directing the church. The congregation is to submit to their leadership (Heb 13:7, 17).
We teach that The purpose of the church is to glorify God (Eph 3:21) by building itself up in the faith (Eph 4:13-16), by instruction of the Word (2 Tim 2:2,15; 2 Tim 3:16-17), by fellowship (Acts 2:47; 1 John 1:3), by keeping the ordinances (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42), and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world (Mt 28:19; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:42). There is a calling of all saints to the work of service (1 Cor 15:58; Eph 4:12; Rev 22:12).
The Government
We believe that human government’s purpose is to bear the sword against evil, to punish the doer of evil and to reward the doer of good. The church is not to control human government, but to act as an encouragement to human government to establish laws which uphold righteous standards and execute the laws with justice. Human government should allow and protect the freedom to worship God and to carry one’s faith into action, including the training of one’s children and public expressions of one’s faith. Human government should not take the place of the church or the family in the roles designated by God. Christians should pray for our rulers, honor them, and obey them except when to do so would cause us to sin against God. (Acts 4:2, 19-20; 5:29; Rom 13:1-7; 1 Tim 2:1-3; 1 Pet 2:13-17)