WHAT WE BELIEVE
GOD
1. We
believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect,
and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine
Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless
knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from
eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new
for His own glory.
THE BIBLE
2. We believe that God has spoken in the
Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human
authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without
error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will
for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of
human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to
be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires,
and trusted in all that it promises.
THE HUMAN CONDITION
3. We believe that God created Adam and
Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union
with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice,
alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving
work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
JESUS CHRIST
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God
incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures.
Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through the Holy
Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was
crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended
into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High
Priest and Advocate.
THE WORK OF CHRIST
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our
representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the
perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death
and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for
salvation.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all
that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world
of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized
into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He
also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers
for Christ-like living and service.
THE CHURCH
7. We believe that the true church
comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith
alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the
body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest
in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of
believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though
they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church
in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
CHRISTIAN LIVING
8. We believe that God’s justifying grace
must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God
commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to
live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the
poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s
power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the
spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we
are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to
the gospel in word and deed.
CHRIST'S RETURN
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and
premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ,
at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our
blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial
service and energetic mission.
RESPONSE AND ETERNAL DESTINY
10. We believe that God commands everyone
everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and
receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the
dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to
condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to
eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the
new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
