Beliefs

The Bible

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” such that God superintended human authors with their own experience, personality, methods, and style to produce the very words of Scripture – the Word of God – without error in the original writings. All the Scriptures center around the Lord Jesus Christ and when properly understood lead to Him. We believe the Bible to be the revelation of God and His will for the Salvation and practical instruction of Man (Mark 12:26, 36; 13:11; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 1:16; 17:2-3; 18:28; 26:22-23; 28:23; Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 2:13; 10:11; II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21).

The Godhead

One God, the living and true God, exists eternally in three Persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – each having precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections (Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6).

The Father

God the Father, unlimited in holiness, power and majesty, especially showed His exceedingly great love in giving His only beloved Son to redeem man from sin for eternal fellowship with Him. This act of grace was carried out according to His eternal, sovereign plan. The nature of the Father is completely and perfectly revealed in the Son (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:1-10; John 3:16; 14:6-9; Romans 16:20; Colossians 1:15, 18-20).

The Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God and continues to be the God-Man forever. He was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, entered into human flesh in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. His death on the cross was a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all men and that His bodily resurrection from the dead guaranteed redemption and salvation to all those who believe. He later ascended into heaven exalted at the right hand of God where He is our High Priest and Advocate (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; Ephesians 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:14; Philippians 2:9-10; Colossians 1:17-19; Hebrews 1:3; 3:1; 7:23-25; 9:24; 12:2; I John 2:1-2).

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, eternal in being, took up His abode in the world to reveal and glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to men. Beginning on the day of Pentecost, according to the divine promise, the Holy Spirit never departs from the church, nor from the feeblest of believers, but indwells and seals the believer unto the day of redemption. His abode in the world in this special sense will cease when Christ comes to receive His own at the completion of the church (John 14:16-17; 16:7-15; I Corinthians 6:19; Ephesians 1:13; 2:22; II Thessalonians 2:7).

The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to the church for the common good of all believers. Since each gift is given according to God’s sovereign will and discretion, the possession of any gift is of grace and does not constitute spiritual maturity. The proper use of the gifts are for the edification of the body, to promote united worship of God in the congregation, giving pre-eminence and glory to Jesus Christ, and to continually facilitate the growth of each member of the body into maturity in Christ (Isaiah 28:11; John 16:14; Acts 4:8, 31; Romans 8:23; 12:1-21; I Corinthians 12:11-13; 13:8; 14:21; Ephesians 1:13; 4:7-16).

Man

Man was created in the image of God, but fell through sin against God which brought mankind into a state of sin, separation from God, and subject to the power of Satan. All people are born into the world with a nature which not only possesses no spark of divine life, but is totally depraved apart from divine grace. Man can only obtain spiritual life and salvation through the Redeemer, Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:26; 2:17; 5:3; 6:5; Psalms 14:1-3; 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; 5:40; 6:53; Romans 3:10-18; 8:6-7; Ephesians 2:1-3; I Timothy 5:6; I John 3:8).

Salvation

Salvation is the gift of God in grace and is received by man only through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9). Regeneration is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which the divine nature and divine life are given (John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5). It is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the instrumentality of the Word of God (John 5:24), when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2: 4-5), responds in faith to the divine provision of salvation. He passes immediately out of spiritual death into spiritual life, and from the old creation into the new; being justified, accepted before the Father according as Christ, His Son, is accepted, loved as Christ is loved, having his place and portion as linked to Him, and one with Him forever (John 5:24; 17:23; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; I Corinthians 3:21-23; Ephesians 1:3; Colossians 2:10; II Peter 3:18; I John 4:17; 5:11-12).

The greatest degree of reformation, the highest attainment of morality, the most attractive culture, baptism or another ordinance, cannot help the sinner to take even one step toward heaven. Only by a new nature imparted from above, a new life implanted by the Holy Spirit through the Word, may one obtain salvation and thus become a child of God (Leviticus 17:11; Isaiah 64:6; Matthew 26:28; John 3:5, 18; Romans 5:6-9; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; I Peter 1:18-19, 23).

Sanctification

The Bible refers to Christians as “saints” – those who have been set apart unto God. Sanctification is threefold:

Positional Sanctification means that a person now stands before God as holy. Sanctification is already complete for every saved person because our perfect representative Jesus Christ took all our unholiness away through His sacrifice (Ephesians 5:27-27; Colossians 1:22; Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Progressive Sanctification: Every believer retains his sin nature in this life so that his present state is no more perfect than his experience in daily life. There is therefore, a Progressive Sanctification wherein the Christian is to “grow in grace” and to “be changed” into the likeness of Christ by the unhindered power of the Spirit (John 17:17; Romans 12:2; II Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:24; Hebrews 12:10).

Ultimate Sanctification describes every believer’s full sanctification in Christ when we shall see His Lord and shall be “like Him” (II Corinthians 3:18; I Thessalonians 5:23).