·         The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice – our doctrines are based solely on the Bible,

      there is no extra-Biblical revelation from God. The Bible is the complete, inerrant, infallible word of

      God, inspired wholly by Him. God used “holy men” to write His exact words, and every part of the

      Bible is equally inspired by God.   

      II Timothy 3:16-17, I Peter 1:23-25, II Peter 1:20-21, II Timothy 2:15

·         Churches are independent from one another, and are autonomous – we are self-ruled and free of

      any convention, although we may fellowship and cooperate with churches of the same mind. It is the

      responsibility of the pastor (also called “bishop” and “elder”) to supervise the carrying out of God’s

      commands, but does not interpret the Scriptures for anyone but himself. The pastor and the deacons

      are elected by the church members (not a council) to hold office.   

      I Peter 5:2, Hebrews 13:7 & 17, I Thessalonians 5:12, Acts 20:28, Acts 6, I Timothy 3:8-13

      ·         Regenerated church membership – in order to be a part of the membership, a person must have

          repented of their sin before God and placed their faith in Him alone for salvation (they are saved),

          and have been baptized as a believer.

          Acts 2:41, 47.

 

 ·        Baptism by immersion of believers only, and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the church

      – baptism is a picture of Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial

      of Christ’s death, and of His second coming. They are not in any way an ingredient of salvation.   

      Romans 6:1-6, Colossians 2:12, I Corinthians 11:23-34.

·         Priesthood of all believers and soul liberty – every person can go freely before the Lord as his own

      representative. Each person is responsible only to God for his doctrine, practice, and conscience, and he

      interprets the Scriptures, through the Holy Spirit, for himself. True service for the Lord must be

      voluntary. We must answer to God about our obedience to His word, and we must interpret the

      Scriptures correctly.   

      Hebrews 10:19, I Peter 2:5, Hebrews 4:16, I John 2:27, Romans 14:5.

·         The separation of church and state – we will not allow the state to govern what we teach, and it is

      wrong to establish or endorse a church-governed state. Since the Bible is our sole spiritual authority,

      the state cannot become our spiritual authority in any way. However, we will still obey the state in its

      proper place (but we will not obey a law that forces us to go against God’s law). Each person chooses

      to believe what he wants to believe. It is wrong to force anyone to believe our beliefs and doctrines.   

        Matthew 15:9, 22:21.  Acts 4:18-20, 5:27-29 

 

THE BIBLE

       We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible,

         I Thessalonians 2:13

       We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration in the original writings, and God's preservation of His pure words

           to every generation

         II Timothy 3:16; Psalms 12:6-8

 

The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the Received Text of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original

languages we accept and use; the King James Version of the Bible is the only English version we accept and use. The Bible is our sole

authority for faith and practice.

 

      THE TRINITY

 

                We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

                  co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same

                  attributes and perfections.

                  Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14

JESUS CHRIST

 

         We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be

         God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might

         reveal God and redeem sinful men.

           Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; John 1:1 – 2, 14; Luke 1:35; Philippians 2:5-8

  

         We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as a

         representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical

         resurrection from the dead

          Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5

 

         We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where,

         as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate.                                     

         Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; I John 2:1-2

 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

 

         We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, of

         righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration,

         indwelling all believers and sealing them unto the day of redemption.

          John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14

 

         We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift

         of healing, were temporary. We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common

         or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that 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 prayer of believers for

         physical healing.

          Mark 16:17-20; Hebrews 2:3-4; I Cor. 1:22, 13:8, 14:21-22; II Cor. 12:12

 

Man AND SIN

         We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's

         sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man

         is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.

Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12

 

         The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image

         and is mindful of him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every individual possesses

         dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

            Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11

 

 

The Way of Salvation

 

         We believe that the clear message of salvation is “repentance toward God and faith toward our

         Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is "by grace" plus nothing minus nothing.

         We believe that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before God only

         through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; I Peter 1:18-19

 

         We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ

         forever. We believe that eternal life is the present possession of every believer.

John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Cor. 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2

 

The Church

 

       We believe that the New Testament church is a local assembly of baptized believers who have

       voluntarily joined themselves together to carry out the Great Commission. The Lord is doing

       His work in this world through local churches. The establishment and continuance of local

       churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.

         Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11

 

       We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. Christ

       is the only head of the church

          Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9,16; 5:4-7,13;

          I Peter 5:1-4

THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH 

 

         We recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord's Supper as a

         Scriptural means of testimony for local churches in this age

                   Baptism: The only Biblical mode of believer’s baptism is by total immersion in water in the

                   name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, by the command of God

                     Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:4, 5

 

                   We believe that Baptism is a commandment of God.  It is an act of obedience and not a condition

                   of salvation.

                      Acts 8:35-38

 

        

            Lord’s Supper: The commemoration of the Lord’s death by using unleavened bread and the unfermented

            fruit of the vine is always preceded by self-examination.

               I Cor. 11:23-28

 

            We believe the Lord’s Supper is for all born-again, baptized believers.

 

 

 

      Biblical Separation

 

                   We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation

                   from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God.

                   II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11

 

            The Return of ChrisT

                        We believe the "Blessed Hope" of our Lord's return is literal, personal, visible,

                        imminent, premillennial, and pretribulational. Believers will caught up to be with

                        the Lord prior to the seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation

                        Christ will return with His saints to establish His thousand-year reign on the earth.

                           Psalm 89:3-4; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18;

                           Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6

 

 

 

OUR ETERNAL STATE