Statement of Faith
The Nature of God:
We believe in the one everlasting God, who is three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator of heaven and earth, who is a Spirit and the Father of our spirits; infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being and perfection; the Lord Almighty, sovereign over all creation, most just in all His ways, most glorious in holiness, unsearchable in wisdom, generous in mercy, full of love and compassion, abundant in goodness and truth (Matt 28:19; John 1:1-18;4:24).
Knowledge and Authority:
We believe that God has revealed himself in nature, in history, and in the hearts of people through general revelation, and that God has provided special revelation of himself through authors of Scripture who spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirt (Psalm 19; Romans 1:16-32; 2 Peter 1:20,21). We believe that Jesus Christ is the word made flesh, the brightness of God’s glory and the image of his being(John1:1-18; Hebrews 1:3).
We believe that the Holy Scriptures, which we hold to be the 66 books of the Bible, were given by inspiration to be the faithful and inerrant record of God’s gracious revelation, the sure witness to Christ and the only infallible rule of faith and life (2Timothy 3:16,17; John 10:35).
The Person and Work of Christ:
We believe that God, out of his great love for the world, has given His only begotten Son to be the Savior of sinners and in the Gospel freely offers His all-sufficient salvation to humanity, and we praise Him for the unspeakable grace wherein He has provided a way of eternal life for all who repent and believe the gospel; and we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the eternal Son of God, the only mediator between God and man, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born the Virgin Mary (Romans 5:8; 1John2:1,2; 1Timothy 2:3-6; Luke1:35).
We believe that Jesus Christ has revealed the Father by His word, and Spirit, Making known the perfect will of God; in obedience to which He fulfilled all righteousness and satisfied eternal justice, offering Himself a perfect sacrifice upon the cross to take away the sin of the world. For us, He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where He intercedes for us. As we are joined to Him by faith, Christ abides forever in our hearts through the in-dwelling of His Holy Spirit. He rules over us and over all for us; wherefore unto Him we render love, obedience, adoration and sacrifice. We are received into fellowship with God by faith alone, resulting in repentance, wherein we confess and forsake our sins with the purpose of a new obedience to God (John 14:6,7; 2Corinthians 5:21, Romans 8:9,10,34; Colossians 1:25; Philippians 2:9-11; Ephesians 2:8,9; Mark 1:15).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit moves everywhere in the world and in the hearts of men and women to accomplish God’s will and plan and that the Father is ever willing to give the Holy Spirit to all who ask of Him (John 3:5-8; Proverbs 22:1; Luke 11:13).
We believe that the Holy Spirit has inspired His apostles and prophets to write and speak His truth to people for their salvation. And we believe that through our exalted Savior, the Holy Spirit was sent forth in power to convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgement, and to regenerate, baptize, indwell, seal and fill God’s people, so serving as that Counselor that Jesus promised the Church (John 16:5-11; 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:1-5; 1Corinthians 12:12,13; Romans 8:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; Ephesians 4:30; Revelation 7; Ephesians 5:15-20; Acts 6:3-5).
The Destiny of the Individual Person:
We believe that at death the spirits of those who are justified, who are made free from sin by their faith in Christ, enjoy immediate communion with God and the vision of His glory; and we confidently wait for the resurrection of the last days, when the bodies of those who sleep in Christ shall rise and be fashioned in the likeness of the glorious body of our Lord, with whom they shall live and reign forever (Phil 1:20-23; 1Cor 15:42-57). At that time, the unbelieving will also rise to be judged according to their deeds in this life and to share the condemnation of the fallen angels whose unbelief and rebellion they also shared (Rev 21:1-8; Matt7:13,14).
We believe the Christ is the only Head of Church (Ephesians 4:11-16).
We believe that the Church invisible consists of all the redeemed in Christ and that the Church invisible embraces all who confess and obey the true religion together with their children (1Corinthians 12:3: Acts 16:31). We receive to our communion all who confess and obey Christ as their divine Lord and Savior, and we hold fellowship with all who believe in Him (Mark 9:38,39). We receive the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, divinely established and committed to the Church, together with the preaching of the Word and the practice of biblical discipline, as the means of grace; made effectual by the Holy Spirit, which should be used by Christians with prayer and praise to God (John 3:26; Luke 22:19,20; Acts 2:38,42; Matthew 18:1-20).
We believe that it is our duty, as servants and disciples of Christ, to do good to all people, to maintain the public and private worship of God, to hallow the Lord’s Day, to preserve the sanctity of the family, to uphold the authority of the state when it is just, and to live in honesty, purity and charity, that our lives shall testify of Christ (John 15:12-17; Gal 6:9,10; Hebrews 10:24,25; Ex 20:8-11; Hebrews 13:4; Romans 13:1-7; Eph5:1-14). We joyfully receive the word of Christ, bidding his people to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, declaring unto them that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself and that He desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (Matt 28:18-20; 2Cor 5:19; 1Tim2:4). We confidently trust that the salvation He offers is perfect and complete and that His judgements are absolutely just (Romans 3:4; Ps 51:4).
In this faith, we abide. In this service, we labor. In this hope, we pray. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Rev.22:20)