Our Beliefs

God

The Father

God is one, existing eternally in three distinct persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – with unique roles but a united purpose: God’s glory (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:18-19; Deuteronomy 6:4/Mark 12:29–30; Acts 5:3-4; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 Peter 1:2). 

God the Father is the creator and supreme ruler of heaven and earth (Genesis 1:1; Daniel 4:34-35; Proverbs 16:1, 4, 33).  Though God is holy and exalted, he draws near to his people in goodness and loving loyalty (Isaiah 55:9; John 17:3; Genesis 32:10, Exodus 15:13, 34:6-7; Deuteronomy 7:9-12, Micah 6:8).

The Son

God the Son was instrumental in creation (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16) and sustains the universe today (Colossians 1:17).  As God the Son, Jesus Christ is both fully God (John 1) and fully man (1 Timothy 3:16).  Christ lived without sin (Hebrews 4:15), provided redemption and forgiveness for God’s people by his atoning death, rose from the dead in victory over sin and death, and will return to reign in glory.  He intercedes for God’s people before the Father in heaven (1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-16).

The Holy Spirit

God the Spirit is an actual person (Ephesians 4:4-6) who has worked through common grace and the conviction of sin (John 16:8) throughout history. In the church he gives new life to and dwells in God’s people (Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:13, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19, 2 Corinthians 6:16).

The Bible

God has spoken about himself in the Bible (Genesis 1:1), both the Old and New Testaments, through human authors (2 Peter 1:21). Since the Bible is God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17), without error in the original writings (John 17:17), we must believe what God promises and obey what God requires in his word (1 Peter 1:3). 

Mankind/Creation

God made all things for his glory (Revelation 4:11; Psalm 8, 19; Romans 1).  He created man in his image, both male and female (Genesis 1:26-27, Genesis 3:20), and called all his creation very good (Genesis 1:31).  Therefore, all human life has value and must be protected (Psalm 139, Genesis 9:6).  God designed marriage to be one biological man and one biological woman joined together as a new family (Genesis 2:24), for helpful companionship (Genesis 1:18), for sexual intimacy only with each other (Hebrews 13:4, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10), and to picture Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-33). 

Salvation

Sin is disobeying God.  Man fell when Adam sinned (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21).  As a result, each person is born in sin, willingly commits sin, and is enslaved to sin (Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 1:18-32, 2:1-16).  Apart from God’s work in salvation through Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), every person is spiritually dead (Romans 3:9-18; Ephesians 2:1-10) and faces God’s eternal wrath (Revelation 20).

Because of sin, each person needs God’s forgiveness to escape God’s punishment (Romans 6:23) and to receive eternal life (John 3:16-21, 36).  God’s forgiveness comes only by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-31; Romans 4:5; Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  The Triune God accomplishes this salvation by the plan of the Father, through the life-giving work of the Spirit, on the basis of the righteous life, death, and resurrection of God the Son made human (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17; Romans 3:21-31; 2 Corinthians 5:21), so that a person turns to God from sin in repentance and faith (1 Thessalonians 1:8-10, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17).

A person who has turned to God in faith continues to repent of sinful ways of thinking, wanting, and doing as he grows in obedience to God's commands by the help of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Ephesians 4:17-32; 5:1-20; Galatians 5:16; 1 John 2:15-17; Ephesians 2:10). In this way, God's people become more and more like their Savior and show what God is like to those around them (2 Corinthians 3:18).

God’s people continue in faith throughout life (Ephesians 1:13-14; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-39) and will spend eternity with God.  Those who lack true faith will receive eternal judgment from God (John 3:36; 1 John 2:19; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Matthew 13).

The Church

God established the church under Christ as a gathering of those who believe the gospel message (Matthew 16:13-20; Acts 1:8, 2:1-47, 16:5; Colossians 1:18).  Until Christ returns, the church does God’s work by making disciples through evangelism and missions (Matthew 28:18-20), by teaching and maturing those who believe (Titus 2:11-14), by doing ministry and enjoying fellowship (John 13:34; 17:17; Romans 14:19, 15:14; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 4:32, 5:19; 1 Thessalonians 4:18; Hebrews 10:24; James 5:16), and through private and public worship (John 4:24, Acts 2:42-47).  The church gathers in unity (1 Corinthians 12:13) to be equipped and goes out to do God’s work (Ephesians 4:11-16), showing God to the world (Ephesians 5:22-33).

End Times

Christ will return to gather his people, reign in glory, and spend eternity with them (Revelation 19:7-10; 20:4; 22:5).