God is creator of all things and has revealed Himself as the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is only one God. While equal in nature each person in the Godhead is distinct in role and responsibility. He is intelligent, Spiritual, and personal being, The Creator, Redeemer, preserver, and ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful, and all knowing; And his perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of his free creatures. To him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

 

Key Verses: Exodus 20:3, Deuteronomy 6:4, John 6:27, Ephesians 4:6, Matthew 28:19, 2nd Corinthians 13:14, Isaiah 44:24, Philippians 2:5-21.

Humanity is the special creation of God, made in his image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of his creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. Because of sin, humanity is lost and depraved. When Adam sinned, all that came after him bore the guilt of his transgression. From that time forward, all humanity was inclined to rebel against the creator. The penalty for sin is a loss of fellowship, physical death, and spiritual death. All humanity stands condemned in the eyes of God. Only the grace of God can bring humanity into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in his own image, and in that Christ died for humanity, therefore every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

 

Key Verses: Genesis 1:27, Genesis 3, Romans 3:10-19, Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12-17, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:1.

Jesus is full deity and perfect (without sin) humanity. Jesus is fully and completely God; He is eternal and coequal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of a virgin, he became fully and completely human. Jesus took on flesh, yet did not sin. He was and is perfect human who is fully and completely God.

 

Key Verses: Colossians 2:9-10, 2nd Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 2: 5-21, John 1:1-14.

Jesus died for the sins of humanity and through His blood was provided an atonement for sin. He was buried and physically rose from the dead. Jesus died in the place of sinners. Under divine design he purposely and willingly went to the cross and gave his life as a ransom for many. He physically died. After his death, he was buried. On the third day, he rose again and came back to life in a physically restored, glorious, and immortal body. The sacrifice of Jesus satisfied the wrath of God that humanity was deserving of.

 

Key Verses: 1st Corinthians 15:3-5, Matthew 20:28, Matthew 28:8-10, 1st Peter 3:18, Mark 15:33-37, John 19:38-42, Luke 24:36-43, Romans 6:1-14.

Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. Salvation is a gift from God that is freely given by God to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ and the work completed on the cross. saving faith is trusting in Christ alone for forgiveness of sin and for eternal life. In the broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.

 

Key Verses: John 3:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Acts 16:31, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9, John 1:12, Hebrews 11:1.

Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners through saving grace. It is consistent with the free agency of man and comprehends all the means in connection with the end. It is the glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, and is infinitely wise, holy, and unchangeable. It excludes boasting and promotes humility. All true believers endure till the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. Believers may fall into sin through neglect and temptation, whereby they grieve The Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, and bring reproach on the cause of Christ and bring upon themselves temporal judgements, yet they themselves shall be kept by the power of God through saving faith and grace unto salvation.

 

Key Verses: Genesis 12:1-3, Exodus 19:5-8, 1 Samuel 8:4-7, Isaiah 5:1-7, Jeremiah 31:31, Matthew 16:18-18, 21: 28-45, 24: 22-31, 25:34, Luke 1:68-79, 2:29-32, 19:41-44, 24:44-48, John 1:12-14, 3:16, 6:44-45,65, 10:27-29, 15:16, 17:6,12,17-18, Acts 20:32, Romans 5:9-10, 3:1-11, Colossians 1:12-14, Thessalonians 2:13-14, 2nd Timothy 1:12, 2:10,19, Hebrews 11:39- 12:2, James 1:12, 1st Peter 1:2-5, 13, 2:4-10, 1st John 1:7-9, 2:19, 3:2.

Any attempt to reconcile these concepts requires a precise understanding of each in God's sovereign plan for humanity.

 

Key Verses: Acts 16:31, Romans 8:28-30, Ephesians 1:4-5, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, 1st Peter 1:2.

 

Divine Sovereignty: We understand that sovereignty is defined as God's supreme authority and power whereby He exercises this attribute to accomplish His good purpose for His glory, and for the good of the people.

 

Key Verses: 1st Chronicles 29:10, Psalms 29:10, Matthew 19:11-12, Romans 8:28, Colossians 1:1.

 

Man's Free Will: We understand that man's free will is defined as the God given ability to make independent choices whereby he is allowed to make choices, even choices that are contrary to God's desire.

 

Key Verses: Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15, Matthew 23:37, John 8:17.

 

While many see a contradiction between the biblical truths of divine sovereignty and man's free will, we believe that God accomplishes His purpose in history in harmony with free choices of man. We recognize that a tension exists in man's attempt to reconcile these two truths. this perceived tension exists due to man's finite ability to too fully comprehend the workings of our infinite God.

 

Key Verses: Ecclesiastes 3:11, 8:17, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 11:33 

Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in the newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony of the believer's faith in the final resurrection of the dead. The Lord's supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the redeemer and anticipate His second coming.

 

Key Verses: Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 26:26-30, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 1:9-11, 14:22-26, Luke 3:21-22, 22:19-20, John 3:23, Acts 2:41-42, 8:35-39, 16:30-33, 20:7, Romans 6:3-5, 1st Corinthians 10:16,21, 11:23-29, Colossians 2:12.