DECLARATION OF FAITH
ARTICLE IV OF OUR CONSTITUTION
4.1 The Word of God
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.
4.2 The Trinity
We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit; that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
4.3 God the Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
4.4 Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son and has precisely the same nature, attributes, and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only true God but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His imminent, personal, visible, premillennial return from heaven.
4.5 Holy Spirit
We believe in God the Holy Spirit, His personality, and His ministry to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living and service.
4.6 Man
We believe God created man, male and female, in His image and free from sin. We further believe man is a sinner by nature and choice and is therefore spiritually dead. We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, are eternally secure, and will rejoice forever in God’s presence. Those who refuse to accept Christ as Savior and Lord will be forever condemned and separated from God.
4.7 Salvation
We believe that salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased solely by Christ on the cross, and is received by all persons through faith apart from human merit, works, or ritual. It is God’s purpose in salvation for each believer to grow in grace and manifest Christ’s likeness in thought, word, and deed.
4.8 The Church
We believe that the New Testament Church, which began at Pentecost, is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head and is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been baptized by the Holy Spirit. We believe that this body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members associate themselves for worship, for instruction, for evangelism, and for service. We believe the ordinances of the local church are believer’s baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper. We also believe in the interdependence of local churches of like faith and practice.
4.9 Separation of Church and State
We believe that each local church is self-governing in function and must be free from interference by an ecclesiastical or political authority. We further believe that every person is directly responsible to God in matters of faith and life and that each should be free to worship God according to the dictates of his or her conscience.
4.10 Christian Conduct
We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God by evidencing conduct blameless before the world, practicing faithful stewardship of possessions, and seeking to realize the full stature of maturity in Christ. We believe that every person is ultimately responsible to God alone in matters of faith and conduct.
4.11 The Future
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of everyone either in heaven or hell, in divine judgments, rewards, and punishments.