We Believe

The Bible
The Trinity
Jesus Christ
Holy Spirit
Humanity
Salvation
Eternal Life
 

The Bible

The Bible, inclusive of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired, inerrant [in the original writings], and authoritative Word of God. As such, it is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice for Christians.
All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV)
Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21, NIV)
Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6, NIV)
According to Hebrews 1:1, “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son . . . “, thus, we could surmise that the OT was inspired and written by prophets. NT 101 teaches that the books of the NT were chosen based on whether the author had known the LORD Jesus (who ushered in the NT era) personally or knew someone who had been a follower of Jesus. Thus, most, if not all, of the NT was inspired and written by apostles.
 

The Trinity

We believe there is one God, creator and sustainer of all things, infinite in love and mercy, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; each fully God yet each personally distinct from the other.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4, NIV)
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20, NIV)
May the grace of the LORD Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14, NIV)
There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to one hope when you were called – one LORD, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4:4-6, NIV)
For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (I John 5:7, NIV)
 

Jesus Christ

We believe in the deity of our LORD Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of God the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.
“The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” [Isaiah 7:14] – which means, “God with us.”(Matthew 1:23, NIV)
Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge, and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:22-24, NIV)
Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.(Romans 8:34, NIV)
…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (I Corinthians 15:3-4, NIV)
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Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on the cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11, NIV)
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. (Hebrews 4:14-15, NIV)
 

Holy Spirit

We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling enables the Christian to live a Godly life and whose seal guarantees our eternal life. Further, He is the agent of regeneration and renewal for believers in Jesus Christ as well as the agent for implementing Christ’s work of redeeming the lost. He comforts, counsels, convicts and gifts believers to live in ways that honor Christ.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-16, NIV)
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. (John 16:7-14, NIV)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. (Acts 1:8, NIV)
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Romans 8:9, NIV)
We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (I Corinthians 2:12, NIV)
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16-17, NIV)
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14, NIV)
 

Humanity

We believe God created humanity, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, fellowship with God was broken and man’s nature was corrupted.All men everywhere are lost and face the judgment of God.
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God… (Romans 3:23, NIV)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (I John 1:8-10, NIV)

Salvation

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation for lost and sinful man and that repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ results in regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, salvation is wholly a work of God’s free grace and is not the work, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness or religious observance. The Holy Spirit delivers from rebellion toward God and makes possible wholehearted love for God and for others and results in righteous living.
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(John 14:6, NIV)
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12, NIV)
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our LORD. (Romans 6:23, NIV)
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10, NIV)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. (Ephesians 1:7, NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7, NIV)
 

Eternal Life

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and the lost, the saved unto eternal life and the lost unto damnation and eternal punishment.
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15, NIV)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him. (John 3:36, NIV)
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we willbe changed. (I Corinthians 15:51-53, NIV)
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15, NIV).