The Scriptures

We believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration of the original writing of the sixty-six books of the Bible, the Word of God, and that it is the full and
complete revelation of God's will for man, the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20, 21;
Jude 3). We believe in the sufficiency of the preached Word, to transform the lives of the hearers. I believe truth matters and can be know in the Scriptures.

The Godhead

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three Persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:18, 19).

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1, 2, 14, 18; Luke 1:35).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our complete redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice, a redemption made sure to us by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24, 25; 5:8-10; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7). The person and work of Christ is the basis of our salvations.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God the Father where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Acts 1:9-11; Romans 8:34; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:3; 6:19, 20; 7:24; 9:24; I John 2:1, 2).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe  that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, possessing all the attributes of deity; and, that in essence He is equally God (Acts 5:3, 4; II Corinthians 13:14).

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration and sanctification, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling them equally and permanently, and sealing them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:11; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13,14).

We believe that every unregenerated person, the moment he exercises faith in Christ as Savior, immediately possesses the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 4:6; I Thessalonians 4:8).

We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; that He sovereignly bestows a spiritual gift or gifts upon each believer; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled (controlled) with spiritual wisdom (John 16:13; I Corinthians 12:4-7; Ephesians 5:18, Colossians 3:16). It is the duty of every believer to rely on the filling of the Holy Spirit in order to be supplied with the necessary power to proclaim the Gospel to a hostile and rebellious world (Acts 1:8; 2:4; 4:31; 13:52-14:1; 1 Thess. 1:5).

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but through Adam's sin the whole race fell, became alienated from God and inherited a sin nature, is totally depraved, possesses no spark of divine life, and, of himself, is utterly helpless to remedy his lost condition apart from the grace of God (Genesis 1:25-27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:3, 12). We believe that though man is totally depraved in every area of his being this does not mean that he has no ability or capacity to believe the gospel message when it is preached. We do not believe in the total inability of man to believe. Man is able and responsible to respond to the call to believe in the free grace gospel.

We believe that elect man comes to faith when he is convicted by the Holy Spirit (John 16:8-11), effectually called by the Son (Matthew 11:38; John 6:37; 7:37), drawn by the Father (John 6:44), and enlightened by God (Acts 16:14; 26:18; Colossians 4:3; Luke 24:31-32, 45; Hebrews 6:4; 10:32). These additional graces are given to some and not to all, for He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy…" (Romans 9:15).

We believe that eternal salvation is the gift of God brought to sinful man by grace and received solely by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who accomplished complete redemption by His substitutionary death and shedding of His precious blood (John 3:18; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8,9; Philippians 3:4-9; Titus 3:5; I Peter 1:18,19). The gift of eternal life is received by faith alone in Christ alone, plus not one thing (John 3:16; 6:37).

We believe that man believes, and then is regenerated, made alive, "born again" (John 3:16). I do not believe faith itself is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Man is not regenerated, given faith to believe, and then saved.

We believe that the proclamation of the "Free Grace Gospel" is to be properly correlated with and yet distinguished from issues related to discipleship, i.e.: "following Jesus; giving, committing or surrendering one's life to Christ or His Lordship" (Mark 8:34; Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:27).

We believe there are three main aspects of salvation found in Scripture,

Past: Saved from the penalty of sin - "Justification"

Present: Saved from the power of sin - "Sanctification"

Future: Saved from the presence of sin - "Glorification"

There is also found in Scripture an additional aspect of being saved or delivered from life's circumstances. This is very frequently found throughout the OT. The context determines which aspect of salvation is being used.

Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is a setting-apart unto God (John 17:17, 19). It consists of three steps in the believer's life:

Positional: Every believer, by his being "in Christ" and partaking of all He is, has a complete standing before God (I Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; Hebrews 10:10, 14).

Progressive: Yet every believer, because he retains a sin nature which cannot be changed nor eradicated in this life, lives in a present state that is imperfect to the extent that he fails to appropriate the power of the Holy Spirit by which to live the Christian life, and, therefore, he is in need of a progressive sanctification by growing in grace unto spiritual maturity (II Corinthians 3:18; 7:1; Ephesians 4:24; Hebrews 12:10).

Ultimate: Every believer will be fully and completely sanctified when he shall see the Lord and shall be like Him (Romans 8:29; Ephesians 5:25-27; II Corinthians 3:18; I John 3:2).

Eternal Security and Assurance of Salvation

We believe because of the eternal purpose of God, because of  the nature of the Word and promise of God, and because of the immutability of the unchangeable covenants of God, that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by the power of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and interceded for by Christ and are therefore secure in Christ forever  (John  6:37-40; 10:27-30; 17:1 Romans 8:1, 29, 30, 38, 39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; II Timothy 1:12; I Peter 1:5; Jude 24).

We believe that God, as a holy and righteous Father of all the redeemed, cannot overlook the sin of His children, and, when they persistently sin, will chasten and correct them in infinite love (I Corinthians 11:27-32; Hebrews 12:5-11).

We believe that it is the universal privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word; which truth excites within His children filial love, gratitude and obedience (I John 5:10-13; 3:14; II Cor. 5:6-8; Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

We believe that one's assurance of eternal salvation is purely based on the promise of Jesus Christ to give eternal life to those who believe in Him (John 6:37), and not based on any human deeds that must follow. Eternal salvation can never be lost, but the assurance and then the motivation to service Christ can be lost, if the believer does not continue in the Word.

We believe that faithful believers/servants will be rewarded with honor and glory for their service for Christ and unfaithful servants will be ashamed and scorned for their lack of faithful service. Faithful servants will be giving positions of rulership in the future earthly Kingdom of Christ, co-reigning with Christ, while unfaithful servants will receive no positions of leadership in the Kingdom (Matthew 6:1-6; 19:27-30 25:19-30; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 22:12). Eternal salvation can never be lost, but rewards can be lost (2 John 8).

Creation

We believe that the Genesis account of creation is an accurate historical description of all that God has made. I believe that LORD created everything in six literal 24 hours days. I reject all compromising positions that attempt to reconcile the days of creation with long uniformitarian ages of millions and billions of years. I believe death began with Adam's sin and death spread to all men and greatly affected his environment. (Genesis 1-2; Psalm 19:1; Romans 5:12). I believe that a historical interpretation of the creation account is pivotal and foundational for understanding the rest of Scripture.

The Flood

We believe that the flood of Noah was global in nature and destroyed the world that existed then. The flood catastrophically upset the topography of the entire earth and is plainly evident in the rock formations today (Genesis 6-10).

The Church

We believe that the universal church, which is the body and the bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age from Pentecost to the Rapture (Ephesians 1:22,23; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 12:5; Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:42-47).

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelist, pastor-teacher are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established (I Corinthians 12:4-11; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; I Corinthians 13:8).

We believe that every believer possesses a spiritual gift for the edification of the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:20-27; Eph. 4:12).

Christian Walk

We believe that every saved person possesses two natures, and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural (Romans 6:1-13; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16).

We believe that the Christian life consists in a positive abiding in union with the living Christ and by living in the power of the indwelling Spirit so that the fruit of the Spirit is produced in the life in contrast to the lusts of the flesh (John 15:1-16; Galatians 5:16-23; Eph. 4:22-24).

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (Romans 12:1,2; 14:13,21; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; II Timothy 3:1-5; I John 2:15-17; 1 John 5:21; 2 John 9-11).

We believe that every believer should be a faithful steward of all his substance for the furtherance of the Gospel at home and abroad. Every believer should freely give, without coercion, according to how God has prospered Him and what he has purposed in his heart, not according to any percentage (tithe), which was made obsolete along with the entire Mosaic Law and replaced with institution the New Covenant (Luke 6:38; Matthew 10:10b; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-8; Hebrews 7:12; 8:13).

The Great Commission

We believe that it is the obligation of all believers to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:19, 20; Romans 10:11-17).

Dispensations

We believe that God has divided time into well-defined periods, these periods being termed "dispensations."  These dispensations are divine testing periods in which the failure of man is consistently seen.  Although these dispensations span the entire history of mankind, three of them are the subject of extended revelation in Scripture, viz.:  the dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the present dispensation of grace (the mystery form of the Kingdom), and the future dispensation of the millennial kingdom.  Likewise I reject that teaching known as "Ultradispensationalism" which opposes either the Lord's Table or water baptism as church ordinances for the dispensation of grace (Isaiah 61:1,2; Luke 4:16-21; I Corinthians 9:17;   Ephesians 1:10;   3:2;  3:9,  A.S.V.;  Colossians 1:25; I Timothy 1:4, A.S.V.).

The Personality of Satan

We believe that Satan is a personal being, the highest in rank of all angelic creatures; that he sinned through pride, thereby becoming the author of sin and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and, that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire (Geneses 3:1-9; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

The Blessed Hope

We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the imminent, personal, pre-tribulational coming of the Lord in the air to receive and gather to Himself into heaven both His own who are alive and remain unto His coming, and also all who have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that this event is the blessed hope set before us in Scripture, and for this we should be constantly looking (John 14:1-3; I Corinthians 15:51, 52; Philippians 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; I Thessalonians 1:10; Rev. 3:10). With the rapture, brings the end of the church age. The "end of the age" is not concluded until the end of the tribulation.

The Tribulation

We believe that the translation of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel's seventieth week (Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:1-19, 21) during which the Church, the Body of Christ, will be in heaven.  This entire period of seven years will be a time of judgment on the whole earth, at the end of which the times of the Gentiles will be brought to a close.  The latter half of this period will be the time of Jacob's trouble (Jeremiah 30:7), which our Lord called the great tribulation (Matthew 24:15-21; Rev. 6:1; 19:21). At the conclusion of the Great Tribulation brings this age, the end of the age to its completion.

The Second Coming of Christ and the Kingdom

We believe that the period of great tribulation in the earth will be climaxed by the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as He went, in person on the clouds of heaven, and with power and great glory to introduce the millennial age, to bind Satan and place him in the abyss, to lift the curse which now rests on the whole creation, to restore Israel to her own land and to give her the realization of God's covenant promises, and to bring the whole world to the knowledge of God for a 1000 years (Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:4-9; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Zechariah 14:4; Romans 8:19-23; 11:25-27; Revelation 20:1-3).