What We Believe

We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired; that it is truth without any admixture of error for its matter; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.

We believe the King James Version to be the perfectly preserved Word of God, free from error. No other translation is accepted or used in any Sunday School classes or from the pulpit.

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person; equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature; that He was active in the creation; that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel; that He is the agent in the new birth; that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the believer.

We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man's great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the saints, the author of all false religions, the chief power back of the present apostasy; the lord of the antichrist, and the author of all the powers of darkness, destined however to final defeat at the hands of God's own Son, and to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for him and his angels.

We believe in the Genesis account of creation and that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness; that man's creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms. Since God created mankind into genders distinctly male and female, we believe that the only legitimate marriage is that between a man and a woman.

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but of choice; and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.

We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost in a miraculous manner; born of Mary, a virgin, as no other man was ever born or can ever be born of a woman, and that He is both the Son of God, and God, the Son.

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by appointment of the Father freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner's place, the Just dying for the unjust; that having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven, and is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior.

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about wholly and solely by the power of the drawing of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.

We believe in God's grace; that the blessings of salvation are made free to all by the gospel; that it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith; and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel.

We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification; that Justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on principles of righteousness; that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer's blood, His righteousness being imputed unto us.

We believe that Repentance and Faith are solemn obligations, and also inseparable graces, wrought in our souls by the quickening Spirit of God; that being deeply convicted of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ, we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy; at the same time heartily receiving the Lord Jesus Christ and openly confessing Him as our only and all-sufficient Savior.

We believe that a New Testament church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its officers of ordination are pastors or elders whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures.

We believe that the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; third, to teach and instruct as He has commanded. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that its one and only superintendent is Christ through the Holy Spirit.

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper, in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine, commemorate together the dying love of Christ, preceded always by solemn self-examination.

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and sanctified by the Spirit of our God, are truly righteous in His esteem; while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse; and that this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost.

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of human society; that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience, and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth.

We believe that Christ rose bodily the third day according to the Scriptures; that He ascended to the right hand of the throne of God; that He alone is our merciful and faithful high priest; and that this same Jesus shall so come in like manner as He was seen to go into heaven, bodily, personally, and visibly; that the dead in Christ shall rise first; that the living saints shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; and that Christ shall reign in righteousness until He hath put all enemies under His feet.

The command to give the gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and this Commission was given to the churches. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations... Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." As the Father sent the Son, so Christ sends us, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith. We are commanded to bring our gifts into the storehouse, the common treasury of the church, upon the first day of the week, as God has prospered us. Under grace we give, and do not pay, the tithe, as Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils, and as confirmed in the New Testament.