THE BIBLE is God’s message to humanity, recorded without error in the original manuscripts.

 

GOD exists in three distinct persons who are the same in nature but distinct in function: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - Trinity.

 

MEN AND WOMEN are created in the image of God, yet they are spiritually dead in their moral imperfection – sinfulness.

 

JESUS CHRIST is the eternal Son of God who was born of a virgin and literally rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. He is undiminished deity and perfect humanity permanently united in one person. It was through His sacrificial death on the cross for the world’s moral imperfection that He paid the death penalty which was demanded by God.

 

JUSTIFICATION salvation is the free and unearned gift from God to any person who chooses to believe, at a moment in time, in Jesus Christ as the sufficient, sole and necessary provider of eternal life.

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT is the person of the Trinity who permanently indwells every believer from the moment of belief in Jesus Christ for eternal life. He distributes to every believer Christ’s gifts for service and with God’s power to make them adequate for living. As the believer chooses to act in dependence upon the Spirit, they will progressively grow into maturity - sanctification.

 

THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH is the visible expression of God’s kingdom in this age and is distinct from God’s plans and promises for Israel. Membership in it is based solely upon the reception of eternal life from Jesus Christ.

 

THE LOCAL CHURCH is an assembly of believers gathering together in fellowship with each other to give visible expression of Jesus Christ’s purposes in their daily lives and to stimulate growth in each other.

 

THE ORDINANCES are to be observed commemorating Christ’s works for the church: Baptism and The Lord’s Supper. Baptism is practiced by individual believers as a symbolic expression of personal identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is practiced corporately as a symbolic reminder of His provision of eternal life.

 

HISTORY is controlled by the sovereign rule of God and will culminate in the establishment of His kingdom upon the earth, a kingdom ruled by His Son and those who have placed their faith in Him for eternal life.

 

Teaching Position

 

ALL SCRIPTURE, both the individual words and the whole (Hebrew Scripture / New Testament - 66 books), is eternal and inspired by God through human authors. (Isa 40:8; Matt 5:18; 2 Tim 3:15-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21)  The Bible finds its fullest significance in the person and work of Jesus Christ and is useful for teaching, correction, encouragement and training in righteousness.  (Deut 32:47; Rom 15:4)

 

MEN AND WOMEN are created in the image of God and even though they are morally imperfect and spiritually dead, they are capable of making biblically correct decisions (Acts 8:27, 10:1-2, 16:14). They are born into this world without any hope of eternal life apart from the provision of God’s grace, available only through the person of Jesus Christ, who paid the death penalty on the cross for the moral imperfections of the world.  He freely offers eternal life to everyone and anyone. (Gen 1:26,27; Psalm 51:5; Acts 4:10-12; Rom 3:10-24, 8:6-8, 1 John 2:2)

 

FREE GRACE. Justification salvation is a free gift of God’s grace that comes only through faith in Jesus Christ for eternal life. (John 3:14-16, Num 21:6-9)  Immediately, the believer is born again (regeneration), is granted the perfect righteousness of Christ, is declared judicially righteous of all sin - past, present and future, becomes a daughter/son of God, and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit.  (John 5:24; Acts 16:30,31; Rom 5:9-11; 1 Cor 6:11; 2 Cor 5:17-19; Gal 6:15; Col 2:13,14; 1 John 1:8-10)  Changes in lifestyle, surrender to Christ as Lord and the bearing of fruit are results of a believer’s willful obedience and are not conditions for gaining, determining or keeping God’s free gift of eternal life. (John 3:7,16, 6:47; Eph 2:8-10; Titus 3:5,6)

 

ETERNAL SECURITY of a believer’s justification salvation is a clear teaching of the Bible.  Once an individual believes in the person of Jesus Christ for eternal life, their eternal salvation cannot be lost due to unbiblical choices or changes in personal belief.  (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:29, 38,39; Hebrews 7:25, 13:5)  Even though eternally secure, a believer’s eternal significance and eternal rewards will be determined by means of Christ’s evaluation.  All believers will be held accountable by Jesus Christ for their personal choices. (Matt 6:19,20; Rom 14:10; 1 Cor 3:12-15; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim 2:11-13; Heb 11:6; Rev 22:12)

 

ASSURANCE of eternal life is available to every believer and is based on the promise of the Bible.  The believer’s eternal destiny with God as their Father is held secure by the uninterrupted presence of the Holy Spirit of God within the believer.   The believer’s eternal significance with God as their Friend may change based on their choices of obedience.  (John 15:10, 14; Eph 1:13; 1 John 5:12,13)

 

SANCTIFICATION.  Growth in Christ-likeness is God’s will for each believer and is progressive in nature because we retain the natural propensity to disobey Him.  (John 17:17; Rom 7:15 - 8:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Eph 2:10; 1 Thes 4:3, 7, 5:23)  Progressive sanctification as a disciple is accomplished by God’s grace and a believer’s obedient choices. (Titus 2:11-13)

 

The SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.  God will fulfill His promises to Israel and establish a literal thousand-year kingdom of Christ on earth.  (Jer 29:10-14; Matt 6:10; 1 Thes 5:1-6; Rev 20:1-4)

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