Statement of Faith
What We Believe
What We Believe
All people everywhere, regardless of their nationality or religion, are sinners who are hopelessly separated from God and in desperate need of a Savior. God the Father sent His dearly loved Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to suffer for our sins and to bear the full penalty and punishment that we rightfully deserved. On the cross, God's righteous wrath toward the sins of all mankind was poured out on Jesus without mercy or restraint. As a result, anyone who simply believes in Him becomes a permanent member of God's family and can never be separated from the love of God.
Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are offered to all people everywhere freely and without cost as the gift of God's grace. This gift is received through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, solely on the basis of His substitutionary death and resurrection on our behalf. The moment a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross, that person is born again by the Spirit of God and declared perfectly righteous forever by God the Father. This is truly a free gift and not something that we could ever deserve or earn. It comes to us totally apart from any of our own merit, worthiness, dedication, devotion, self-effort, self-righteousness, obedience, good works, baptism, church attendance, giving money, or religious ritual (etc.). None of these things help to contribute to our salvation in any way because, there is no one who is truly righteous in God's sight and all of us have sinned and fall infinitely short of God's glorious perfection. This means that even the best we have to offer is unacceptable and offensive to God. But the good news is that on the cross, everyone of our sins (past, present and future) were atoned for, once and for all, when Jesus died in our place. Because He sacrificed Himself for our sins, anyone who simply believes in Him will never face God's condemnation and can never be lost.
in God's sight forever apart from human merit works and devotion. as the only means for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16). Since the only requirement for salvation is faith in Christ as Savior (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9), and the Gospel of Christ is made available to all human beings through the Word of God (Romans 10:17); and since God is a God of truth (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2), then His offer of salvation is a genuine offer to all, and therefore all people have an equal opportunity to believe, and be saved (Titus 2:11). Human beings are completely lost (Romans 5:12), and unable to save themselves (Isaiah 64:6); however, they are able to believe in Christ for salvation at any time (2 Corinthians 6:2). God has not chosen some people to be saved, and other people for eternal punishment (2 Peter 3:9). Human beings receive eternal life, or eternal punishment based on their response to the Gospel of Christ.
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
· We believe in the one living and true God, perfect in wisdom, sovereignty, holiness, justice, mercy, and love (1 Timothy 1:17; Psalm 86:15; Deuteronomy 32:3-4). He exists eternally in three co-equal persons who act together in creation, providence, and redemption (Genesis 1:26; 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 1:1-3).
· God the Father, who is the first person of the divine trinity, reigns with providential care over all life and history in His created universe (1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Matthew 7:11). He initiated salvation by sending His Son, and He is Father to those who by faith accept His Son as Lord and Savior (1 John 4:9-10; John 3:16; John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
· God the Son, who is co-equal with the Father (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3), became man, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary (John 1:14; Matthew 1:18). Being fully God and fully man, He lived a sinless life through the power of the Holy Spirit, thus defeating Satan and sin through His offering of Himself on the cross for the sins of the world. By restricting His divine attributes, and living in reliance on the Holy Spirit during His earthly life He became the believer’s model for the spiritual life, whereby we are shown that we must also rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to please God (Romans 8:1-4). Since Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world through His death on the cross, faith in His atoning work is the only means by which a person may receive eternal life.
· God the Holy Spirit inspired men to write the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:21). Through this Word, He convicts individuals of their sinfulness and of the righteousness of Christ, draws them to the Savior (John 6:44; 12:32), and bears witness to their new birth (James 1:18; John 16:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6; Romans 8:16). At regeneration and conversion, which happens at the moment of belief, the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Spirit indwells, seals and gives spiritual gifts, at the moment of belief (2 Corinthians 3:15), to all believers for ministry in the church and society (Romans 8:9-11; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 12:5-8; 1 Peter 4:10). He empowers, guides, teaches, fills, sanctifies and produces the fruit of Christ-likeness in all who yield to Him (Acts 4:31; Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Galatians 5:16; 22-23).
The Bible
· We believe the Bible is God's Word given by divine inspiration, and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to humanity (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the verbal, plenary, and inspired Word of God. The term “verbal” means that every word of the Bible in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek is without error. “Plenary” refers to the fact that the entirety of Scripture is equally inspired, and the Bible is “inspired” because it is God-breathed by the Holy Spirit to the human authors, whereby they recorded the words of Scripture using their human vocabulary and style (1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is the truth by which God brings people into a saving relationship with Himself, and leads them to Christian maturity, both of which are through His grace (John 20:31, 1 John 5:9-12; Matthew 4:4; 1 Peter 2:2).
Man and Sin
· We believe God created man in His own image to have fellowship with Himself and to be a steward over His creation (Genesis 1:26-28). As a result, each person is unique, possesses dignity and is worthy of respect (Psalm 139:13-17). Through the temptation of Satan, Adam willfully chose to disobey God; this brought sin and death to the human race, and suffering to all creation (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21; 8:22). Therefore, everyone is born with a sinful nature, and needs to be reconciled to God (Romans 3:9-18; 23). Satan tempts people to rebel against God, even those who love Him (Ephesians 4:27; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Matthew 16:23). Nonetheless, every human being without exception is responsible to God for thoughts, actions and beliefs, and every human being, without exception, has the right and responsibility to approach Him directly through Jesus Christ, the only mediator (Romans 14:12; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Peter 3:9).
Salvation by Grace through Faith
· We believe that eternal life is received by the grace of God alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone as the only means for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16). Since the only requirement for salvation is faith in Christ as Savior (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9), and the Gospel of Christ is made available to all human beings through the Word of God (Romans 10:17); and since God is a God of truth (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2), then His offer of salvation is a genuine offer to all, and therefore all people have an equal opportunity to believe, and be saved (Titus 2:11). Human beings are completely lost (Romans 5:12), and unable to save themselves (Isaiah 64:6); however, they are able to believe in Christ for salvation at any time (2 Corinthians 6:2). God has not chosen some people to be saved, and other people for eternal punishment (2 Peter 3:9). Human beings receive eternal life, or eternal punishment based on their response to the Gospel of Christ.
Forgiveness of sins and eternal life are offered to all people everywhere freely and without cost as the gift of God's grace. This gift is received through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, solely on the basis of His substitutionary death and resurrection on our behalf. The moment a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross, that person is born again by the Spirit of God and declared perfectly righteous forever by God the Father. This is truly a free gift and not something that we could ever deserve or earn. It comes to us totally apart from any of our own merit, worthiness, dedication, devotion, self-effort, self-righteousness, obedience, good works, baptism, church attendance, giving money, or religious ritual (etc.). None of these things help to contribute to our salvation in any way because, there is no one who is truly righteous in God's sight and all of us have sinned and fall infinitely short of God's glorious perfection. This means that even the best we have to offer is unacceptable and offensive to God. But the good news is that on the cross, everyone of our sins (past, present and future) were atoned for, once and for all, when Jesus died in our place. Because He sacrificed Himself for our sins, anyone who simply believes in Him will never face God's condemnation and can never be lost.
in God's sight forever apart from human merit works and devotion. as the only means for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16). Since the only requirement for salvation is faith in Christ as Savior (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9), and the Gospel of Christ is made available to all human beings through the Word of God (Romans 10:17); and since God is a God of truth (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2), then His offer of salvation is a genuine offer to all, and therefore all people have an equal opportunity to believe, and be saved (Titus 2:11). Human beings are completely lost (Romans 5:12), and unable to save themselves (Isaiah 64:6); however, they are able to believe in Christ for salvation at any time (2 Corinthians 6:2). God has not chosen some people to be saved, and other people for eternal punishment (2 Peter 3:9). Human beings receive eternal life, or eternal punishment based on their response to the Gospel of Christ.
God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
· We believe in the one living and true God, perfect in wisdom, sovereignty, holiness, justice, mercy, and love (1 Timothy 1:17; Psalm 86:15; Deuteronomy 32:3-4). He exists eternally in three co-equal persons who act together in creation, providence, and redemption (Genesis 1:26; 1 Peter 1:2; Hebrews 1:1-3).
· God the Father, who is the first person of the divine trinity, reigns with providential care over all life and history in His created universe (1 Chronicles 29:11-13; Matthew 7:11). He initiated salvation by sending His Son, and He is Father to those who by faith accept His Son as Lord and Savior (1 John 4:9-10; John 3:16; John 1:12; Acts 16:31).
· God the Son, who is co-equal with the Father (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3), became man, was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary (John 1:14; Matthew 1:18). Being fully God and fully man, He lived a sinless life through the power of the Holy Spirit, thus defeating Satan and sin through His offering of Himself on the cross for the sins of the world. By restricting His divine attributes, and living in reliance on the Holy Spirit during His earthly life He became the believer’s model for the spiritual life, whereby we are shown that we must also rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to please God (Romans 8:1-4). Since Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world through His death on the cross, faith in His atoning work is the only means by which a person may receive eternal life.
· God the Holy Spirit inspired men to write the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:21). Through this Word, He convicts individuals of their sinfulness and of the righteousness of Christ, draws them to the Savior (John 6:44; 12:32), and bears witness to their new birth (James 1:18; John 16:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-6; Romans 8:16). At regeneration and conversion, which happens at the moment of belief, the believer is baptized in the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Spirit indwells, seals and gives spiritual gifts, at the moment of belief (2 Corinthians 3:15), to all believers for ministry in the church and society (Romans 8:9-11; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 12:5-8; 1 Peter 4:10). He empowers, guides, teaches, fills, sanctifies and produces the fruit of Christ-likeness in all who yield to Him (Acts 4:31; Romans 8:14; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Galatians 5:16; 22-23).
The Bible
· We believe the Bible is God's Word given by divine inspiration, and is the record of God's revelation of Himself to humanity (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the verbal, plenary, and inspired Word of God. The term “verbal” means that every word of the Bible in the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek is without error. “Plenary” refers to the fact that the entirety of Scripture is equally inspired, and the Bible is “inspired” because it is God-breathed by the Holy Spirit to the human authors, whereby they recorded the words of Scripture using their human vocabulary and style (1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is the truth by which God brings people into a saving relationship with Himself, and leads them to Christian maturity, both of which are through His grace (John 20:31, 1 John 5:9-12; Matthew 4:4; 1 Peter 2:2).
Man and Sin
· We believe God created man in His own image to have fellowship with Himself and to be a steward over His creation (Genesis 1:26-28). As a result, each person is unique, possesses dignity and is worthy of respect (Psalm 139:13-17). Through the temptation of Satan, Adam willfully chose to disobey God; this brought sin and death to the human race, and suffering to all creation (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-21; 8:22). Therefore, everyone is born with a sinful nature, and needs to be reconciled to God (Romans 3:9-18; 23). Satan tempts people to rebel against God, even those who love Him (Ephesians 4:27; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Matthew 16:23). Nonetheless, every human being without exception is responsible to God for thoughts, actions and beliefs, and every human being, without exception, has the right and responsibility to approach Him directly through Jesus Christ, the only mediator (Romans 14:12; 1 Timothy 2:5; 2 Peter 3:9).
Salvation by Grace through Faith
· We believe that eternal life is received by the grace of God alone, through faith in Jesus Christ alone as the only means for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16). Since the only requirement for salvation is faith in Christ as Savior (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9), and the Gospel of Christ is made available to all human beings through the Word of God (Romans 10:17); and since God is a God of truth (Numbers 23:19; Titus 1:2), then His offer of salvation is a genuine offer to all, and therefore all people have an equal opportunity to believe, and be saved (Titus 2:11). Human beings are completely lost (Romans 5:12), and unable to save themselves (Isaiah 64:6); however, they are able to believe in Christ for salvation at any time (2 Corinthians 6:2). God has not chosen some people to be saved, and other people for eternal punishment (2 Peter 3:9). Human beings receive eternal life, or eternal punishment based on their response to the Gospel of Christ.
