Our Beliefs

1

The Scriptures

We believe that the Word of God consists solely of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments and that these are the sole authority in faith and life. We believe in verbal, plenary inspiration, which applies to the original Scriptures. We believe that the Masoretic Text in Hebrew and the Textus Receptus in Greek are the preserved Word of God. We believe that the King James Version is to be used in all the ministries of this church. (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)

2

The Godhead

We believe there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), existing as a unity of three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; Isaiah 61:1-3). These three Persons are co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal. (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 2:19; I Timothy 2:5)

3

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 the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1-2; Luke 1:35) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5; Romans 5:1-2) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:24;7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2) We believe in that "blessed hope" and personal, imminent, pre-millennial, and pre-tribulational coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and We believe in His subsequent return to earth with His saints to establish His millennial kingdom. (I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:9; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

4

Satan

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin; that he gave occasion for the fall of man; that he is the unholy god of this age; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he is destined to the judgment of eternal justice in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:5-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; I Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10)

5

The Church

We believe that the Church is a congregation of believers baptized by immersion upon a credible confession of faith and associated by covenant faith, fellowship of the gospel, and observation of the ordinances of the Church governed by His laws; that it is to exercise the gifts, rights and privileges invested in it by His Word; that it has the absolute right of self-government, directed by the Holy Spirit, and is answerable only to Christ, and that in matters of membership, policy, government, discipline association, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final. (Matthew 18:15-17; I Corinthians 1:2, 6:4-5; 7:17; 11:16; I Timothy 3:1-15) We believe that to the Church has been committed two ordinances; they are baptism and the communion of the Lord's table. We believe that Scriptural baptism is the immersion of the believer in water and that it is a testimony of the believer's identification by faith with Christ in His death and resurrection as our substitute. (Matthew 18:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 8:36-39) We believe that the communion of the Lord's table is the partaking of the bread and the cup by believers in remembrance of the death of Christ on our behalf, that it is to be partaken of by baptized believers only, and that it is to be observed after thoughtful self-examination until He comes. (Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-32)

6

Salvation

We believe that salvation is possible only through the substitutionary and vicarious death of Christ for man (Galatians 1:4; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24; 3:18).

We believe that faith in the finished work of Christ is the only condition for salvation from sin; that this salvation is wholly of grace; and that no works, however good, make that salvation more secure. (Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; Romans 10:9-13)

We believe that every person immediately upon acceptance of Christ as his personal Savior receives the gift of eternal life and is made at once a child of God, as such, a special divine providence watches over his welfare so that he is kept in a state of glory. ((John 1:12; 10:28-29; Romans 8:28-29; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6; I Peter 1:5; I John S:10-13) We believe that while salvation is not by works it is unto good works which are a result of the believer living his life under the control of the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 2:8-10; 5:18; Galatians 5:22-25)

We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

We believe that every believer possesses two natures; that through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit provision is made for victory of the new nature over the old nature; and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (John 3:5-9; Romans 6:13; 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; I Peter 1:14-16)

7

Evangelism and Missions

We believe that it is the duty of the saved to witness by life and word to the truths of the Bible and to assist in giving the Gospel of Christ to all the world by praying, giving, and going in obedience to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8, I Corinthians 15:19-20)

8

The Baptist Distinctives

We believe in the Baptist distinctive: the sole authority of the Bible, absolute soul liberty, sovereignty of the local church, regeneration and baptism by immersion as a condition for local church membership, baptism of believers only, priesthood of the believer, and separation of church and state.

9

Church, State, and Home

We believe that God has ordained three basic institutions by which human society is to be organized. These institutions are the home (Genesis 2:23-24), the government (Romans 13:1-7), and the local church (Acts 11:26). Being first established, the home is the basic building block of all human society and is responsible for the propagation of the human race, the rearing and training of children, and the establishment and operation of the other two institutions. Government is ordained of God to maintain order and discipline among humans. It is a minister of God to reward those who do good and to punish those who do evil. The local church was established by Christ as the institution through which He would organize men to do His works of evangelizing the lost, teaching the saved, and worshipping Him.