WHAT WE TEACH
GOD—There is one true and living God who created and sustains all things. He is one in essence but exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the source of all, He has revealed Himself through His creation, through the Scriptures, through the person and work of Jesus Christ, and through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all Christians. (Isa 45:5; John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; John 10:30; 2 Cor 13:14; John 14:6, 17; Ps 19:1; Luke 24:27; Heb 1:1-3; John 16:13-15)
GOD—There is one true and living God who created and sustains all things. He is one in essence but exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As the source of all, He has revealed Himself through His creation, through the Scriptures, through the person and work of Jesus Christ, and through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of all Christians. (Isa 45:5; John 1:1-3; Col 1:15-17; John 10:30; 2 Cor 13:14; John 14:6, 17; Ps 19:1; Luke 24:27; Heb 1:1-3; John 16:13-15)
JESUS—Jesus of
Nazareth is the divine, eternally existing, and uniquely begotten Son of
God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
apart from a human father, was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life,
was crucified as the only sufficient and atoning sacrifice for the sins of the
world, was then raised from the dead both literally and physically, and now
sits enthroned in heaven at the right hand of the Father. There He sits as our High Priest, awaiting the
day of His return to the earth when He will judge the righteous and the
unrighteous, the living and the dead, and when He will establish His eternal
kingdom on the earth. (2 Pet 1:17;
Matt 1:18; Luke 1:26-38; Heb 4:15; 1 John 2:2; Acts 2:24; Eph 1:20; Heb
4:14-16; Acts 17:31; 1 Pet 4:5; 2 Tim 4:1; Luke 1:31-33)
SPIRIT—The
Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, was sent from heaven by the
Father with a mandate to glorify the Son, to convict the world of the sin of
unbelief, to regenerate those who believe, to guide them into all truth, to
enable them to live godly lives, and to equip them for the work of
ministry. (John 14:25; 16:8, 13-14; Titus 3:5; Rom
8:9-11; Gal 5:22-23; Eph 4:7-13)
SCRIPTURES—The
66 books of the Old and New Testaments comprise the Word of God. As such they were uniquely inspired or “breathed
out” by God and inerrantly conveyed to humanity through sacred manuscripts
originally penned by prophets and apostles of old. These are the Church’s Holy Scriptures. They were authored by chosen men who were
supernaturally guided by the Holy Spirit; they are therefore infallible as
regards the facts to which they attest and all that they communicate concerning
salvation. They constitute a completely
trustworthy record of divine revelation and are the final authority in all
matters of faith and practice. (2 Tim 3:16-17;
2 Pet 1:20-21; Heb 4:12; 2 Pet 1:21)
HUMANITY—Human
beings from every nation, tribe, and tongue are created in the image and
likeness of God. We would contend,
therefore, that each and every human life is sacred from conception to natural
death. Moreover, each person’s gender is
biologically established and is an intrinsic, immutable aspect of his or her
nature and identity. God created each
person as either male or female, and these two distinct, complementary sexes
together reflect the image of God among humankind. As to the blessing of marriage, we believe
both that it is a divine ordinance pertaining solely to the union of one man
and one woman and that it is meant by God to bind each to the other for the
entirety of their earthly lives. God has
also set sexual intimacy apart, intending for it to be an expression of love
and commitment between wedded couples only.
Any expression of sexuality outside of marriage is sin. (Gen 1:26-27; 2:7, 21-25; Exod 20:12-17; Ps
139:13-18; John 10:10; Lev 18; 20; Matt 19:4-9; Rom 1:18-31; 1 Cor 6:9-10,
15-20; 1 Tim 1:8-11; Jude 7)
SIN—Sin
entered the human race through Adam and Eve, the original parents of us
all. These two were created in the image
and likeness of God, initially enjoyed an intimate relationship with Him, but
then chose to reject His revealed will.
This left Adam and Eve fallen and all their descendants estranged from
God, enslaved to the power of sin, and without restoration or salvation from
the righteous judgment of God. Apart
from God’s gracious intervention, there is no remedy for this broken human
condition. (Gen 1:26; 2:15-17; 3:1-7; Eph 2:1; John
8:34; John 3:3-8)
SALVATION—God
reaches out in grace and freely justifies, or “declares to be right” with Him,
all those who respond in complete faith to His offer of salvation through
Christ. There is salvation only through
the blood of Jesus, the one who, on the cross and in our place, bore the penalty
for our sins. The merits of His
substitutionary sacrifice are applied to the account and heart of each
repentant sinner whenever he or she comes to faith and responds properly to the
gospel declared by the apostolic community and recorded in the New
Testament. Fallen men and women must
hear the good news of the gospel, repent of their sins, put their faith in
Christ, and be united with Him through baptism into His name. Furthermore, they must take most seriously
the many warnings of Scripture regarding the need for Christians to continue by
faith to the end of their lives. For
indeed any believer can forfeit salvation by abandoning his or her faith in
Christ. However, because they have been
saved by grace through faith, all those who remain in faithful union with the
Lord Jesus can and should be perfectly confident in their salvation. (Titus 2:11; Rom 3:21-26; 4:23-25; Eph 2:8-9;
Rom 5:1-2; 6:1-11; 10:9; Acts 2:38; 3:19; Gal 3:27; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 3:21; 2 Cor
11:3; 1 Tim 4:1-3; Heb 3:12-13; 6:4-6; Rev 2:4-5)
CHURCH—All
born again believers are part of one spiritual body—the Church. Christ is the head of this Church, which
itself consists of all Christians everywhere organized into a vast number of
local assemblies. The members of these
local assemblies gather together regularly in order to devote themselves to the
worship of God, to prayer, to teaching and learning Scripture, to fellowship,
and to their observance of the Lord’s Supper.
In addition, the evangelistic mission that Christ has bound upon the
Church mandates that all believers participate in bringing the gospel to the
many nations and people groups of the world.
Their primary objectives should be to make disciples among the nations
and to plant local churches which will themselves be faithful to the mission of
evangelism. Christians, moreover, are to
avoid division and to pursue zealously the unity for which the Lord Jesus once
prayed. (Eph 4:4; Eph 1:22; Col 1:18; Acts 2:42; Matt
28:19; John 17:20-21)
BAPTISM—All
believers must complete their gospel-prompted commitment to Christ through a
water baptism of full immersion in order that the one baptized might be fully
united with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. Christian baptism must be conducted in the
name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This is to be a unique event in the life of
the believer because it marks that special moment when he or she is united with
Christ and begins living in fellowship with Him. In and of themselves, however, the waters of
Christian baptism cannot save. And yet,
it is baptismal faith that allows the Holy Spirit to bring about the believer’s
new birth and to unite him or her with the body of Christ. (Matt 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom 6:3-4)
COMMUNION—One
of the reasons that the church gathers together weekly is to
participate in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The meal provides an opportunity for the
church to remember, give thanks, and proclaim the Good News of Christ’s saving
work. (Acts 2:42; Heb 10:25; 1 Cor 11:28-32)
PREACHING—While
topical preaching is appropriate on occasion, the regular, pastoral teaching of
the Scriptures on the Lord’s Day should be expositional, that is, one biblical
text is considered at a time, and the message and flow of the text shape the
message and flow of the sermon. (Neh 8:8; 1 Tim
4:13)
LEADERSHIP—The
New Testament describes and prescribes that the church should be both Elder-led
and congregational. The Elders (also
known as Bishops/Overseers/Pastors) of
the church are the overseers of its affairs and the shepherds of its
members. They are the final interpretive
authority of the Bible’s meaning and application in the local congregation. Moreover, they are responsible for the
instruction, oversight, edification, discipline, restoration, and overall
spiritual well-being of the church as a whole and its individual members. The office of the Deacon is also recognized
in our church as those who serve in ongoing, official capacities and at the
direction of the eldership. (1 Tim 3:1-7;
Titus 1:5-9; 1 Pet 5:1-4; Heb 13:17; Matt 18:15-17; Gal 6:1; 1 Cor 5:11-13; 1
Pet 2:5, 9; Acts 6:3-6; 1 Tim 2:12; 3:1-2; Tit 1:5-6, 9; 2:1-15; 1 Tim 2:13)
ACCOUNTABILITY—The
local church is made up of various men and women who are at different stages of
spiritual development. Yet, the goal of
the entire congregation is to pursue holiness in Christ, individually and
corporately. Therefore, the church cannot
permit someone to continue in a lifestyle of sin without discussing the issue
with him or her. The Lord and His
apostles have given us clear directions of how to handle sin in the church. First, an individual should talk face-to-face
with the person. If the sin continues,
then, secondly, two or three witnesses should discuss the sin with the person (this
is most likely the time that an elder(s) should be involved). If the issue is still not resolved, then,
thirdly, the matter should be taken before the entire congregation. Lastly, if the person has still not repented,
the church should no longer allow the person to remain a member. Each issue must be dealt with on a
case-by-case basis, slowly, carefully, and prayerfully, and the eldership should
oversee the process. The goal is for the
sinner to repent and be fully restored to fellowship with the local church. (Matt 18:15-20; Gal 6:1; Jas 5:19-20; Titus
3:9-11; 1 Cor 5:11; 2 Thess 3:13-15; 2 John 1:9-10; Rom 16:17-18)
ESCHATOLOGY—Christ will one day return to earth both literally and physically in order to judge the living and the dead. There will be a wrath for the unrepentant and eternal life for the faithful without sin, suffering, and sadness. The rapture, as commonly taught in dispensational and similar traditions, is not a biblical doctrine. Christ will return at any moment to judge the world and to set up His kingdom, and the end of this age as we know it will take place immediately. The saved of humanity will be with the Lord forever in a new heaven and earth, and they will be given glorified bodies which are not subject to disease and death. (Matt 25-25; 1 Thess 4:13-5:11; Heb 9:28; Rev 22:12)
ESCHATOLOGY—Christ will one day return to earth both literally and physically in order to judge the living and the dead. There will be a wrath for the unrepentant and eternal life for the faithful without sin, suffering, and sadness. The rapture, as commonly taught in dispensational and similar traditions, is not a biblical doctrine. Christ will return at any moment to judge the world and to set up His kingdom, and the end of this age as we know it will take place immediately. The saved of humanity will be with the Lord forever in a new heaven and earth, and they will be given glorified bodies which are not subject to disease and death. (Matt 25-25; 1 Thess 4:13-5:11; Heb 9:28; Rev 22:12)