We believe the Bible to be the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. We believe the Scriptures to be "God-breathed" and therefore fully authoritative in and of themselves. The Scriptures, as they embody the very speaking of God, partake of His authority. We affirm the absolute infallibility, inerrancy, and sufficiency of Scripture.i

We believe in one true and eternal God, unchanging, unchangeable.ii We believe God is the Creator of all that exists in heaven and in earth.iii The God who is described in the Bible is unique; He is unlike anyone or anything else in all the universe.iv God has all power, all knowledge, all wisdom, and is due all glory, honor and praise.v All that comes to pass does so at the decree of God. All things will, in the end, result in the glory of God.vi

We believe the Bible teaches that there is but one being of God vii, yet there are three Persons who share this one being of God: the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.viii Each Person is fully and completely God, each is described in Scripture as possessing the attributes of God.ix The Father, Son, and Spirit have eternally existed in the relationship described by the term "Trinity."x

We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ,xi in His Virgin birth,xii in His sinless life,xiii in His miracles,xiv in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood,xv in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father,xvi and His personal return in power and glory.xvii

We believe that man was created in the image of God.xviii Man rebelled against His Creator, and fell into sin.xix As a result, man became spiritually dead, totally unwilling and indeed incapable of seeking after God.xx God, from eternity past, having foreordained all things, joined a certain people to Christ Jesus, so that He might redeem them from their sin and in so doing bring glory to Himself.xxi Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died in the place of this elect people, providing full and complete forgiveness of sins by His death upon the cross of Calvary.xxii No other work can provide for forgiveness of sins, and no addition can be made to the completed and finished work of Christ.xxiii

We believe that the salvation of man is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit by means of the Word of God when the repentant sinner -- enabled by the Holy Spirit -- responds in faith.xxiv This salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works. All the redeemed are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.xxv

We believe in the Spirit-filled life. As the supernatural and sovereign Agent in regeneration, the Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ, the church, at the moment of salvation.xxvi The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers them for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption.xxvii

We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved; the saved unto the resurrection of life and the unsaved unto the resurrection of damnation.xxviii

We believe that the purpose of the church is to glorify God by building its members up in the faith, by instruction of the word, by fellowship, by keeping the ordinances, and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world.xxix

i 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:21

ii Malachi 3:6; James 1:17

iii Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16; John 1:3

iv Isaiah 43:10-11

v 1 Timothy 1:17; Isaiah 40:13-14; Revelation 4:11

vi 1 Corinthians 1:27-31; Ephesians 1:5-6, 9, 11-12

vii Deuteronomy 6:4

viii 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 3:16-17

ix Ephesians 1:3; Hebrews 1:2-3; Acts 5:3-4

x Although not found in Scripture, the term Trinity is an accurate description of the Godhead. Historically

it has been used to defend the doctrines of God against those who would make Him to be a lesser being.

xi John 1:1

xii Luke 1:34-35; Matthew 1:23

xiii Hebrews 4:15

xiv Matthew 4:24

xv Colossians 1:19-22; Romans 5:8-9; Hebrews 9:22

xvi Acts 2:30-33

xvii Acts 1:11; Matthew 25:31; Revelation 19:11-16

xviii Genesis 1:26-27

xix Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12

xx Ephesians 2:1,5; Romans 3:11; John 6:44; Romans 8:8

xxi Ephesians 1:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 8:29-30; Romans 9:11-13

xxii John 10:11; John 17:9; Ephesians 5:25; Romans 5:8-9

xxiii Colossians 2:10

xxiv Ephesians 2:5, 8-9; John 6:37-40

xxv John 10:28-29; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24; Romans 8:31-39

xxvi 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9b

xxvii John 16:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 1 John 2:27

xxviii 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-14

xxix Acts 2:42; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-15

Adopted April 2001