C50 BELIEFS:
Our beliefs are rooted exclusively in Scripture. In fact, we have nothing to say if it does not come from the Word of God. We believe that the Bible is complete, authoritative, and true for everyone at every time in the past, present, and future.
The Bible
We believe that "all Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21), and that every word of the Scriptures (verbal inspiration) in its entirety (plenary inspiration) is without error (inerrant) in the original manuscripts. We believe that the Bible is the divinely authoritative Word of God (John 17:17) and the standard for every age and for every life (Matthew 5:17-18; Psalm 119:105; Hebrews 4:12).
Man
We believe that man is directly created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), but that by Adam’s disobedience all men are born into sin (Romans 3:23, 5:12-19) and therefore liable to eternal punishment (John 3:14-18; Ephesians 2:3; 1 John 5:11-13).
God
We believe in one God (Deuteronomy 6:4 ; Mark 12:29), who is Creator (Genesis 1; Ps 24:1-2) and Sustainer of all things (Nehemiah 9:6; Acts 17:28; Job 34:14-15), existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Mark 12:29; John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; Hebrews 1:1-3), and is loving (Psalm 89:14; Psalm 145:17; Exodus 34:6-7; 1 John 4:7-9) and just (Deuteronomy 32:4; Isaiah 58:6-10; Romans 3:24-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-7) in all his relations.
Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God (John 8:58; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16-17), and became man (John 1:14, Philippians 2:5-8) without ceasing to be God (John 8:58; Colossians 2:9). He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18-25) in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 10:1-10). We believe that He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a perfect substitutionary sacrifice (John 1:29, 3:16-17; Romans 3:23; Hebrews 9:12-14, 26-28), making salvation available to all men (John 3:16). We believe our redemption and salvation (1 Timothy 2:5-6, John 14:6) are guaranteed by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Peter 3:18-21). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 8:1; 1 Peter 3:22), where as High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy for His people (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24).
Holy Spirit
We believe that God the Holy Spirit unites every believer to Christ (1 Cor. 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:18-22, 4:4-5) at the moment of salvation (John 3:5,6; Titus 3:5-7), and that he permanently indwells every believer (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9-17). The Holy Spirit came to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14); to empower victorious, fruitful Christian living (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 5:18); to instruct the believer in godly living (John 16:12-15; 2 Peter 1:3); and to equip the believer for witness (Acts 1:8) and service (Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 12)
Salvation
We believe that salvation is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9), and that it is received by man through personal faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12) and His sacrifice for sin (1 Peter 2:24, Romans 3:23-26). We believe that man is justified by grace through faith apart from works (Ephesians 2:8-9). We believe that a true believer (John 3:16, 2 Corinthians 5:17) is eternally secure (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13; 1 John 5:11-13); he cannot lose his salvation, but that sin may interrupt the joy of fellowship with God (Psalm 66:18, 1 Corinthians 11:30) and bring the loving discipline (Hebrews 12:4-6, Proverbs 3:11-12) of his heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:7-11).
The Church
We believe the church is composed of all true believers (Galatians 3:6-9), and that the Lord Jesus is the only Head of His church (Matthew 16:16-19, Ephesians 1:20-23, 5:22-24). We believe the local church is an assembly of believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purpose of worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances of believers’ baptism (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-4), the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-26), prayer (Matthew 6:9-15), and fellowship (Acts 2:42-47), and to be equipped for Christian service and witness (Ephesians 2:10, 4:12). The local church is under the direct authority of Jesus Christ through His Word.
The Christian Life
We believe that believers live in the world under the mandate of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; John 17:18; Acts 1:8) which calls us to bear witness to the Lord Jesus Christ and make disciples locally and in the entire world. The believer is called to a life of discipleship in which we grow in Christ through the Word (Colossians 3:17), faith (Colossians 2:6-7), the continuing work of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 5:18), fellowship (Hebrews 10:25), and the employment of our gifts in serving Christ (Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 12:27).