What We Believe
The Bible- We start with the Word of God, The Holy Bible, because we believe it is the source of God's revelation of Himself to mankind. It was written by men, but inspired by God. It explains the perfect character of God, the sinful nature of man, and God's plan for making people right from His perspective. The Scriptures are completely trustworthy and rich in God's truth. (Psalm 19:7-10; Luke 21:33; 24:46-47; John 5:39; Romans 15:4; II Timothy 3:16)
God- The one, true, living supernatural spirit who created all in the natural universe. He has the highest intelligence, power, and knowledge that is not limited by time nor space. The Bible describes Him as God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with different purposes and attributes, but the same being.
God the Father - He is the giver and sustainer of life in His creation. He is a loving, benevolent, gracious spiritual Father who instructs and disciplines His children. He sets the standard for right and wrong. He is Father to those who are spiritually regenerated through faith in Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; John 4:24; I Timothy 1:17)
God the Son, Jesus Christ- The eternal Son of God is Christ. The Book of Job says that he was with God at the creation of the world. He was sent to earth by the Father to take a human form. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin girl named Mary. As a man, His teachings pointed people to His Heavenly Father. The relationship between mankind and God was damaged when the first man and woman sinned against God. He is the only sinless man who ever lived, unworthy of death. He was killed on a cross, buried, and raised from the dead by the power of God. He died on our behalf, bridging the gap between man and God. Through faith in His sacrifice, we can have the hope of living forever with Him in Heaven when we die. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; 24:46; John 1:1-18; 19:17-18; 20:1-20; Romans 1:3-4; Philippians 2:5-11)
God the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit has been active throughout time. He inspired the writers of Scripture with the words of God. After Jesus' earthly ministry, He has empowered the Church and drawn people to the Father through Jesus. He graces believers with various abilities called gifts of the Spirit that help strengthen the Church. The Bible says that the Holy Spirit's presence in believers' lives will foster the "fruit" of the Spirit. (Genesis 1:2; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35; 11:13; John 4:24; 15:26; Acts 2:1-4; Romans 8:9-11; 26-27; I Corinthians 2:10-14)
Man - The Bible says that God created humankind in His own image, as beings designed to relate to God. The original man and woman abused the freedom God gave them through their disobedience. They damaged the relationship with God for all people by bringing sin into the world. In spite of their sin, God loved people enough that He provided a way for the broken relations to be mended through the sacrifice of His son, Jesus Christ. (Genesis 1:26-30, 2:7; 18-22; 3; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 3:23; 5:19; 6:6-7)
Salvation - Because of sin, mankind's eternal destiny was separation from God after we die. But through the death and resurrection of Jesus, who was without sin, God offers people the chance to be saved from a hopeless fate. Salvation is available to anyone who hears the Good News about Jesus Christ and believes that He truly was and is God's son who died and rose again on our behalf. God desires that all people recognize their sinfulness, turn from it, and trust Him to be saved. He promises that if we do so, it is like we are born again spiritually into God's everlasting family. (Matthew 1:21; 27:22-28; Luke 2; John 1:12-13; 29; 3:3-21; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23-25; 5:8-10)
The Church - The New Testament describes The Church as the Body of Christ. The Church is comprised of all the redeemed in Jesus Christ through the ages from all over the world. The Bible encourages the formation of local bodies of baptized believers as individual, autonomous churches, yet bound together under the headship of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the church is to honor God through worship, sharing the Gospel with those who don't know Jesus, and serving the needs of others in Jesus name. ( Matthew 16:15-19; Acts 16:5; I Corinthians 1:2; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 3:8-11; Colossians 1:12)
Baptism & The Lord's Supper - In Scripture, Jesus commands His followers to observe these two acts of obedience. The Baptist church practices baptism by immersing a new believer in water, symbolizing the Christian's death to sin, burial of the past life, and resurrection to walk as a new creation in Christ. Baptism is not necessary for salvation, but an outward sign of a spiritual change. The Lord's Supper, or communion, memorializes Jesus last supper with His disciples. The Bible records how He instructed the 12 original followers, and those thereafter, to partake of bread and the cup in memory of His broken body and shed blood on our behalf. (Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39)