Statement of Faith

1. Of the Scriptures

We believe the Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired men, and is preserved for us today in the King James Authorized Version of 1611. We believe the KJV Bible is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction: that God is its author, salvation is its end, and truth without any mixture of error is its subject matter. We believe the Scriptures reveal the principles by which God will judge mankind and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which a human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried.

II Timothy 3:16-17, Isaiah 8:20, I Thessalonians 5:21

2. Of the True God

We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God: the Maker and Supreme Ruler of Heaven and earth: that He is indescribably glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love: that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons — The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost — equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

John 4:24; Psalms 83:18; Exodus 15:11; Mark 12:30; John 10:30

3. Of Creation

We believe in the Genesis account of Creation and that it is to be accepted literally and not figuratively; that the world was made in six 24-hour days; that man was created directly in God’s own image and did not evolve from any lower form of life; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly and made subject to God’s law that they bring forth only “after their kind.”

Genesis 1; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 38:4-41; Psalms 104:24-30; John 1:1-3; Acts 14:15; 17:24-26; Romans 1:18-21; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; 11:3

4. Of the Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in holiness under the law of his Maker but by voluntary transgression fell from that holy, and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind are sinners, not by constraint but by choice, being by nature utterly void of that holiness condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse.

Genesis 1:27; 1:31; Genesis 3:6-24; Ezekiel 11:19-20; Romans 5:19; Romans 1:20

5. Of the Way of Salvation

We believe the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through the mediation of the Son of God who by the appointment of the Father freely took upon Himself our nature: that being conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, yet was without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience and through His death made a full atonement for our sins: that having risen from the dead He is now enthroned in Heaven uniting in His wonderful person, the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections. He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior.

Ephesians 2:8, John 3:16, Philippians 2:16-17, Hebrews 7:15, Colossians 2:9

6. Of Justification

We believe the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is justification. Justification includes the pardon of sin and the promise of eternal life in principles of righteousness: that it is bestowed not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s blood, by virtue of which faith the perfect righteousness of Christ is freely imputed to us by God: that justification brings us into a state of most blessed peace and favor with God and secures every other blessing needful for time and eternity.

John 1:16, Acts 13:39, Romans 5:9, Romans 4:1-5

7. Of the Freeness of Salvation

We believe the blessing of salvation is made free to all by the Gospel: that it is the immediate duty of all to accept salvation by penitent and obedient faith: and that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth except his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel, which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.

Isaiah 55:1, Romans 16:25-26, John 5:40, John 3:19

8. Of Grace in Regeneration

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated or born again: that regeneration consists in giving a holy disposition to the mind: that it is effected in a manner above our comprehension by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel: that its proper evidence appears in the Holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.

John 3:3, II Corinthians 5:17, John 3:8, Ephesians 5:9, Galatians 5:16-22, I Peter 1:22-25

9. Of Repentance and Faith

We believe that repentance and faith are sacred duties, and are also inseparable graces wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, whereby being deeply convinced of our guilt, danger, and helplessness and of Salvation by Christ we turn to God with unfeigned contrition, confession, and supplication for mercy: and at the same time we heartily receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Prophet, Priest, and King, and rely on Him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.

Mark 1:15, Acts 11:16, Ephesians 2:8, Acts 2:37-38, Romans 10:9-10

10. Of God’s Purpose of Grace

We believe election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners: that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, God’s purpose comprehends all the means in connection with the end: that grace is a most glorious display of God’s sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy, and unchangeable: that grace utterly excludes boasting and promotes humility, love, prayer, praise, trust in God, and active imitation of His free mercy: that it encourages the use of means in the highest degree: that it may be ascertained by its effects in all who truly believe the Gospel: that it is the foundation of Christian assurance: and that to ascertain it with regard to ourselves demands and deserves the upmost diligence.

II Timothy 1:8-9; Exodus 33:18-19; II Peter 1:10-11; II Thessalonians 2:13-14; II Timothy 2:10

11. Of Sanctification

We believe that sanctification is presented in three phases in Scripture, past, present, and future: that the believer has been sanctified in Christ; that he is being progressively sanctified through the working of the indwelling Spirit, and that he will be completely sanctified at resurrection; that there is no complete eradication of the old nature in progressive sanctification during this present life.

John 17:17; Romans 1:17; 6:1-18; I Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; Ephesians 4:15; 5:26-27; Philippians 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:3-7; Hebrews 10:10; I Peter 1:15-16

12. Of the Perseverance of Saints

We believe that all real believers, and only real believers, will endure unto the end: that their persevering attachment to Christ is the grand mark, which distinguishes them from superficial professors: that a special Providence watches over their welfare: and that they are kept by the power of God through faith until their salvation is completed.

John 3:31, I John 2:19, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:2

13. Of the Harmony of the Law and the Gospel

We believe the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government that it is holy, just, and good: that the inability of mankind to fulfill its precepts arises entirely from their love of sin: and that the one great end of the Gospel is to deliver them from this inability and to restore them, through a Mediator, to unfeigned obedience to the holy law and of the means of grace connected with the establishment of the visible church.

Romans 3:31; 7:12; 8:7-8; 8:2-4

14. The Local Church

We believe the scriptures teach that a local church is a congregation of immersed believers, associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel; observing the ordinance of Christ governed by his laws and exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by his Word; that it’s only scriptural officers are bishops or pastors and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the epistle of Timothy and Titus. We believe the true mission of the church is the faithful witnessing of Christ to all men as we have the opportunity, and the building up and edifying of the Saints. We hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations, and that the one and only Head is Christ through the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:41-42; 8:1; I Corinthians 4:17; Acts 2:47; I Corinthians 11:2; Matthew 28:20; John 14:15; 15:10; Acts 14:23; Acts 15:22; II Thessalonians 3:7; Romans 16:17-20; I Corinthians 11:23; Matthew 18:15-20; I Timothy 3; Titus 1

15. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that the Christian baptism is the immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, with authority of the local church, to show forth in solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Savior, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life; that it is a prerequisite to church membership.

We believe that the Lord’s supper is the commemoration, by the use of unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine, of the death of Christ until he comes again; to be preceded always by a solemn self-examination.

Acts 8:36-39; Matthew 3:6; John 3:23; Romans 6:4-5; Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; Colossians 2:12; Acts 2:41-42; I Corinthians 11:23-28

16. Of the Lord’s Day

We believe the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and is to be kept sacred to religious purpose by abstaining from all secular labor, except works of mercy and necessity: by the devout observance of all means of grace, both private and public: and by preparation for that rest which remaineth for all the people of God.

Acts 20:7, Psalms 118:24, Isaiah 58:13-14, Hebrews 10:24-25; 4:3-11

17. Of Civil Government

We believe civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society: and that magistrates are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored, and obeyed, except only in things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the Prince of the kings of the earth.

Romans 13:1-7, Matthew 22:21, Acts 5:29, Matthew 23:10

18. Of the Righteous and the Wicked

We believe there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked: that only such as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and sanctified by the Spirit of God are truly righteous in His esteem, while all such as continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked and under the curse: and that this distinction holds among men both in and after death.

Malachi 3:18, Romans 1:17, I John 5:19, Luke 16:25

19. Satan or the Devil

We believe the scriptures teach that the personality of Satan is the unholy god of this age and the author of all the powers of darkness and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the Lake of Fire.

Matthew 4:1-3; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10

20. The Return of Jesus Christ and the Resurrection

We believe in the bodily, personal, premillennial return of Jesus Christ to catch away his church and to judge the living nations and to set up his Kingdom on earth.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21

We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead; that believers who sleep in Jesus will be raised at the pretribulational coming of Christ for his church and caught up with transformed living Saints to meet the Lord in the air and that the wicked dead will be raised at the close of the millennial Kingdom and stand in their bodies at the Great White Throne Judgment to receive their final doom.

John 5:21-30; I Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 7:9-17; 20:11-15

21. The Independence and Autonomy of the Local Church

We believe each New Testament church is free to govern itself without ecclesiastical interference and should cooperate with other churches as the Holy Spirit leads: that it is responsible to follow the pattern of the New Testament church and is directly accountable to God. We also believe in the separation of the church and state, with each entity having its own definite and distinct sphere of responsibility.

22. Concerning the Modern Tongues Movement

We believe the tongues spoken of in the New Testament were primarily languages and are passed away and therefore no part of New Testament worship.

Acts 2:4-6; I Corinthians 13:8-10

23. Separation from All Forms of Apostasy and False Gospels

We believe that modernism, liberalism, social gospel and any other gospel other than the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ are not of God but are of Antichrist; and that we as believers should have no fellowship with such unfruitful works of darkness; that we are called upon to separate from all alliances, churches, groups, organizations and individuals that sanction such doctrines.

II Corinthians 6:14-18; II Peter 2:1-2; I John 2:22; Jude 4; II Thessalonians 3:6; II John 7-11; Ephesians 5:11; I Timothy 6:3-6; Revelation 18:4-5; Acts 19:8-10; Romans 16:17-18; Galatians 1:8-10; Philippians 3:17-19; Matthew 7:15-20

24. Separation from Worldliness

We believe that all believers should walk in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Savior and that separation from worldly pleasures and practices is commanded of God.

Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1; I John 2:15-17

25. Human Sexuality

We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of the marriage union. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sexuality. We believe that God disapproves and forbids the altering of the use of, or the gender of our bodies. We are his workmanship, for his purpose and pleasure we are created.

Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 7:2; Revelation 4:11; I Corinthians 6:9-10

26. Sanctity of Life

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies for any reason is acceptable. We believe that God disapproves euthanasia, as it is taking the life of a human being. God is the giver and the taker of life. Our bodies are given to us by God and are to be used to bring honor and glory to Him.

Exodus 20:13; Genesis 9:6; Ecclesiastes 7:17; Psalms 51:5; Psalms 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; Luke 1:44; Job 33:4; Revelation 4:11

27. Marriage

The act of uniting a man and woman for life; wedlock; the legal union of a man and woman for life. Marriage is a contract both civil and religious, by which the parties engage to live together in mutual affection and fidelity, till death shall separate them. (Mark 10:9-12)

Malachi explains that marriage is more than the sexual union; it is a covenant before God and man (Malachi 2:14), and it is this covenant that God blesses by making the two one (Malachi 2:15).

We believe that marriage is honorable in all (God recognizes and approves of the marriage of believers and unbelievers) (Hebrews 13:4) and that the marriage bond is in force until the death of either partner (Romans 7:1-3) and that this is the only condition upon which one may remarry (I Corinthians 7:39). All other remarriages constitute the sin of adultery.