What we believe, cont.

Salvation We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received through God-given personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 3:12; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18-19).

Assurance of Believers We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ (John 6:27-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:5; Hebrews 10:26; 3:14; 10:38; I John 1:7). We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word (Romans 13:13; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).

Missions We believe that it is the obligation of believers to witness by life and word to Jesus Christ and to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all mankind.  The local church is to be engaged in the world-wide mission of God to save the world in all possible ways, including but not limited to the spiritual and financial support of persons called to missionary service.  (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:19-20). 

The Ministry and Spiritual Gifts We believe that God through the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the giving of spiritual gifts and that the church functions best when the saints in Christ exercise those gifts to the glory of God. (I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12:1-8)

The Eternal State of Souls We believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Phlippians 1:23; 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17). We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death, in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgement, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffering everlasting conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 1:6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15).

Creation  We believe that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and all that exists in all the galaxies of all the universes.  He did this by his sovereign will from nothing and therefore we reject all efforts to develop an explanation such as evolution or false notions of origins that would diminish the absolute creative power of the living God. (Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-5; Hebrews 11:1-3).  We further believe that this created order is kept in all its dimensions by the power of Jesus Christ, in whom all things hold together, for whom and by whom all things were made.  (Colossians 1:15-20).

Marriage  Marriage is ordained by God at the time of creation and therefore precedes all human definitions in primacy.  Marriage is intended to unite one man and one woman together for life to provide for mutual love and encouragement, to develop a family, to pass on the Christian faith and to demonstrate the nature of the union between Jesus Christ and his Church.  In the sight of God, there is equality between male and female that cannot be abridged by human convention.  (Genesis 2:19-25; Matthew 19:1-6; Ephesians 5:22-33).

Version May, 2015 prepared by Rev. Brian W. Secor.