Statement of Beliefs

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God. He is eternal, infinite, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, and almighty. He is a spiritual being, without body, and a simple being, without parts and not composed. God is the overflowing source of all good, the standard of good, and our greatest good. He is the creator, sustainer, and ruler of everything, and He alone deserves worship. He has life in and of himself and is the Lord of heaven and earth. God is perfectly wise, just, merciful, and loving, and he governs all things according to his sovereign will. God is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and is worthy of all possible honor, confidence, and love. In the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are eternally one in essence. The persons of God are equal in every divine perfection. The triune God accomplishes and applies the great work of redemption. ​

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Exodus 3:14–15; 20:3–4; Deuteronomy 4:35; 4:39; 6:4–5; 32:39; 1 Samuel 2:2; 1 Kings 8:23; Psalm

86:8–10; Isaiah 6:3; 44:6–8; 45:5–25; 46:9; Jeremiah 10:6–10; Micah 7:18; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 3:13–17; 28:18–20; John 4:24; 10:30; 14:6; 17:3; 17:11; 17:20–21; Acts 5:3–4; 17:24-25; 1 Corinthians 8:4–6; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 13:14; Galatians 3:20; Ephesians 1:3–14; 4:5–6; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Timothy 1:17; 2:5; James 1:17; 2:19; 1 John 5:20; Jude 25; Revelation 4:11

We believe that the Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, is divinely inspired and was written by men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit. God is its author, salvation is its purpose, and truth, without any mixture of error, is its content. The Bible is the only certain and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. Scripture’s teaching is clear, authoritative, and sufficient, declaring all that we need for life and godliness. New life comes not by the wisdom of man but only by the Word and Spirit of God. Scripture reveals the principles by which God will judge us and the way of salvation through Jesus Christ. Scripture is the true center of Christian fellowship and the supreme standard for evaluating all human conduct, creeds, and opinions.

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Psalm 119; Proverbs 30:5–6; Isaiah 40:8; Luke 24:25–47; John 5:39; Romans 2:12; Philippians 2:16;

1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15–17; Hebrews 1:1–2; 4:12–13; 2 Peter 1:19–21; 3:15–16; 1 John 4:1; Revelation 22:18–19

We believe that God created humanity in His own image, as the pinnacle of his creation. Mankind was created to display God’s glory and goodness as we worship Him and love our neighbor. Being made in God’s image, every person—regardless of age, sex, culture, ethnicity, developmental stage, mental capacity, or any other factor—has inherent and equal worth. God created humanity male and female, and he ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Differences between men and women reflect God’s good design and foster human flourishing. God’s design forcreation includes marriage, which is the lifelong covenant union of one man and one woman that pictures the union between Christ and His bride, the church. Marriage is the God-ordained context for sexual union and procreation. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God- given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband. A wife, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. Marriage is a temporary gift that points to the fuller joy of our eternal union with Christ.

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Genesis 1:26–30; 2:5, 7, 18–22, 24; 9:6; Exodus 21:16; Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Joshua 24:15; Psalm 1;

8:3–6; 127; 139:14; Matthew 19:4–6; 19:10–12; Mark 2:19–20; Mark 10:6–9; 12:25; 1 Corinthians

7:1–9, 25–35, 38–40; Colossians 1:16; Ephesians 5:21–33; 1 Timothy 1:10; Revelation 7:17; 19:7–9; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Isaiah 54:5; Revelation 21:9–10

We believe that though originally free from sin, humanity voluntarily rebelled against God and fell from their holy and happy state. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, every person has been born into a state of guilt and corruption called original sin. Sin is the rejection of God, the transgression of his law, and the worship of the creature rather than the Creator. As a result of original sin, we sin by nature and by choice, are incapable apart from saving grace to do otherwise, and lack therighteousness required by the law of God. Every person is therefore under a just sentence of eternal condemnation, without defense or excuse.

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Genesis 1:27; 31; 2:16–17; 3:1–24; 6:5, 12; 8:21; Psalm 51:5; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Isaiah 53:6; Ezekiel

18:19–20; Matthew 20:15; Acts 17:26–29; Romans 1:18–32; 2:1–16; 3:9–18; 5:12; Galatians 3:10, 22; Ephesians 2:1–3; Colossians 1:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

We believe that election is the eternal purpose of God, according to which He graciously called, justified, and glorified His people, solely because of His mercy in Christ and not because He foresaw anything in them. Election displays God’s sovereign goodness and his infinite freedom, wisdom, compassion, and unchangeable character. It is perfectly consistent with human free agency and includes all the means necessary to achieve God’s purpose. Indeed, it encourages the greatest possible exercise of human responsibility. Electing grace extinguishes boasting, cultivates humility, promotes love, fosters prayer, fuels evangelism, and solidifies trust in God to keep those who are His.

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Exodus 33:18–19; Deuteronomy 7:7–8; Jeremiah 31:3; Luke 10:22; John 1:12–13; 6:37–44; 10:16;

15:16; 17:6; Acts 2:22–23; 4:27–28; 13:48; 15:14; 16:14; 18:12; Romans 3:27; 4:16; 8:28–9:24; 9:11– 12; 11:5–6; 11:28–36; 1 Corinthians 1:26–31; 3:5–7; 9:22; 15:10; Galatians 1:15–16; Ephesians 1:1– 2:10; Philippians 1:6; 3:12; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4–10; 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:13– 14; 2 Timothy 1:8–9; 2:10; Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 6:11; 1 Peter 1:1–2; 2 Peter 1:10–11; 1 John 4:19; Revelation 13:8

The Lord Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. When the fullness of time came, God the Son became incarnate and united to himself a complete human nature, so that he is like us in every way except sin. In him, divine and human natures are united in one person, without confusion or change, without division or separation. Truly God and truly man, Christ is the only, perfect, and all-sufficient mediator between God and humanity. We believe that the salvation of sinners is only by the grace of God through the work of Jesus Christ, apart from any human work. Jesus is the promised Messiah and Savior of the world, our prophet, priest, and king. After living the perfect, obedient life that we all owe to God, Christ died on the cross as a substitute for his people, satisfying God’s justice and making a full atonement for our sins. He rose bodily from the dead on the third day, triumphing over death and the devil. He ascended into heaven, where he sits at the right hand of the Father as the enthroned Lord. Jesus Christ unites in his person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections and, as such, is qualified in every way to be a suitable, compassionate, and merciful Savior. There is no one in heaven or on earth who loves us more than Jesus Christ does.

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Isaiah 53:4–5; 55:1; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Matthew 4:17; 11:20–24, 28–30; Mark 1:15; Luke 19:10; John 1:1–14; 3:16–21; 5:40; 6:29; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:11–21

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, that is, born again. Regeneration is a change of heart, accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the gospel, who resurrects those dead in trespasses and sins. God’s Spirit enlightens sinners’ minds to understand God’s Word, and he renews their wills, so that they voluntarily trust in Christ for salvation. Regeneration is a work of God’s free and saving grace alone, and its evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life.

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Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:25–27; John 1:12–13; 3:3–7; Acts 10:44; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21;

Galatians 5:22–23; Ephesians 2:1–5; Colossians 2:13; Titus 3:5; James 1:17–18; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9–10; 4:7; 5:1–4, 18

We believe the gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s exclusive means of saving sinners and that the power of the gospel is sufficient to save even the greatest sinner, and that all persons everywhere are commanded to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance and faith are sacred duties and inseparable graces. They are wrought in our souls by the regenerating Spirit of God, who convinces us of our guilt, danger, and helplessness, and of the way of salvation by Christ. To repent is to turn away from sin and self-rule and to turn to God with genuine sorrow, confession, and a petition for mercy. To have faith is to receive the Lord Jesus Christ with heartfelt trust and rely on him alone as the only and all-sufficient Savior.

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Isaiah 55:1–7; Matthew 11:28–30; Mark 1:15; Luke 15:18–21; 24:46–47; John 1:12; 3:16; 6:37; 7:37;16:8; Acts 2:37–38; 3:19–23; 11:18; 16:30–31; 17:30; 20:21; Romans 2:4; 10:9–11, 17; 2 Corinthians 7:9–10; Ephesians 2:8–10; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 4:14; 6:1; 7:25

We believe that justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners wherein he removes our guilt, reconciles us to himself, and declares us righteous through Jesus Christ. God justifies the ungodly through faith alone in Christ alone, not through anything done by us. We are justified solely on account of Christ’s substitutionary death and victorious resurrection, and on the basis of his perfect righteousness, which is freely credited to us by God. Justification brings us into a relationship of peace and favor with God, delivers us from final judgment, grants assurance, and secures every other blessing needed for time and eternity. All those that are justified are made partakers of the grace of adoption.

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Psalm 103:12; Isaiah 53:11–12; Matthew 9:6; John 1:16; Acts 10:43; Romans 3:20–28; 4:1–5:21;

6:23; 8:30–34; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21; Galatians 2:15–17; 3:24; Philippians 3:7–9; Titus 3:5–7; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:12, 25

We believe that sanctification is God’s work of consecrating a believer unto holiness for his purposes; it is also a progressive work of conforming believers to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Sanctification begins at regeneration and continues throughout the duration of life in believing hearts and culminates in glorification, by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. While growth in holiness is a gift of grace, it requires believers to pursue holiness and fight sin through the ordinary means of grace such as reading and hearing God’s Word, prayer, self-examination, self-denial, and the mutual edification of Christian fellowship.

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John 17:17; Romans 6:5–6, 11–19; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 7:1; Galatians 2:20;

5:16–24; Ephesians 4:20–24; Philippians 3:13–14; Colossians 3:5–10; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Titus

2:11-14; 3:5; Hebrews 4:14; 10:24–25; 12:1, 14; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 John 3:9; Jude 20–21; Revelation 3:19

We believe that all genuine believers endure to the end, having been indwelled and sealed by the Holy Spirit. Their persevering trust and obedience to Christ, and attachment to his people, are the primary marks distinguishing them from superficial professors. Though true believers may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin—and thereby grieve the Spirit, impair their fellowship with Christ, bring reproach on his name, and incur his loving discipline—yet they shall again be renewed unto repentance and kept by the power of God, through faith, unto final salvation.

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Matthew 5:13; 24:13; John 6:38–40; 8:31; 10:27–29; 15:6; Romans 8:30; 11:22; 1 Corinthians 9:27;

10:12; 15:1; Ephesians 1:13– 14; 4:30; Philippians 1:6; Colossians 1:22–23; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 2:12; Hebrews 1:14; 3:12–14; 4:11; 6:12; 9:15; 1 Peter 1:4–5; 2 Peter 1:10; 1 John 2:19; 2 John 1:9; Jude 21, 24–25; Revelation 2–3; 14:12; 21:7

We believe that a local church is a congregation of baptized believers, bound together by mutual commitment in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. The local church regularly assembles together in Christ’s name to worship God, preach the gospel, and observe the ordinances of Christ. The local church submits to Christ’s commands and exercises the gifts given by the Holy Spirit for mutual edification. The local church is governed by the Word of God, which teaches that Jesus alone is its chief shepherd; that elders are qualified men given as under-shepherds to oversee the church as pastors; that deacons are to serve the church and promote its unity; and that the gathered congregation has the final responsibility to receive and dismiss members, appoint and remove pastors, and build up the church in love, maturity, and holiness. The church is commissioned by Christ to make disciples of all nations through sharing the gospel and teaching the Christian faith. Evangelical cooperation in evangelism and missions should be humble and voluntary. The spiritual fellowship of such cooperation bears witness to the unity of the church and the glory of God. The first day of the week is the Lord’s Day, which commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and points to the rest that the people of God experience and await. The Lord’s Day worship of God’s people should be conducted according to Scripture. Gathering on the Lord’s Day anticipates the heavenly and end-time assembly of the universal church, the people of God from all ages saved by grace through faith.