What We Believe
The Scriptures
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, we accept as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine. (II Timothy 3:16; I Thessalonians 2:13; II Peter 1:21).
The Godhead
Our God is one, but manifested in three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, being co-equal. (Philippians 2:6).
God, the Father, is greater than all; the sender of the Word (logos) and the Begetter. (John 14:28; John 16:28; John 1:14).
The Son is the Word flesh-covered, the One Begotten, and has existed with the Father from the beginning. (John 1:1; John 1:18; John 1:14).
The Holy Spirit proceeds forth from both the Father and the Son and is eternal. (John 15:26).
Man, his fall and
redemption
Man is a created being made in the likeness and image of God, but through Adam’s transgression and fall, sin came into the world. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.” Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil and gave His life and shed His blood to redeem and restore man back to God. (Romans 5:14; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; I John 3:8).
Salvation is the gift of God to man, separated from works and the law, and is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God. (Ephesians 2:8).
Eternal Life and the New Birth
Man’s first step toward salvation is godly sorrow that worketh repentance. The New Birth is necessary to all men and when experienced, produces eternal life.(II Corinthians 7:10, I John 5:12, John 3:3-5).
Water Baptism
Baptism in water is by immersion, is a direct commandment of our Lord, and is for believers only. The ordinance is a symbol of the Christian’s identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39).
The following recommendation regarding the water baptismal formula is adopted to wit: “On the confession of your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and by His authority, I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit and fire is a gift from God as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to be all believers in this dispensation and is received subsequent to the New Birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in other tongues as the Holy Spirit, Himself, gives utterance. (Matthew 3:11; John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-39; Act 19:1-7; Acts 2:4)
Sanctification
The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the Doctrine of Sanctification as a definite, yet progressive work of grace, commencing at the time of regeneration and continuing until the consummation of salvation at Christ’s return. (Hebrews 12:14; I Thessalonians 5:23; II Peter 3:18; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12-14; I Corinthians 1:30).
Divine Healing
Healing is for the physical ills of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith and by the laying on of hands. It is provided for in the atonement of Christ, and is the privilege of every member of the Church today. (Mark 16:18; James 5:14-25; I Peter 2:24; Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:4-5).
Resurrection Of The Just And Return Of Our Lord
The angels said to Jesus’ disciples. “This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven.” His coming is imminent. When He comes”….the dead in Christ shall rise first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air….”(Acts 1:11; I Thessalonians 4:16-17).
Hell And Eternal Retribution
The one who physically dies in his sins without accepting Christ is hopelessly and eternally lost in the Lake of Fire and therefore, has no further opportunity of hearing the Gospel or repenting. The Lake of Fire is literal. The terms “eternal” and “everlasting” used in describing the duration of the punishment of the punishment of the damned in the Lake of Fire, carry the same thought and meaning of endless existence as used in denoting the duration of joy and ecstasy of saints in the presence of God, (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 19:20).
Marriage
The Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman. In Genesis 2:22-24 The Bible defines marriage as a Covenant. God sketched his original plan for marriage when one man (Adam) and one woman (Eve) were united together to become one flesh.
“Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:22-24).
Jesus said in Matthew 19:4-6 “And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
