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We believe all Scripture
was given by verbal, complete, and inerrant inspiration of
God, and God has promised
to preserve every jot and title of what He inspired. We hold to the Authorized Version (King James Version)
as the standard for English speaking people and believe we
find within it the certainty of the words of truth.
We
believe in one true God who is manifest in three eternal
Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
We believe the Lord Jesus
Christ is fully and literally God in human form. He was conceived of the Holy
Spirit, and in the womb of a virgin named Mary received a human body. We believe He was tempted
by Satan in all points like as we are, yet without sin. We believe He allowed Himself
to be crucified in order to pay the penalty deserved for all
our sin, He literally and bodily rose again
from the grave on the third day, and He now
sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven.
We
believe the Holy Spirit is fully God and the current earthly
manifestation of God through His indwelling of the believer
in the lord Jesus Christ, and He seals the believer and baptizes
(immerses) him into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation with the goal of teaching God's Word and conforming
the believer to the very image of Christ. We believe all spiritual blessings
are received at the time of salvation, and the
Spirit gives gifts to every believer as He (the Spirit) wills
so the believer might effectively communicate the love of
Christ.
We believe Satan is a
real, historical being,
a fallen cherub who was lifted up in pride and rebelled against
God, leading an army of angelic beings with him.
His defeat was sealed by the work of Christ on the cross. His final destiny is the lake of fire.
We
believe the Genesis account of creation is historical, not
allegorical or figurative. We believe Adam was an historical
person, created by the direct act of God and in His image. Adam chose to sin against God through the free
will God gave him and reaped the wages of death. As the originator
of the human race, Adam passed his sinful nature to all mankind. All men are sinners by birth and become sinners
in experience for which the wages are death.
We believe salvation is
by God's grace alone on the basis of the finished work of Jesus
Christ on the cross and in His resurrection, appropriate by faith of anyone who will personally
believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus
Christ is Lord. We believe the act
of salvation is just as definite and decisive as physical birth. We believe this salvation cannot be reversed
or lost and believers are kept by the power of God.
We
believe the local assembly of believers (church) is God's
instrument in this age. While
all genuine, born-again believers in Christ share an organic,
family relationship, the overwhelming number of references
of the word "church" in the Bible
apply to a local, visible assembly of believers. At the Second Coming of
Christ, all genuine believers from the time of Christ's ascension
will be united together as the Body of Christ. Until then, it is the responsibility of each
local church to continue in evangelism, discipleship, and missions
both independently and interdependently. We
believe each local assembly should be as self-governing, self-supporting,
and self-propagating as possible, practicing the ordinances of
baptism and the Lord's Table and operating under the leadership
of those who hold the office of pastor (also known as "bishop" or "elder")
and assisted by those who hold the office of deacon. We believe every member of the local church has the
responsibility to minister the Word of God and support the
ministry through prayer, holy living, tithes, and offerings.
We believe in the literal,
physical return of Jesus Christ to the earth in power and great
glory to judge the world and reign. We believe shortly before
Christ's Second Coming, all genuine believers will be raptured
out to meet the Lord in the air
followed by a seven year period of tribulation on earth during
which time God will judge His people Israel and all without
Christ. That period of tribulation
will be ended by Christ's personal return to rule for a thousand
years.
We believe all
men will spend eternity either with Christ or eternally separated
from Him. We believe the lost who die
wait in a literal Hell for the day of final judgment where
they will be assigned to the proper degree of punishment in
a literal lake of fire. We believe those who
have accepted Christ as Savior will experience a bodily resurrection
to everlasting life.
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