THE BIBLE
The sole basis of
our belief is the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and
New Testaments. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated
with God, and that it was given through the instrumentality of chosen
people. Scripture thus at one and the same time speaks with the
authority of God, and reflects the backgrounds, styles and vocabularies
of the human authors. We hold the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant
in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full and final
authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other
writings similarly inspired by God.
GOD
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in
three persons, - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -each of whom possesses
equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of
personality. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and
all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom
and goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to sustain His
creation.
GOD THE FATHER
We
believe that in reference to the relationship with each other the
members of the Godhead are the same in substance, equal in power and
glory. We believe God the Father gives oversight to the ministries of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He has laid down a plan for
the ages and is working all things together to fulfill that plan.
GOD THE SON
We believe the Lord Jesus
Christ is God the Son. We believe in His complete deity and humanity,
His virgin conception, His sinless life, His death on the cross for the
sins of the world, and His bodily resurrection from the dead. He
actively intercedes on behalf of the church and is preparing for His
personal return to earth.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that God the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin. He
gives spiritual life, baptizes, indwells, seals and sets apart for holy
use everyone at the moment they become a child of God. He bestows
spiritual gifts upon believers, and empowers them for daily living.
SATAN
We believe Satan is a created spirit
being, the originator of sin, who revolted against God and now works in
opposition to the people and purposes of God.
PEOPLE
We believe the first couple, Adam and Eve, were
divinely created in the image of God. Originally innocent, pure and in
fellowship with God they fell from that position through the sin of
disobedience. Their sin has left all people separated from God,
condemned to physical and spiritual death and helpless to restore the
original state.
SALVATION
The
central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people
into fellowship with Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with
God, humans defied God, choosing to go their independent way, and were
thus alienated from God and suffered the corruption of their nature,
rendering them unable to please God. The fall took place at the
beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered
these consequences and are therefore in need of the saving grace of God.
The salvation of humankind is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace,
not the result, in whole or in part of human works or goodness, and must
be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. When God has begun a
saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His Word
that He will continue performing it until the day of its full
consummation.
THE CHURCH
The
corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become
members of His body, the church. There is one true church universal,
comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Therefore, the church is people. Scripture commands believers to gather
together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word,
observance of baptism and communion, fellowship, service to the body
through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to
the world. Whenever and wherever God’s people meet in order to fulfill
any or all of these practices, there is the local expression of the
church. Under the supervision of supportive leadership, its members are
to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose
of glorifying Christ.
THE FUTURE
We believe in the visible and bodily return of the Lord Jesus
Christ to earth. Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. Those
who are children of God will receive a resurrected body and live in the
full enjoyment of God’s presence forever. Those who are outside the
family of God will be resurrected to spend eternity in everlasting
punishment.
MARRIAGE, SINGLENESS, FAMILY, AND
HUMAN SEXUALITY
As human beings, men and women, we are
created in the image of God. God saw that His creation of humankind
was very good. As a result, we have intrinsic worth and are found to
be equally valued by God. We believe individual human lives are to
be valued from conception, because God loves each one at every stage
of life and desires that each one will come to know and love Him. We
recognize that God has created human beings for relationship with
Him and with each other. God’s intention is for people to be blessed
through families: both the family of faith and the family into which
God has placed us. God created the family to be the cornerstone of
social order and the building block of human community. The home is
a divinely established institution, and marriage is part of God’s
design in establishing the family.
We believe that the term
“marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by
God which joins one (biologically born) man and one (biologically
born) woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in
Scripture. The terms ‘man’ and ‘woman’ used subsequently in this
statement shall be deemed to mean a biologically born man (male) and
a biologically born woman (female). We believe marriage is a
lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. This heterosexual
union is the only appropriate relationship within which the joy of
sexual intimacy is to be expressed. We affirm such marriage as God’s
design for a lifelong loving relationship, sexual intimacy, and the
birth and nurture of children. Like God’s complimentary creation of
man and woman, marriage holds great significance in revealing
aspects of God’s character and His relationship to humanity. The
permanence and monogamy of the marital bond mirrors God’s
faithfulness and singular devotion to His church and His church’s
singular devotion to Him.
Marriage symbolizes and supports the
inherently procreative relationship that exists only between a man
and a woman. It is also the relationship that forms the foundation
of family and community life.
The family is to provide
physical, emotional, and spiritual care for its members as it
enables them to serve God, other persons, and creation. Parents have
the privilege and unique responsibility of leading their children to
know God and His ways as well as the world around them.
As
Christians, our understanding of the structure and nature of
marriage is founded on the biblical account of the creation of man
and woman. Genesis 1 and 2 state that God created man and woman to
fulfill their need of intimate partnership and to carry out the
mandate given by God in Gen. 1:28; "Be fruitful and increase in
number; fill the earth and subdue it". Jesus reiterated this
understanding when he said, ‘Have you not read that the one 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 they are no longer
two but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one
separate." (Matt. 19:4-5).
We believe marriage is rooted in
the way we are made. Marriage is founded upon the biological reality
that we humans exist in two sexes. It expresses the complementarity
of the sexes, and therefore requires both sexes. Marriage was
established for the purposes of companionship and sexual fidelity
between husband and wife. Marriage is the social, cultural, and
religious context for the conjugal relationship, which is exclusive
to male and female. Properly understood, marriage is covenantal, not
merely contractual. Marriage has the unique power to promote the
exclusive and permanent sexual, psychological, and emotional bonding
of a man and a woman. That is why marriage is called a covenant, not
merely a contract that can be formed and broken with the casualness
of a business transaction.
We believe that term “marriage”
has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which
joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as
delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy
to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each
other. Since we believe the Bible defines marriage as being a
covenant union of one man and one woman, we recognize only
heterosexual unions as marriages. Therefore, our ministers are
forbidden to perform ceremonies or make any public comment or action
that would give any indication to the contrary. In teaching and
upholding God’s design of marriage as found in the Scriptures, we
will also seek to minister to those who suffer the consequences of
its brokenness. We affirm that we are called to minister to all who
fall short of God’s standards with love and compassion.
