Doctrine

Statement of Faith

"In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity."
-- Rupertus Meldenius, 1627AD

In essentials, we have Unity

"We are all one body, we have the same Spirit, and we have been called to the same glorious future. There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all." Ephesians 4:4-6

In non-essentials, we have Liberty

"Accept him who is weak in the faith, without passing judgment on disputable matters... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls... so then, each one of us will give an account of himself to God... so, whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God." Romans 14:1,4,12,22

In all things, we have Charity

"If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but did not love others, what good would I be" I Corinthians 13:2

Our Beliefs

  1. We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their original writing as fully inspired of God and accept them as the supreme and final authority for our faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16-17) (II Peter 1:20-21)
  2. We believe in one living and true God, the Creator and Lord of the heavens and the earth, eternally existing in three Persons of one substance - the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26) (Matthew 28:19-20) (Colossians 2:9)
  3. We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God while at the same time being the begotten Son of the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ is the Mediator between God and man, and there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Jesus lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father, was crucified on the cross for our sin, was buried and rose again on the third day and is now in heaven seated at the right hand of the Father. (Matthew 1:20-23) (John 3:16) (I Peter 2:24) (Romans 8:34)
  4. We believe in the personal return of Jesus Christ for His church at which time He will inaugurate the fulfillment of His kingdom. (Acts 1:10-11) (I Thessalonians 4:16-17) (Revelation 20:4-6)
  5. We believe that God created man in His own image, that man sinned and thereby incurred the penalty of sin which is death -- physical and spiritual; that all human beings inherit a sinful nature and suffer the consequences thereof. We become righteous before God through the grace of Jesus Christ by faith in Him alone, and not by our own works or deserving. (Genesis 1:26-27) (Romans 5:12-14) (Romans 6:23) (Ephesians 2:8-10)
  6. We believe in the Holy Spirit as God and the third Person of the trinity. The Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to regenerate fallen man, sanctifying him in his spiritual walk and empowering him with gifts for Christian ministry and service with accompanying supernatural gifts of the Spirit. (John 14:12) (Acts 2) (Acts 4:31) (I Corinthians 12:4-11)
  7. We believe in a theologically balanced approach to the gifts of the Spirit and the supernatural. While we do believe in the gift of tongues for today, we do not believe that everyone should speak in tongues, or that tongues are the singular sign of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, or that we should seek the gift of tongues or any other spiritual gift. The Bible clearly tells us that the "one and same Spirit works all things, distributing to each one individually as He wills." Behind every spiritual gift is God"s purpose for each individual believer to equip, edify, and encourage the body of Christ. We believe that spiritual gifts must be exercised within Biblical guidelines, and that we as believers are to covet the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love. We believe that the fruit of the Spirit is more important than spectacular gifts, and without the fruit of the Spirit our gifts are an experience without a foundation. (I Corinthians 12) (I Corinthians 13:1-3) (I Corinthians 14:4-6) (Acts 2:11) (Acts 4:31,33) (Acts 8:6-8) (Acts 10:38) (Romans 12:6)
  8. We believe in a living and personal devil, whose chief aim is to exalt himself above God and bring down everything wholesome and good which God has created. The only power that Satan has is that temporarily allotted to Him by God the Father. We believe in the kingdom of God that now is and is yet to come. In the kingdom of God that now is, there is a dual reign between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light during which time the earth and its inhabitants live under the curse of original sin. In the kingdom of God to come -- Satan, his demons, and those who have rejected Christ will be banished to eternity in hell. Jesus will be the sole ruler upon the earth, the curse will be lifted, and the earth and its inhabitants will be restored to their original blessing. (Genesis 3:1-15) (Isaiah 14:12-15) (Luke 4:3-13) (II Corinthians 11:14) (Ephesians 6:12)
  9. We do not believe it is possible for the Spirit of the believer to be demon-possessed. For Satan to take possession of what God already possesses would mean that Satan is greater than God. While the Bible teaches that Satan can take over a house, we understand that the "house" is fleshly and is not the Spirit, but the place in which the Spirit dwells. When Satan takes over the house, the believer comes under demonic oppression which hinders his walk with Christ, influences his mind, and dictates his choices. (I Thessalonians 4:13-16) (Revelation 20:11-15)
  10. We believe that the one true church is the whole company of those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and regenerated by the Holy Spirit; that the local church on earth should take its character from its Head - Jesus Christ, and be obedient to Him as His body. The church is intended to be a worshipping community of believers, observing the ordinances of Christ, exercising the gifts, privileges, and discipline invested in the church by God's Word and the Holy Spirit, and seeking to extend the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. (Matthew 16:18) (Matthew 28:19-20) (Acts 2:47) (I Corinthians 1:2) (Ephesians 5:23-24)
  11. We believe in the Biblical teaching "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." We do not believe, however, that sanctification is an instant, one-time event. Rather, it is a progressive work of grace beginning at the new birth and culminating at the consummation of salvation when we meet Jesus – in physical death or at the time of His return. (Romans 12:1-2) (Ephesians 5:26) (Philippians 2:12) (Jude 20-21)