Our staff

GOD

There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exod. 15:11; Isa. 45:11; Jer. 27:5). He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in every divine perfection (Exod. 15:11; Matt 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

The Holy Scriptures

The Scriptures are God’s inerrant and infallible revelation, complete in the Old and New Testaments. “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,” (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). Those men wrote not in words of human wisdom but in words taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:13) The Scriptures provide the basis for the believer’s faith and practice and reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Hebrews 4:12; John 12:48), and express the true basis of Christian fellowship (Gal. 1:8-9; 2 John 9-11).

Creation

The World—God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as revealed in the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1; Rev. 4:11; John 1:2-3; Colossians 1:16). 1.Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. (Gen 2:1-3)

Satan

Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44), and he with his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding the world to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4), tempting saints to do evil (Eph. 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 20:1-10).

Sin

Although man was created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26; 2:17), he fell because of sin and that image was corrupted (Rom. 5:12; James 3:9). In his unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life, is under the influence of the devil, and lacks any power to save himself (Eph. 2:1-3; John 1:13). This sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man Jesus Christ alone, being the exception (Rom. 3:23; 1 Peter 2:22). Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Rom. 3:10-19; Jer. 17:9). Although the curse of sin entered the world, “13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—" (Galatians 3:13)

Salvation

Salvation is the gracious work of God whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matthew 1:21; Eph. 2:8-9). In justification He declares righteous all who put their faith in Christ as Savior (Rom. 3:20-22), giving them freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification (Rom. 3:24-26).

Holiness

All believers are set apart unto God (Hebrews 10:12-14) at the time of their regeneration (1 Corinthians 6:11). They should grow in grace (2 Peter 1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to their lives (1 Peter 2:2), conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Rom. 12:1-2; 1 Thess. 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness of God (2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15-16).

Security

All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Rom. 8:35-39). They are born again (John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:1; 1 Peter 1:23), made new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17; 2 Peter 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 John 4:4), enabling their perseverance in good works (Eph. 2:10). A special providence watches over them (Rom. 8:28; 1 Corinthians 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Phil. 1:6; 2:12-13; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 13:5).

Church

A New Testament Church is a local congregation (Acts 16:5; 1 Corinthians 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41) who are united by covenant in belief of what God has revealed and in obedience to what He has commanded (Acts 2:41-42).

The Autonomy of the Church—She acknowledges Jesus as her only Head (Eph. 5:23; Colossians 1:18) and the Holy Bible as her only rule of faith and practice (Isa. 8:20; 2 Tim. 3:16-17), governing herself by democratic principles (Acts 6:1-6; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5) under the oversight of her pastors (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24).

The Perpetuity of the Church—Instituted by Jesus during His personal ministry on earth (Matthew 16:18; Mark 3:13-19; John 1:35-51), true churches have continued to the present and will continue until Jesus returns (Matthew 16:18; 28:20).

The Ordinances of the Church—Her two ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a confession of his faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19; Rom. 6:4) and is prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:41-42). The Lord’s Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of communion and the cup of blessing by the assembled church (Acts 20:7) as a remembrance to the crucified body and shed blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority of a New Testament church (Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Civil Authority

Human government was instituted by God to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. It is separate from the church, though both church and state exercise complementary ministries for the benefit of society (Matthew 22:21, Romans 13:1-7). Christians should submit to the authority of the government under which they live, obeying all laws which do not contradict the laws of God, respecting officers of government, paying taxes, rendering military service, and praying for the welfare of the nation and its leaders (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13, 17; 1 Tim. 2:1-2). 

Last Things

Return—Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (1 Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 22:20).

Resurrections—After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised bodily, each in his own order: the righteous dead in “the resurrection of life” and the wicked dead in “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

Judgments—Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer rewards or to consign to punishment (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15).

Eternal States—Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3), who, in their glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-58), will live in the presence of God forever (1 Thess. 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Rev. 21, 22). Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for the devil, his angels (Matthew 25:41), and the unredeemed (Rev. 20:10-15).