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STATEMENT OF FAITH:
We believe:
--There is
only one God, and that He is eternally existent in Three Persons:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
--God the Father is the Creator of the universe. He created man in
His own image for fellowship, and called man back to Himself through
Christ after the rebellion and fall of man.
--Jesus Christ is eternally God. He was together with the Father
and the Holy Spirit from the beginning, and through Him all things
were made. He left heaven and became incarnate by the Holy Spirit of
the Virgin Mary; henceforth, He is forever one Christ with two
natures, God and Man, in one Person.
--The Holy
Spirit is God, the Lord and giver of life, who was active in the Old
Testament, and given to the Church in fullness at Pentecost. He
empowers the saints for service and witness, cleanses man from the
old nature, and conforms us to the image of Christ.
--The
baptism in the Holy Spirit with evidence of speaking in tongues,
subsequent to conversion, releases the fullness of the Spirit and is
evidenced by the fruits and gifts of the Holy Spirit.
--In the
Bible containing the Old and New Testaments is alone the only
infallible, inspired Word of God, and that its authority is
ultimate, final, and eternal. It cannot be added to, subtracted
from, or superseded in any regard. The Bible is the source of all
doctrine, instruction, correction, and reproof. It contains all that
is needed for guidance in godliness and practical Christian conduct.
--Christ's
vicarious death on the cross paid the penalty for the sins of the
whole world. Its benefits of healing (body, soul, and spirit) are
provided for in the atonement as well.
--That
salvation is a free gift of God, based on the merits of the death of
His Son, and is appropriated by faith. Salvation is affected by
personal repentance, belief in the Lord Jesus (justification), and
personal acceptance of Him into one's life as Lord and Savior
(regeneration).
--The
Christian life is to be one of consecration, devotion, and
holiness. The shortcomings of the individual are because of the
still progressing sanctification of the saints. The Christian life
is filled with trials, tests, and warfare against a spiritual enemy.
For those abiding in Christ until their deaths or His return, the
promises of eternal blessing in the presence of God are assured.
-- The
Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God among the saints
through the Spirit. Every believer born of the Spirit has a place in
the church designated by God. A place where Christ is working in the
lives of the called out ones and calling ministers to the great
commission to go into all the world and make disciples of every
nation.
--In the
ordinances of Baptism & the Lord's Supper. Baptism, is the outward
sign of what God has already done in the individual's life, and is a
public testimony that the person now belongs to Christ. It is
identifying with the death and resurrection of Jesus and is done in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord's
Supper is a commemoration of the death of the Lord and is done in
remembrance of Him until He comes again; it is a sign of our
participation in Him.
--In the
bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
resurrection of the saints, the millennium, and the final judgment.
The final judgment will determine the eternal status of both the
saints and the unbelievers, determined by their relationship to
Jesus Christ. |