1. THE SCRIPTURES
We believe that the Bible was given by the inspiration of God—containing within it his written revelation. It is therefore the only certain, sufficient, and authoritative rule of saving knowledge, and the supreme authority and standard by which every practice, doctrine, and opinion ought to be tried.
Ps. 19:7–8; Isa. 40:7–8; Matt. 24:35; 2 Tim. 3:15–17; 2 Pet. 1:19–21.
2. THE TRINITY
We believe in one true eternal God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, eternally existing in three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who are equal and infinite in every divine perfection. Aside from this God, there is no other.
Deut. 6:4; 2 Sam. 23:2–3; Ps. 104:30; 139:7; Isa. 43:10–11; 45:5–7; Zech. 14:9; Mark 2:7–10; Luke 1:35; John 1:1–3; 8:58; 20:28; Acts 1:16; Rom. 3:29–30; 10:13; 1 Cor. 2:10; 8:6; Phil. 2:5–6; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8–12; 9:14; 10:15; 13:8; Rev. 22:13.
3. THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
We believe that, from eternity, the Triune God decrees all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, and governs all things and all events—yet not so as to be the author or approver of sin, nor so as to remove the responsibility of man and woman for their thoughts and actions. All that God decrees will certainly end in him being ascribed all glory.
Gen. 1:1; 50:20; Exod. 4:11; Deut. 32:39; Ps. 103:19; 115:3; 135:6; Prov. 16:4; 19:21; Isa. 14:24; 43:13; 46:10; Dan. 2:21; 4:35; Rom. 8:28–30; Acts 17:24–26; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3.
4. THE CREATION AND FALL OF HUMANITY
We believe that God created humanity, man and woman, in his image, originally free from sin and corruption. Through disobedience to God’s command, however, humanity fell from its state of innocence, and as a consequence, all human beings inherit a corrupt nature, being wholly opposed to God and his law, and are rightly under divine condemnation.
Gen. 1:26–27; 3:1–7; Rom. 5:12–19; 8:20; Eph. 2:1–3; Col. 2:13.
5. THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who is the divinely appointed Mediator between God and humanity. Being eternally and truly God, he took upon himself a true human nature, conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, being thenceforth truly man, yet without sin. He is thus a hypostatic union of divinity and humanity, truly God and truly man.
Matt. 1:18–25; 11:27–28; 28:20; Luke 1:26–38; John 1:1–18; 8:58; 10:30–33; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:5–11; Titus 2:13; Heb. 2:17; 4:15; 13:8; 2 Pet. 1:1; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 22:12–13.
6. THE WORK OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus lived in perfect obedience to the law of God, and yet, for the display of his glory, and for the salvation of sinners, he suffered and died on a cross as a substitutionary atonement. He was buried, and on the third day, he rose again, having defeated the power of death. Once his earthly ministry was completed, he ascended and sat down at the right hand of the Father, where he ever lives to make intercession for his people, and is rightly to be worshiped as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Isa. 53:1–12; Mark 10:45; Luke 9:22; 24:1–53; John 1:29; 3:9–21; Acts 2:22–36; Rom. 3:21–30; 5:1–11; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:10–14; Eph. 1:7–10; Phil. 2:9–11; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:13; 7:24–25; 8:1–2; 9:11–10:14; 12:2; 1 John 4:10; Rev. 5:9–14; 17:14; 19:16.
7. THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN OF GOD
We believe that, as a result of the fall into sin, humanity is spiritually dead, unable and unwilling to seek after God. In his sovereign grace, love, and mercy, however, the Father unconditionally chose before the foundation of the earth a certain people from this mass of sinners and gave them to the Son, that he might provide for them complete forgiveness for their sins by his atoning death on a cross. No other work is able to cleanse anyone from sin, and no addition can be made to the perfect and complete work of Christ.
Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Isa. 53:8–9; 64:6; Jer. 13:23; 17:9; Matt. 1:20–21; 11:27; Luke 18:7–8; John 3:16–21; 6:37, 44, 65; 10:11, 26; 11:52; 15:16; 17:2; Acts 13:48; Rom. 3:10–18; 5:6–8; 9:14–24; Eph. 1:3–5; 2:1–10; 5:25; Heb. 9:15–22; Rev. 5:9–10.
8. THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit, being truly God, effectually and irresistibly applies the saving work of Christ to God’s elect, indwelling them, and thereby raising them to spiritual life—bringing them to faith and repentance, and sealing them for eternal life. According to his own good and sovereign pleasure, he distributes various gifts to every believer for the purpose of building up the church.
Jer. 31:31–34; Ezek. 36:25–27; Mark 3:22–30; John 3:3–8; 14:16–17; 16:14; Acts 5:3–4; Rom. 8:14–17; 1 Cor. 2:11; 12:1–7; 2 Cor. 3:17–18; Eph. 1:13–14; 2:4–5; 4:7–12; Heb. 9:14; 10:15, 29.
9. THE JUSTIFICATION OF SINNERS
We believe that, upon faith in Jesus Christ, God justifies the believer, resulting in their full acquittal, solely on account of the obedience and righteousness of Christ. Those who are justified are also sanctified through the progressive supply of divine enablement, that the believer might press toward a life of faithful obedience to the commandments of Christ. Though the justified may fall into sin, whether through neglect or temptation, God’s justification of them is irrevocable, and therefore, they will never totally or finally fall away from grace, but will certainly persevere to the end, for Christ promised to preserve his own.
John 6:38–40; 10:28–29; Rom. 3:21–5:11; 6:19; 8:1, 29–39; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 2:15–4:31; 5:16–17, 22–23; Phil. 1:6, 11; 1 Thess. 5:22–23.
10. THE CHURCH
We believe that Jesus Christ established the church, the universal body of all who believe in him. According to his commandment, the church is manifested through local churches of believers under the lordship of Christ—the Head of the church—who has delegated needful authority to appointed overseers of local congregations. The local church is to gather together regularly for the worship of God, the reading of the Scriptures, the preaching of the gospel, the administering of the ordinances, the correction of faults, the building up of the body, and the practice of discipleship. In this way, the local church governs itself according to the word of God, rejecting all that is contrary to it, and reforming when found to be in error.
Matt. 16:17–18; 28:18–20; Acts 2:42; 20:28; Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:13, 27; Eph. 1:22–23; 2:19–22; 4:4–6, 15–16; Col. 1:18; 3:16; 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 10:24–25; 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9–10; 5:1–4; Rev. 5:9–10; 7:9–10.
11. THE ORDINANCE OF BAPTISM
We believe that baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ, obligatory upon every believer, wherein they are immersed in water in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a sign of their fellowship with the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, of their giving themselves up to God to live and walk in newness of life, and of their identification with the visible community of the people of God.
Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3–11; 1 Cor. 12:13; Col. 2:12.
12. THE ORDINANCE OF COMMUNION
We believe that communion, the Lord’s Supper, is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ, obligatory upon every believer, to be administered with physical elements, and to be observed and celebrated by the church on a regular basis until he returns. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but a proclamation of his atoning death on a cross, by which he ratified the new covenant, and a confirmation of the faith and fellowship of those who share in the benefits of Christ.
Matt. 26:26–29; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 10:16–17; 11:23–34.
13. THE LIBERTY OF CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE
We believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience, and that the Christian is thus free from bondage to any carnal doctrine or commandment which is not explicitly written or implicitly inferred from the Scriptures.
Matt. 15:7–9; Acts 5:29; Rom. 14:4–23; 1 Cor. 10:29; Gal. 2:4; Col. 2:20–23; Heb. 13:18; 1 Pet. 2:13–16; 1 John 2:27.
14. THE RETURN OF JESUS CHRIST
We believe that God has appointed a day on which Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return to the earth in glory to judge the living and the dead, and at this point, all who believe in him will be gathered into eternal life in the new heaven and the new earth, while all who remain in unbelief will enter into everlasting damnation. Jesus Christ, as revealed in the Scriptures, is the only way to eternal life, and apart from faith in him, it is impossible to flee from the wrath to come.
Matt. 24:30–31; 25:31–46; John 5:27–29; Acts 1:11; 17:31; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 1:7; 22:6–7, 12–17, 20.