Beliefs

There is only one God, who has always existed and will always exist in three persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The Father is the first person of the Trinity who has always been spirit, sovereignly ruling over everything.  Jesus is the second person of the Trinity and is the visible image of the invisible God.  Through him everything was created, and by his power everything continues to exist.  The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, living in every believer and making it possible for each believer to serve God.  (Is. 40:28; 57:15; Matt. 28:19; Col. 1:15-20; I Tim. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Deut. 6:4)

Jesus is fully God and fully human.  Jesus was miraculously born of a virgin.  He lived a perfect and sinless life.  Jesus’ death, then, was not payment for any sin he had committed, but it was the just punishment all people deserve for rebelling against God.  Our salvation was completely paid for by his sacrifice, a gift God makes available to each of us.  It is only by truly trusting and believing in Jesus as our Savior and Lord that any of us can be saved.  Following his death on the cross, Jesus was buried in a tomb, rose bodily from that tomb, and then ascended into heaven where he continues to be in the Father’s presence.  (Matt. 1:23; John 1:1; I Tim. 2:5; Is. 53:7-9; Rom. 5: 6-8; Col. 1:15-22; I Peter 1:21, 22; I Cor. 15:1-8; Mark 16:19; Heb. 10:1-18; Rom. 10:9)

The Bible is God’s message to us in written form. It was written by men under the influence and direction of the Holy Spirit. It is accurate and the final authority in all spiritual matters, including the Christian lifestyle and behavior, and all doctrinal issues. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:21)

Sin is any thought or action that falls short of God’s holy standards.  Before the creation of the world, Satan, an angel, rebelled against God.  He was subsequently condemned by God, and awaits his eternal punishment while being an evil influence on earth.  Sin first entered humanity through Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.  From that point on, every person has been born with a sin nature and continually chooses to sin in thought and action.  All sin is repugnant to God, whose justice requires that all who have sinned must spend eternity separated from him in hell unless they receive God’s gracious offer of salvation.  (Gen. 3:1-24; Ps. 14:1-3; Is. 14:12-15; Rom. 3:10-20, 23; 5:12, 13; Job 1:6-7)

All people who respond to the leading of the Holy Spirit, confess their sin and trust and believe in Jesus as their Savior and Lord will be saved from an eternity in hell, be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and spend eternity in the presence of God.  (Luke 1:26-31; John 3:1-21; John 16:8; Rom. 3:23-26, 10:5-13; Eph. 2:1-10; I Cor. 15:1-20; II Cor. 5:1; Luke 23:43; I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 3:5; I John 1:8-9)

Salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned by good behavior or religious rituals.  However, it is not enough to just verbalize belief.  A person who is devoted to Jesus will be renewed by the Holy Spirit and live in a way that is pleasing to God.  What a person does is evidence of what that person believes.  Every Christian will strive to obey the Bible’s instructions.  But, we all still sin, hurting our relationship with the holy God and other people.  God’s graciousness in forgiving us should not be used as an excuse to continue to sin, but we should lovingly help one another admit wrong behavior and continually seek to be reconciled to God and each other.  (Rom. 1:18-2:11, 12:1-2; Gal. 5:16-26; Eph. 4:17-5:21; Col. 3:1-17; Titus 3:5; I John 5:1-5)

One day Jesus will return to earth to gather both the living and the dead.  Those who have rejected God and his gracious offer of salvation will spend eternity in conscious torment, separated from God in a real place called hell.  Heaven is a real place where those who have been saved from hell will spend eternity in the presence of God. (Matt. 25:31-46; I Cor. 15:50-58; I Thess. 4:13-18; Phil. 3:20; II Peter 10-13

The universal church is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ.  The local church is a gathering of believers in a specific geographic area who organize themselves to worship God, learn more about him, care for one another, support each other’s efforts to tell people about God’s gracious gift of salvation and train up believers to be true disciples of Jesus.  Our church recognizes two ordinances, water baptism and communion (also referred to as The Lord’s Supper).  (Matt. 16:18; Acts 20:28; I Cor. 11:17-26; Eph. 5:23; Rev. 2:1, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14; Phil. 1:1; I Thess. 1:1; II Thess. 1:1; I Peter 3:18-22)