What we believe

We believe God, as King, expresses his will and exercises his authority through speaking, and that the word of God carries the very authority of God himself (Gen. 1:3; Ps. 33:6; Heb. 1:1-2).

We believe the Bible is the perfect word of God and what the Bible affirms is accurate and true (Num. 23:19; John 17:17; Titus 1:2; Ps. 19:7-11). God has directed men to write, arrange, and preserve the Bible as the Old and New Testaments (2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 3:15-16). Any revelation or message that is contradictory to Scripture should be rejected (Gal. 1:8; Rev. 22:18). Those who submit to God’s authority obey what it commands (John 15:14; James 1:25), hope in what it promises (Rom. 15:4; Heb. 6:13-20), and enjoy the communion/intimacy with God that it provides (Ps. 63:1-11; 119:103; Jer. 15:16).

We believe God created all that exists out of nothing (John 1:3; Col. 1:15-18). God didn’t create because he had a deficiency in his own being (Ps. 50:9-13; Acts 17:24-25). The created order was made inherently good (Gen. 1:31). Creation continues to reflect the excellencies of God (Ps. 19; Rom. 1:18-23) and calls for the declaration of God’s glory (Rev. 4:11).

We believe God created men and women to be the pinnacle of creation and the most direct representations of his own excellencies (Gen. 1:26-27). God bestowed upon men and women his own royal authority with the intention that they would rule Creation as his own representatives (Gen. 1:28-31; Ps. 8:6-7). For this reason, every person’s life is sacred and valuable, beginning in the womb (Gen. 9:5-6; Ps. 139:13-14; Luke 1:41, 44).

We believe every human is created equally in the image of God as male or female; the distinction of the sexes is sacred and physically manifested (Gen. 5:2; Mark 10:6; Matt. 19:4). Men and women reflect God’s character with their distinct roles in marriage and family (Gen. 1:27; 1 Cor. 11:11-12; Eph. 5:21-33). Marriage was created by God for companionship, sexual intimacy, and to reflect his relationship with the Church (Gen. 2:18; 1 Cor. 7:2-5; Eph. 5:31-33). Marriage is an exclusive life-long union of a man and a woman and is the only legitimate domain for sexual intimacy (Matt. 5:31-32; Heb. 14:4; Eph. 5:3).  Husbands are to sacrificially and lovingly lead, and wives are to respectfully submit as modeled by Christ’s relationship with the church.  (Eph. 5:23-33; Col. 3:18-19; 1 Pet. 3:5-7).

We believe Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God (Mark 1:1; Luke 4:41; John 1:34). As the second Person of the Trinity, he is fully God in every way (Col. 2:9; Phil. 2). He is eternally existent (John 8:58; 17:5), responsible for creation (John 1:3; Col. 1:16-20), exercises authority unique to God (Matt. 8:1-9:8), is one with God (John 10:30; 14:9), and is fully worthy of worship (Matt. 14:33; Phil. 2:9-11; Rev. 5:12-14). The Son of God was made flesh as Jesus of Nazareth and continues to be fully human for all eternity (John 1:14; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:14-18). He suffered (Isa. 53:5; 1 Pet. 2:24; Heb. 2:10), was tempted (Matt. 4:1-11; Heb. 2:18; 4:15), experienced emotions (Matt. 9:36; Mark 3:5; 14:33; John 11:33-35), experienced physical weakness (Matt. 8:23-24; John 4:6; Matt. 4:2), and was made susceptible to death (Luke 23:46; John 19:31-37). Neither the full divinity nor the full humanity of Jesus was compromised by his becoming flesh. (John 1:14; Col. 2:9; Heb. 2:17).

We believe God the Son came to rule as the long-promised Christ and King (Matt. 1:6-16; Matt. 16:13-20; Jer. 23:5) and ushered in the Kingdom of God (Mark 1:15; Luke 17:21). His coming was testified beforehand by the Old Testament (Isa. 52:13-53:12; John 5:39; Rom. 1:2-3). He is the new Adam by whom humankind is able to be reconciled to God (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22-26). He was born of the virgin Mary (Isa. 9:6-7; Matt. 1:22-25; Luke 1:26-35), lived a sinless and obedient life (John 14:31; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15), announced the Kingdom of God (Matt. 4:17; 16:28; Luke 4:14-21), and called men to follow him unconditionally as Lord (Luke 9:23-26; 57-62; 14:25-27). He was crucified and died, was physically resurrected on the third day (Matt. 27:57-28:10; 1 Cor. 15:3-4), and ascended to the right hand of God the Father where he intercedes for us (Luke 24:50-53; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). He will come again for final judgement and to establish his firm rule over all Creation (Matt. 24:29-51; Rev. 21).

Before God created the world, he chose* whom he would save from their own rebellion (Gen. 3:15; Eph. 1:4-5; 1 Pet. 1:10-21). Because of God’s perfect justice (Isa. 61:8) and holiness (Isa. 6), he will not turn a blind eye to sin (Ex. 34:5-9; Deut. 32:4; Ps. 9:7-8; Rom. 3:24-26). In order to enter the Kingdom of God, it is necessary for a person’s rebellion against God to be nullified (Is 53:5-6; Rom. 5:9-10; 1 John 4:9-10). 

God chose to send his son in order to make a way for humankind to have a reconciled relationship with God (John 3:16; Gal. 4:4-7; Eph. 2:1-10). We believe Jesus’ perfect life, sacrificial death, and resurrection provide payment for the sins of God’s people (Rom. 5). Jesus reconciled his enemies and brought them into his Kingdom (Col. 1; 1 Tim. 1:15). Jesus’ death delivered his people from sin and its consequences (John 5:24; Eph. 2:1-10; 2 Cor. 5:21). Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, God pronounces his people righteous in his sight as if they satisfied what God’s law requires of them (Rom. 8:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:16-21; Phil. 3:7-11). God is able to maintain his perfect justice while declaring his people righteous because Jesus’ righteousness is gifted to his people (Rom. 3:21-26; 5:12-21; 2 Cor. 5:21). Individuals are reconciled to God and adopted into his family when they respond to God’s call by confessing that Jesus is Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead (Rom. 10:9; Gal. 4:1-7; Eph. 1:5). The ability to accept Jesus’ lordship and depend on his resurrection for one’s salvation comes as a free gift from God (Eph. 2:1-10; Col. 2:13). God does not give this gift because he needs help, one’s innate value, or one’s work to secure salvation (Ps. 50:8-15; Rom. 5:6-8). The gift of salvation is given as a free gift apart from any works (Rom. 11:6; Eph. 2:8-9). Every person is offered complete forgiveness for every sin no matter how heinous, how numerous, or when the sin was committed (Rom. 6:9; Heb. 8:12; 1 John 1:9). Adoption into God’s family will always lead to turning away from one’s sins, trusting in Christ’s work alone for salvation, and producing a new life in keeping with that adoption (Ezek. 36:26-27; Eph. 4:17-32; James 2:14-26). Because salvation is an unmerited gift that transforms a sinner into a new creation, this gift could never be subsequently rejected (Rom. 6:5-10; 1 John 3:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:3-5). Therefore, it is impossible for one to lose this gifted salvation (John 10:27-29; Eph. 1:13-14).

Children of God are promised that one day they will no longer battle their old rebellious thoughts, desires, or habits. They will be perfected when they see Jesus face to face (Rom. 8:30; Phil. 3:20; 1 John 3:1-3). Until that time comes, children of God participate in the process of becoming perfect like Jesus (Rom. 6; Phil. 2:12-13; 1 Thess. 3:4-5). This process involves putting to death one’s old life, setting one’s mind on Jesus, and putting on the new life that Jesus has provided (Eph. 4:22-24;Col. 3:1-17). The old life must be rejected, and children of God must strive to walk in the Spirit (Rom. 6:19, 22; Gal. 5:24-26; 1 Thess. 1:9). Their new life is marked by a public confession that Jesus is Lord (Rom. 10:9), joyfully suffering for his sake (James 1:2-18), sacrificially loving others (1 John 4:7-21), a personal pursuit of holiness (Phil. 3:10-21; Heb. 12:14), prayerful dependence on God (Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17), and working to lead others to faith in Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20). Children of God continue to struggle with sin, but they practice a lifestyle of continual repentance (Ps. 51; Matt. 3:8; Gal. 5:16-26). The process of becoming righteous continues on through the life of believers.