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What We Believe
God
1. We believe in
one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally
existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign
power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for
Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
2. We believe
that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments,
through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of
God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete
revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by
which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged.
Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all
that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human
Condition
3. We believe
that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted
by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by
choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s
saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe
that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person
in two natures. Jesus-Israel’s promised Messiah-was conceived through
the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life,
was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended
into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High
Priest and Advocate.
The Work of
Christ
5. We believe
that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood
on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His
atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for
salvation.
The Holy
Spirit
6. We believe
that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus
Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and
in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in
the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and
empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe
that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s
grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy
Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church
is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only
of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the
Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though
they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in
genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
Christian
Living
8. We believe
that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying
power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others
sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another,
compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s
Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we
are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s
commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing
witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s
Return
9. We believe in
the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant
expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly
living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and
Eternal Destiny
10. We believe
that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning
to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe
that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the
unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the
believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven
and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
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