We believe that the Holy Scripture (the Bible) is a complete written record of God's revelation to mankind. We believe that the Bible consists of a total of 66 books (39 Old Testament, 27 New Testament) and is a divine product fashioned by the Holy Spirit, who superintended the human writers. We believe that the Bible is verbally (in every word) and plenarily (equally in all its parts) inspired by God; absolutely inerrant in the original documents. Thus, we believe the Bible to be infallible and God breathed. We believe the Bible to be all sufficient and complete, and that God is not giving any new or added revelation (through dreams, prophecy, visions, etc.). We believe in the literal, grammatical historical method of interpreting the Bible. This method takes the normal or plain meaning of a passage of Scripture, allowing for obvious figures of speech, and it considers each passage in its historical context and in the overall progress of God's revelation from Genesis through Revelation. We reject allegorizing or spiritualizing of Scripture, except where clearly indicated by the Scripture itself (for example Galatians 4:21-31 which personifies Law and Grace). We believe that the Bible is the only, final, and infallible authority for faith and practice in both public and private life (4).

We believe that there is but one living and true God, who is Spirit, self-existent, infinite, all knowing, sovereign and perfect in all His attributes (5). We believe that this one living and true God has revealed to us in His Word that He exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — and that each is one in essence, equally deserving of worship and obedience (6). God the Father We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity. We believe that in His providence He ordains and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace (7). We believe that He is the creator of all things and the omnipotent ruler of the universe (8). As creator, He is Father to all men, but He is the spiritual Father only to believers (9). We believe that God is neither the author nor approver of sin and holds all men accountable for their sin. We believe that God concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men and saves from sin all whom He draws to faith in Jesus Christ (10). God the Son We believe that God the Son is the eternal second person of the Trinity and possesses all the divine attributes – He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father (11). We believe that God the Father created all things through His Son, Jesus Christ (12). We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ was virgin born (13), and that He accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity while surrendering only certain prerogatives of deity, but nothing of the divine essence. Thus, Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness – the perfect God-Man (14). We believe that Jesus Christ came into the world to reveal God to man, to provide redemption, and rule over God's kingdom (15). We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood in His voluntary, sacrificial death as our substitute on the cross (16). We believe in the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and His ascension to the right hand of the Father, where He now mediates as our advocate and High Priest, the only mediator between God and man (17). We believe that He is the Head of the church, which is His Body (18), and that He will one day return to earth to judge all mankind, both the living and the dead (19). God the Holy Spirit We believe that God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is a divine person who possesses all the attributes of deity and personality (such as omnipresence, intellect, emotions, and will) – He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father and Son (20). We believe that the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher who guided the apostles and prophets, using their unique personalities and backgrounds, into all truth as they committed to writing God's revelation, the Bible (21). We believe that the work of the Holy Spirit in the church age began at Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ to initiate and complete the building of the Church, the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into that spiritual Body (22). His divine activity in this age includes glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ and convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (23). We believe that every believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation. We believe that, as the believer's Comforter, the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers, instructs them, and empowers them for service, steadily transforming them into Christ's image and sealing them unto the day of redemption (24). We believe that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in how He chooses to bestow His gifts to believers today, and that He does so with the purpose of edifying and maturing the saints as they serve one another (25). We believe that speaking in tongues and other miraculous sign gifts in the beginning days of the church were given to identify and authenticate the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers during the church age (26).

We believe that angels are personal spirit beings created to worship and serve God. We believe that He sends them as messengers of His divine providence and that they are higher than men but should never be worshipped (27). We believe that Satan is an angel who was perfect and held an exalted rank, but fell into sin because of his conceit and rebellion. We believe that after his fall he introduced sin into this world by tempting Adam and Eve. We believe that Satan is now the god of this world and the enemy of God and believers, but his defeat was sealed at Calvary and his doom will eventually be realized in God's perfect time (28). We believe that demons are angels who fell with Satan; although they are organized and powerful, they cannot indwell believers, and can be resisted with spiritual discipline and prayer. (29)

We believe that God created man as the culmination of His creation of the universe in six 24 hour days (30). We believe that God created mankind as male and female, in the image and likeness of Himself, but that man does not possess the essence of deity. In contrast to other creatures, however, mankind possesses moral agency and the capacity for communion with God, along with a divine mandate for wise stewardship over creation (31). We believe that God's design in creating the first couple in a state of innocence and moral purity is that marriage is to be between one man and one woman and that sexual relations are to be confined to the bonds of marriage (32). We believe that man is composed of a corruptible, material part that is temporary and an immaterial, spiritual part that will exist eternally (33). We believe that Adam's disobedience to the revealed will of God, by eating fruit from the only forbidden tree constituted the universal Fall of mankind and the introduction of sin and death into the world. We believe that a nature corrupted by Adam's sin has been transmitted to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the only exception. Thus, we believe that all men are sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration. We believe that as a result of the Fall, all men are without any capacity to merit the favor of God. Therefore, we believe that man's salvation is wholly of God's grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ (34).

We believe that salvation is the act of God whereby He rescues man from judgment and spiritual death and delivers him to eternal life. Salvation is based on God's grace alone, through faith in the sacrificial death and shed blood of Jesus Christ alone, to the glory of God alone, and not on any human merit or works (35). We believe that God, before the foundation of the world, graciously chose in Jesus Christ for salvation all those He foreknew (36). We believe that He graciously saves anyone who, by faith, repents of his sin and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ (37). We believe that at salvation God instantaneously imparts divine life to the new believer (a spiritual reality known as regeneration or the new birth) (38). We believe that God declares the new believer completely righteous (a spiritual reality known as justification) based on faith in Christ alone (39). We believe that God restores His favor to the repentant sinner, abolishes the penalty of sin (which is death), and imputes Christ's righteousness to the new believer (40). We believe that the gift of salvation, once received, is forever and cannot be lost (41), and that genuine believers persevere to the end, thus evidencing that they possess eternal life (42). We believe that at salvation God sets the new believer apart unto Himself and declares him holy (a spiritual reality known as sanctification) irrespective of his spiritual attainments (43). We believe that sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit that gradually transforms the believer's life, empowering him to become more and more like Jesus Christ — a continual process in which holiness and righteousness are increased and in which sinful attitudes and practices are decreased. Sanctification is characterized by the believer's refusal to conform to this world and by the renewal of his mind as he reads and obeys the revealed will of God (44). We believe that because sanctification is a lifelong process, the believer will continue to struggle with sin every day of his earthly life (45).

We believe that the church is a spiritual organism made up of all true born again believers in this present age and can refer to a local assembly of believers or to all believers worldwide (46). We believe that every person who believes in Christ as Savior is immediately placed (baptized) into the church, which represents Jesus Christ on earth as His Body (47). We believe that the purpose of the church is to exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, edify believers, and evangelize the world (48). We believe that Christ commanded the observance of two church ordinances: the baptism of believers by immersion in water and the Lord's Supper (49), neither of which is efficacious for salvation. Because the authority of the church rests solely in the authority of Jesus Christ, we believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control, with the right of self-government independent from any hierarchy of individuals or organizations (50). We believe that each local church is responsible for its own doctrinal purity and practice, unity (51), discipline of members (52), appointing of officers, ordaining men into the Gospel ministry, and determining the extent and method of interchurch cooperation (53). We believe that the congregation is to participate in the work of the ministry while in submission to the godly rule of its leaders (54).

Death, Resurrection, and Judgment
We believe that physical death is the separation of a person's immaterial soul and spirit from their material body (55), and when that separation occurs, even though the body is dead, there is no loss of immaterial consciousness, whether the person is a believer or an unbeliever (56). We believe in the bodily resurrection of all people, believers to eternal life and unbelievers to judgment and eternal punishment (57). We believe that the soul and spirit of the New Testament believer passes immediately into the presence of Christ and remains separated from his body until Christ returns, at which time the believer's body is resurrected a glorified body and reunited with his soul and spirit to be forever with the Lord (58). We believe that at death the soul and spirit of the unbeliever is kept in a state of conscious punishment and torment in hell until resurrected for judgment, at which time the unbeliever's resurrected body will be reunited with his soul and spirit and be punished forever, cut off from life with God, a just retribution for his sinful deeds (59).

The Rapture, Tribulation, Second Coming, and Eternity
We believe in the literal, personal and bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth in two events (60). We believe He will return to remove His church from the earth to meet Him in the air in an event called the rapture, at which time He will receive to Himself the resurrected bodies of all those who have "died in Christ" and will also translate (change from mortal into immortal) the bodies of all those who are "alive in Christ" (61). We believe that in the last days, during a period of time called the tribulation, God will pour out His righteous judgments on an unbelieving world that will bring death to most, but eternal life to many who will finally embrace the good news of the Gospel (62). We believe that Christ will physically return to the earth's surface (an event known as His second coming), at which time He will judge the living and the dead (63), and that He will reign over the entire earth for a literal 1,000-year period, known as the millennium, after which He will execute another, final judgment (64). We believe that the elements of this present heaven and earth will be dissolved and replaced with a new heaven and new earth where only righteousness dwells, and that the saints of all ages will dwell there and forever enjoy fellowship with God and one another, while unbelievers of all ages will suffer eternal punishment in the lake of fire (65).

5 Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7, 21-22; 1 Corinthians 8:4; John 4:24
6 Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2
7 Psalm 145:8-9; Isaiah 46:9-10; 1 Corinthians 8:6
8 Genesis 1; Isaiah 45:5-7; Romans 11:34-36; Ephesians 3:9
9 Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 4:6
10 John 1:12; Romans 8:14-15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9
11 John 10:30; 14:9
12 John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2
13 Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:23-25; Luke 1:26-35
14 Micah 5:2; John 5:23; 14:9-11; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 2:9
15 Psalm 2:7-9; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1, 14, 29; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 2:9-12; 7:25-26; 1 Peter 1:18-19
16 John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 5:8; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 2:24
17 Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 8:34; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1
18 Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:23; Colossians 1:18
19 Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:22-27; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Corinthians 5:10 v 20 Psalm 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:13-14; Matthew 28:19; John 16:13; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:30
21 2 Samuel 23:1-2; 2 Peter 1:20-21
22 John 14:16-17; 15:26; Acts 1:5; 1 Corinthians 12:13
23 John 16:7-15
24 John 16:13; Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6, 18; Ephesians 1:13; 2:22; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27
25 Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Peter 4:10-11
26 1 Corinthians 13:8-10; 14:21-22; Hebrews 2:1-4
27 Luke 1:26; Colossians 2:18; Hebrews 1:14, 2:7; Revelation 5:11-14
28 Ezekiel 28:12-19; John 12:31; 16:11; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:6-7; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 20:1-10
29 Ephesians 6:11-13; Jude 6; Revelation 12:3-4, 9
30 Genesis 1:24-2:1; Colossians 1:16
31 Genesis 2:7, 21-22; Job 32:8; Psalm 8:4-8
32 Genesis 2:18-25; Leviticus 18:22; Romans 1:26-28; Hebrews 13:4
33 Psalm 139:13-16; Ecclesiastes 12:7; Zechariah 12:1; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8
34 Genesis 3:1-24; 8:21; Psalm 14:1-3; 143:2; Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 13:23; 17:9; John 3:36; Romans 1:18; 3:9-18, 23; 5:10-12; Ephesians 4:17-19
35 John 1:12; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19
36 Romans 8:28-30; 1 Corinthians 1:26-29; Ephesians 1:4-5, 11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:1-2
37 John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19
38 John 3:5-8; 5:24; Titus 3:5
39 Romans 3:22-26; 4:23-25; 5:18-21; 8:33
40 Romans 5:12-14; 6:23; 8:16-17; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:26
41 John 6:37-40; 10:28-29; Romans 8:38-39; 1 Peter 1:5
42 Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 3:14; 1 John 5:13
43 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; Colossians 1:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:13
44 Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:23-24; 1 John 3:4-9
45 John 17:17, 19; Romans 6:13-7:1; 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:17; Colossians 3:8-13; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11
46 Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; Philemon 1:1-2
47 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 1:22-23
48 Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 3:20-21; Hebrews 10:24-25; Peter 2:9
49 Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; 11:23-25
50 Titus 1:5
51 Ephesians 4:1-6; Philippians 2:1-4; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 John 4:1; Jude 3
52 Matthew 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 5:4-5; 5:12-6:5; 2 Corinthians 2:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:6
53 Acts 6:3-5; 13:3; 15:1-30; 2 Timothy 2:2
54 Matthew 18:17; Acts 6:5; 1 Corinthians 5:4-7, 13; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; Hebrews 13:17
55 James 2:26
56 Luke 16:19-31; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 6:9-11
57 Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; 6:49-51; 11:25-26; Romans 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Revelation 20:13-15
58 Luke 23:43; John 5:28-29; 14:1-3; Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
59 Matthew 25:41-46; Luke 16:19-26; John 5:28-29; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:13-15
60 Matthew 24:27-31; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; Titus 2:13; Revelation 19:11-16
61 John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:15-5:10
62 Daniel 9:24-27; 12:1; Matthew 24:4-31; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12; Revelation 16
63 Daniel 12:2-3; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:4-6
64 John 5:26-29; Acts 17:30-31; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:11-15
65 John 17:3; Ephesians 5:5; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11-22:5