Statement of Faith
We (still) believe that:
The scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God and are the only sufficient, certain, and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.
There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all. To Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.
God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God, from all eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as to not in any way be the author or approver of sin, nor to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.
Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life — not because of foreseen merit in them, but of His mercy in Christ — in consequence of which they are called, justified, and glorified.
God originally created man in His own image and free from sin; but, through the temptation of Satan, he transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original holiness and righteousness whereby his posterity inherit a nature wholly opposed to God and His law, are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become actual transgressors.
Jesus Christ, the only begotten, virgin born, Son of God, is the divinely appointed mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the law, suffered, and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, rose again on the third day, and ascended to His Father, at whose right hand He lives to make intercession for his people. He is the only Mediator, Prophet, Priest, and King of the church, and the sovereign of the universe.
Regeneration is the change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who quickens the dead in trespasses and sins, enlightening their minds spiritually to understand the word of God, and renewing their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.
Repentance is an evangelical grace, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made aware of the nature of his own sinfulness, humbles himself for it, with godly sorrow, with a purpose to endeavor to walk with God, so as to please Him in all things.
Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of what is revealed in His word concerning Christ; accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life. It is brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit, and is accompanied by all other saving graces, and leads too a life of holiness.
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners who believe in Christ. This acquittal covers all sin, past, present, and future, based on the satisfaction that Christ has made, and not based on anything done in them or by them.
Those who are regenerated are also sanctified concurrently. By God’s Word and the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, this sanctification is also progressive in the life of the believer. All aspects of sanctification as brought about only by the power of God, as the saints seek too live out a life in obedience to the commands of Christ.
Those whom God has accepted in Christ and sanctified by His Spirit will never totally or finally fall away from the state of salvation, but will certainly persevere to the end. Though they may fall, through neglect and temptation into sin, whereby they grieve the Holy Spirit, impair their graces and comforts bring reproach upon the church and temporal judgements upon themselves, they shall be chastened and disciplined by God unto repentance and kept in salvation by the power of God alone.
The Lord Jesus is the head of the church which is composed of all His true disciples, and in Him only is invested all power for its government. According to His commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into particular assemblies or churches, and to each of these churches He has given authority for administering the order, discipline, and worship which He has directed.
Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer. The mode of baptism is immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his/her fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of the remission of sins, and of his giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life.
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, to observed by his churches the the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of their communion with Him and their fellowship with each other.
The Lord’s Day is a Christian institution for regular observance and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private.
God alone is the Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commands of men, which are in any way contrary to His Word. Civil governments, being ordained by God, should be obeyed by all believers, except where the law forbids what God commands and commands that which God forbids.
At God’s appointed time, the bodies of the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised, in their respective order, for the judgement. On that day, those who have rejected Christ and are still in their sins will be judged and cast into the lake of fire. Those who have placed their faith in Christ will be judged according to their works in righteousness and will receive their reward in heaven.