1. The Scriptures
We believe that "All Scripture is given by God," by which we understand that the books which form the canon of the Old and New Testaments as originally given are plenarily inspired and free from all error in the whole and in the part. These books constitute the written Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
2nd Timothy 3:15-17
Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right. Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be capable, having all that is needed to do every good work.
1st Thessalonians 2:13
Also, we always thank God because when you heard his message from us, you accepted it as the word of God, not the words of humans. And it really is God's message which works in you who believe.
2nd Peter 1:21
No prophecy ever came from what a person wanted to say, but people led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.
2. The Godhead
We believe the one true God has revealed himself as the eternally self-existent "I AM," the Creator of heaven and earth and the Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed himself as embodying the principles of relationship and association as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as Triune God.
Deuteronomy 6:4
Listen, people of Israel! The LORD our God is the only LORD.
Isaiah 43:10-11
The LORD says, "You are my witnesses and the servant I chose. I chose you so you would know and believe me, so you would understand that I am the true God. There was no God before me, and there will be no God after me. I myself am the LORD; I am the only Savior.
Matthew 28:19
So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:22
and the Holy Spirit came down on him in the form of a dove. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."
3. The Fall of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and after the likeness of God, that he fell by a voluntary revolt, and as a consequence lost his spiritual life and became subject to the power of Satan. We also believe that his condition of spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race, Christ Jesus alone being excepted; and hence that every child of Adam is born into the world with a nature that is inherently corrupt, and which cannot be spiritually changed by mere information apart from divine grace.
Genesis 1:26-27
Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the tame animals, over all the earth, and over all the small crawling animals on the earth." So God created human beings in his image. In the image of God he created them. He created them male and female.
Genesis 2:17
"but you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!"
Genesis 3:6
The woman saw that the tree was beautiful, that its fruit was good to eat, and that it would make her wise. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of the fruit to her husband, and he ate it.
Romans 5:12-19
Sin was in the world before the law of Moses, but sin is not counted against us as breaking a command when there is no law. But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die, even those who had not sinned by breaking a command, as Adam had. Adam was like the One who was coming in the future. But God's free gift is not like Adam's sin.
Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace from God was much greater; many people received God's gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. God's free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with God. One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now those people who accept God's full grace and the great gift of being made right with him will surely have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.
So as one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people, one good act that Christ did makes all people right with God. And that brings true life for all. One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. In the same way, one man obeyed God, and many will be made right.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, born of a virgin, that He performed miracles, that He lived a sinless life, that He redeemed us by His death and resurrection, that He descended into hell, that He ascended to the right hand of the Father, and that He will personally return in power and glory.
Matthew 1:21-23
She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. "All this happened to bring about what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be pregnant. She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel, "which means "God is with us."
Hebrews 7:26
Jesus is the kind of high priest we need. He is holy, sinless, pure, not influenced by sinners, and he is raised above the heavens.
Acts 2:22
"People of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus from Nazareth was a very special man. God clearly showed this to you by the miracles, wonders, and signs he did through Jesus. You all know this, because it happened right here among you.
1st Corinthians 15:3
I passed on to you what I received, of which this was most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say;
Matthew 28:6
He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would. Come and see the place where his body was.
Ephesians 4:9-10
When it says, "He went up," what does it mean? It means that he first came down to the earth. So Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up above all the sky. Christ did that to fill everything with his presence.
1st Thessalonians 4:16
The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first.
5. The Salvation of Man
We believe that, owing to universal spiritual death through sin, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless born again. We also believe that our redemption has been accomplished soley by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died as our substitute, and that the new birth comes only through faith in Christ, and that repentance is a vital part of believing.
Luke 24:47
. . . and that a change of hearts and lives and forgiveness of sins would be preached in his name to all nations, starting at Jerusalem.
John 3:3
Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God's kingdom."
Romans 10:13-15
. . . as the Scripture says, "Anyone who calls on the Lord will be saved." But before people can ask the Lord for help, they must believe in him; and before they can believe in him, they must hear about him; and for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them; and before someone can go and tell them, that person must be sent. It is written, "How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news."
Ephesians 2:8
I mean that you have been saved by grace through believing. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God.
Titus 2:11
That is the way we should live, because God's grace that can save everyone has come.
Titus 3:5-7
. . . he saved us because of his mercy. It was not because of good deeds we did to be right with him. He saved us through the washing that made us new people through the Holy Spirit. God poured out richly upon us that Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Savior. Being made right with God by his grace, we could have the hope of receiving the life that never ends.
6. The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
We believe that all believers are entitled to and should expect and earnestly seek the promise of the Father — the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of all in the early Christian church. With it comes the enduement of power for life and service, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry. The baptism of believers in the Holy Ghost is witnessed by the initial physical sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance.
Acts 1:4-5
Once when he was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, "Wait here to receive the promise from the Father which I told you about. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
John 20:22
After he said this, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."
Luke 24:49
"I will send you what my Father has promised, but you must stay in Jerusalem until you have received that power from heaven."
Acts 1:4-8
Once when he was eating with them, he told them not to leave Jerusalem. He said, "Wait here to receive the promise from the Father which I told you about. John baptized people with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."
When the apostles were all together, they asked Jesus, "Lord, are you now going to give the kingdom back to Israel?" Jesus said to them, "The Father is the only One who has the authority to decide dates and times. These things are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses -- in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world."
1st Corinthians 12:1-31
Now, brothers and sisters, I want you to understand about spiritual gifts. You know the way you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols -- things that could not speak. So I want you to understand that no one who is speaking with the help of God's Spirit says, "Jesus be cursed." And no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," without the help of the Holy Spirit. There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good.
The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom, and the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge. The same Spirit gives faith to one person. And, to another, that one Spirit gives gifts of healing. The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages. One Spirit, the same Spirit, does all these things, and the Spirit decides what to give each person.
A person's body is only one thing, but it has many parts. Though there are many parts to a body, all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that also. Some of us are Jews, and some are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.
The human body has many parts. The foot might say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. The ear might say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not part of the body." But saying this would not stop the ear from being a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, it would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, it would not be able to smell. If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put all the parts, each one of them, in the body as he wanted them. So then there are many parts, but only one body.
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the foot, "I don't need you!" No! Those parts of the body that seem to be the weaker are really necessary. And the parts of the body we think are less deserving are the parts to which we give the most honor. We give special respect to the parts we want to hide. The more respectable parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it so our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, all the other parts share its honor.
Together you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of that body. In the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to govern, and those who can speak in different languages. Not all are apostles. Not all are prophets. Not all are teachers. Not all do miracles. Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different languages. Not all interpret those languages. But you should truly want to have the greater gifts.
Acts 2:4
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
7. Divine Healing
We believe that deliverance from sickness is provided for in the propitiatory work of Jesus Christ, and that divine healing is the will of God for all believers.
Isaiah 53:4-5
But he took our suffering on him and felt our pain for us. We saw his suffering and thought God was punishing him. But he was wounded for the wrong we did; he was crushed for the evil we did. The punishment, which made us well, was given to him, and we are healed because of his wounds.
Matthew 8:16
That evening people brought to Jesus many who had demons. Jesus spoke and the demons left them, and he healed all the sick.
James 5:14-16
Anyone who is sick should call the church's elders. They should pray for and pour oil on the person in the name of the Lord. And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will heal that person. And if the person has sinned, the sins will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so God can heal you. When a believing person prays, great things happen.
1st Peter 2:24
Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross so we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And you are healed because of his wounds.
8. The Church
We believe the church, which is the body of Christ, is called to the worship and service of God, the observance of the sacraments or ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the practice of good works. The primary task of the church in all ages is to teach all nations and to make disciples, bring the Gospel to bear on every aspect of life and thought.
Ephesians 1:23
. . . which is Christ's body. The church is filled with Christ, and Christ fills everything in every way.
John 4:23
The time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, and that time is here already. You see, the Father too is actively seeking such people to worship him.
Colossians 3:24
Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ.
Matthew 28:19-20
So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age."
1st Corinthians 11:26
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup you are telling others about the Lord's death until he comes.
James 2:14-21
My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save them? A brother or sister in Christ might need clothes or food. If you say to that person, "God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat," but you do not give what that person needs, your words are worth nothing. In the same way, faith that is alone -- that does nothing -- is dead.
Someone might say, "You have faith, but I have deeds." Show me your faith without doing anything, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe there is one God. Good! But the demons believe that, too, and they tremble with fear. You foolish person! Must you be shown that faith that does nothing is worth nothing? Abraham, our ancestor, was made right with God by what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.
9. The Consummation
We believe the consummation of all things includes the visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. Satan with his hosts and all mankind outside Christ are finally separated from the presence of God, enduring eternal punishment. All who have been redeemed by Christ from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light will be in the presence of God forever, giving Him unending praise and glory.
Matthew 24:27-30
When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.
"Soon after the trouble of those days, 'the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the sky. And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'
"At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory.
1st Corinthians 15:50-57
I tell you this, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. Something that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins. But look! I tell you this secret: We will not all sleep in death, but we will all be changed. It will take only a second -- as quickly as an eye blinks -- when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound, and those who have died will be raised to live forever, and we will all be changed. This body that can be destroyed must clothe itself with something that can never be destroyed. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that can never die. So this body that can be destroyed will clothe itself with that which can never be destroyed, and this body that dies will clothe itself with that which can never die. When this happens, this Scripture will be made true: "Death is destroyed forever in victory."
"Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your pain?" Death's power to hurt is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But we thank God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ist Thessalonians 4:16-17
The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever.
Revelation 14:10-12
that one also will drink the wine of God's anger, which is prepared with all its strength in the cup of his anger. And that person will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb. And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name." This means God's holy people must be patient. They must obey God's commands and keep their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 20:11-15
Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. Earth and sky ran away from him and disappeared. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and the book of life was opened. The dead were judged by what they had done, which was written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. Each person was judged by what he had done. And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet who did the miracles for the beast. The false prophet had used these miracles to trick those who had the mark of the beast and worshipped his idol. The false prophet and the beast were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.
Revelation 3:11-13
"I am coming soon. Continue strong in your faith so no one will take away your crown. I will make those who win the victory pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name. Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.