Statement of Faith Scripture The Scriptures are the sufficient and inerrant standard of saving knowledge, faith, obedience, and practice. They were written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They are the Word of God, incapable of falsehood, with their authority dependent on God alone, who does not lie or change His mind, and who is the source of all truth. God The Lord our God is one, the only true and living God. He is self-existent, infinite, and immutable; omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient; sovereign over all things, ordaining the end from the beginning. God exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who share in the whole divine essence without this essence being divided. The Father is not derived from anyone, neither begotten nor proceeding. The Son is eternally begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The triune nature of God is central to our fellowship with Him. Creation In the beginning, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit created all things, visible and invisible. God created mankind immutably male and female, in His own image, mandated to subdue and fill the earth. They were commanded to not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and yet they disobeyed. Fall In the garden, God gave mankind a law that promised life if they had kept it, yet threatened death if they broke it. The serpent tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, who in turn seduced Adam—he deliberately transgressed God’s law. As the representatives of mankind, our first parents fell into sin, and the rest of mankind fell with them. The children of men are liable to God’s condemnation, as we are by nature children of wrath, haters of God, slaves to sin, and entirely dead in sin, which has corrupted all aspects of our being—unless we are freed by Christ. Christ The Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the second person of the Trinity, who fulfills the offices of prophet, priest, and king. He is the head of the Church and its Savior, and the heir of all things. God gave His Son a people to redeem by His death on the cross and resurrection on the third day, so that they would be called, justified, sanctified, and glorified in Him. He emptied Himself by taking on human flesh—with all of its properties and weaknesses, yet without sin. He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. Jesus is truly God and truly man—possessing two complete, yet distinct natures—and He is the only mediator between God and man. He fulfills the Scriptures’ prophecies of the coming Messiah. Salvation Salvation, the grace of the Lord bestowed upon all who believe on Christ’s death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, and repent of their sin, is a free gift. With the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. Christ’s obedience to the entirety of God’s law and death on the cross, canceling the debt owed by sinners, is counted as righteousness to those who are justified through faith. The justice of the Lord is fully satisfied on the believer’s behalf through Christ, the only name by which men may be saved. There is no one who does not sin, as mankind has been depraved since its fall; to be saved, men must acknowledge the work of Christ on the cross through repentance and faith. Though believers are made right with God in an instant, repentance and faith are also lifelong commitments for believers, who humble themselves through faith, confessing sin to which they have been made aware through the conviction of the Holy Spirit in all godly sorrow and hatred of their transgression against the Lord. The Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He has existed for all eternity along with God the Father and Christ the Son. He partook in the act of creation, inspired the Word of God, filled the prophets with God’s word, descended upon Jesus at His baptism, and continues to guide the Church today. He was first given to believers at Pentecost, and can be poured out upon believers. When one is born again, one is indwelt by the Holy Spirit—the Teacher and Helper who is the guarantor of the believer’s salvation—edifying, convicting, and enabling them to resist temptation, bear good fruit, and possess spiritual gifts. Believers are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Second Coming God has fixed a day on which He will serve as judge of the multitudes: the return of Christ in triumph and glory. Christ appears this second time to save for eternity those who follow Him, and to fulfill God’s promise of the restoration of His people. He will judge the living and the dead by what is written in the Book of Life; all will give an account of every word and deed. Christ also appears this second time to eternally condemn those who have not repented of their sins and believed on Him. He has given assurance of this day to come by raising Jesus from the dead as the firstfruit of the resurrection. The earth and all the works done on it will be exposed, and the heavenly bodies will pass away with a roar, burned up and dissolved, to be replaced with a new heavens and a new earth, where all believers will live eternally with their exalted Lord and Savior in His kingdom. Believers are therefore called to be vigilant and eager in awaiting and hastening the return of Christ, lest they should be spiritually unprepared. His Kingdom shall have no end—Hallelujah! Have questions or concerns about our statement of faith? We value your opinion and hope you will reach out to us here!
