What We Believe
We are a gospel-centered assembly that celebrates the life, death, resurrection and teachings of Jesus.
Mission Statement
The Scriptures
We believe that “all Scripture is inspired by God,” by which we understand that the sixty-six books of the Bible are a divine product. God used a process of dual authorship to provide His written revelation to mankind. The Holy Spirit exerted supernatural influence on the human authors that, using their own personalities and styles of writing, they wrote down precisely what God wanted to give to mankind as Scripture.
We believe that the Bible is therefore without any error in the original documents, the supreme and complete revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; John 16:13-14; 17:17; Numbers 23:19; Psalm 12:6; Hebrews 4:12; 6:18; Matthew 5:18; 24:35)
God
We believe in one true God, creator, and sustainer of all things, Holy, infinitely perfect in all His attributes, and eternally existing in three Persons – The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Each Person of the Godhead is therefore deserving of the same worship, confidence, and obedience. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Matthew 28:18-19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 1:14; Hebrews 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4)
Man
We believe that man was created by God in His image and likeness, without sin, to enjoy God’s fellowship, live in His will, and glorify Him. Adam and Eve, the historical parents of the entire human race, chose to disobey God, and by this sin, lost their original innocence and communion with Him.
We also believe that, as the head of the human race, Adam’s fall became the fall of all of humanity, so that corruption, guilt, death, and condemnation belong to everyone born into this world, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only exception. All men are thus corrupt by nature, enslaved to sin, and incapable of seeking God, apart from divine grace. (Genesis 1:27; 2:21-22; 3:1-19; Psalm 14:1-3; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-19; 3:23; 5:12-19; 8:6-8; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8)
Jesus Christ
We believe that in the fullness of time, God sent forth His eternal Son as Jesus the Messiah, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. In the incarnation, the Second Person of the Trinity took on a sinless human nature, so that the two distinct natures were joined together in one Person, without confusion, change, division, or separation. The Lord Jesus Christ is thus truly God and truly man.
We also believe that in fulfilment of God’s redemptive plan, Jesus Christ voluntarily suffered and died on the cross was buried, rose from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. (Galatians 4:4; Luke 1:30-35; John 1:1-18; 1:29; 3:16; Philippians 2:6-8; Hebrews 1:3; 4:15; 7:25; 10:5-14; Romans 3:25–26; 1 Peter 3:18; Matthew 28:6; Acts 2:30-33; 1 John 2:1)
Salvation
We believe that Jesus Christ, in His perfect obedience to God the Father, died on the cross as our representative and substitute, and thus accomplished our redemption. As the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins, He took our punishment and satisfied the wrath of God against us.
We believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is God’s vindication of His Person and claims, and a sure proof that His atoning work on the cross has been accepted.
We also believe that based on Jesus Christ’s work on the cross, anyone who believes in Him is freed from the punishment of sin, declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God. The believer, however, retains his sinful nature, which cannot be expunged in this life. Thus, the believer is to grow in grace and be transformed progressively into the likeness of the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We also believe that the believer will be made perfect when he receives the resurrection body at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that, because of God’s love for His children, because of the efficacy of the work of Christ on the cross, because of the unceasing intercession and advocacy of Christ in heaven, because of God’s faithfulness to His covenants, because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, all who are believers, once saved, shall be kept saved by God’s power, and are thus secure in Christ forever.
We also believe that it is the privilege of every child of God to enjoy the assurance of their salvation based on the testimony of God in His word. The believer, however, is exhorted never to use his liberty in Christ as an occasion for sinful living and carnality. Rather, the believer is called to a life of separation unto Christ, one that exhibits obedience and pursues holiness. (Romans 3:21-25; 5:9-10; 5:18-19; 6:15-22; 8:1; 8:29-30; 13:13-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Peter 1:5; 2:24; Colossians 2:13-14; Galatians 2:16; 3:13; 3:26; 5:13; 5:25-26; Ephesians 1:7; 2:3-6; 4:24; John 1:12; 3:16; 5:24; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 7:1; Philippians 3:20-21; Jude 1:24; Hebrews 7:25; 12:14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John3:1-10)
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, whose sovereign actions were seen in creation, the incarnation, the written revelation, and salvation, began His work in a new way on the day of Pentecost, marking the inauguration of a new era, in fulfillment of divine promises.
We believe that, in this new age, the Spirit glorifies the crucified and risen Christ in all that He does. His ministries include convicting the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, regenerating sinners, indwelling believers from the moment of regeneration, baptizing believers into the one body of Christ, filling those yielded to Christ for power and service, illuminating Scripture, guiding, equipping and empowering believers for Christ-like living and service, and dispensing spiritual gifts to believers for the upbuilding of the body of Christ.
We also believe that certain gifts of the Holy Spirit such as speaking in tongues and miracles were temporary, and primarily intended for the initial days of the church. Their purpose was to direct attention to and validate the apostles as revealers of God’s word.
We believe, however, that while the miraculous gifts were temporary, God does manifest Himself through the miraculous from time to time in accordance with His sovereign purposes.(Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 12:12; 13:14; Genesis 1:2; Matthew 1:18; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 3:5-7; 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:5; 2:4; 5:3-4; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 2:1-4; 10:15-17; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20; 2:27; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10)
The Church
We believe in the one universal church, whose Head is the Lord Jesus Christ, and comprises all those who are united to Him by faith. This universal church finds its expression in local churches where believers are taught God’s word, engage in corporate worship, practice the ordinances of baptism and Lord’s supper, build each other’s faith through the use of spiritual gifts, hold each other accountable, submit to leadership, serve each other in love, and engage in local and world evangelization. (Matthew 16:16-18; 18:5-14; 28:19-20; Acts 2:38-47; 20:28; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 11:28-32; 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23; 4:3-16; Colossians 1:18; 3:14-15; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Hebrews 13:7; 13:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15)
The Return of Christ
We believe that, in the eschatological program of God, the next great event is the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the air, before the seven-year tribulation period, to receive into heaven all who belong to Him, both those who are alive at His coming and those who have fallen asleep in Him. This event is presented in Scripture as our blessed hope for which we should be constantly looking. We believe that at the end of the tribulation period, the Lord Jesus Christ will return with power and great glory to set up the millennial kingdom when God’s covenant promises will be realized for the nation of Israel as she is restored to her land, and the whole world will be brought to the knowledge of God. This period of a thousand years will be followed by the final judgment of all unbelievers on the great white throne of Christ. There they will be condemned to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire. We also believe that the believers will enjoy eternal blessedness with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:1-19:21; 20:1-3; 11-15; Matthew 24:15-25:46; Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:9; Ezekiel 37:21-28)