Doctrine of Scripture. The Bible is
God’s unique revelation to mankind, the inspired, infallible Word of God. As
such, it is the supreme and final authority and without error in what it
teaches and affirms in its original languages. No other writings are vested
with such divine authority.
Doctrine of God. There is only one true
God. He exists eternally as three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — each
fully God of the same essence, yet each personally distinct from the other. The
term Christians have coined to describe holy God is "the Trinity".
This truth comes from Holy Scripture, the Bible. God is the creator of
everything. God is sovereign over everything.
Doctrine of Sin. Everyone, regardless of
race, gender, social class, or intellectual ability, is created in God’s image
and for communion with God. But because of sin, that relationship was broken
and all of humanity was separated from God, the source of all life. Because of
the fall, everyone deserves God’s judgment, we all are inheritors of the first
man Adam's sin. We all have sinned and need saving.
Doctrine of Salvation. Jesus Christ is
the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and God gives salvation and eternal life to
those who trust in him. Salvation cannot be earned through personal goodness or
human effort. It is a gift that is received by repentance and faith in Christ
and his death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. All those saved are
born of God's Spirit.
Doctrine of Christ. Jesus Christ called
the Son is the second person of triune God, in time was conceived by the Holy
Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary — he is God that came into human flesh. Always
fully God called the Son, but became also fully man. He lived a sinless human
life, yet willingly took upon himself our sins by dying in our place and on our
behalf, providing his blood payment for us. He rose bodily, victorious over
death. He ascended to Heaven and is at the right hand of the Father as the
believer’s advocate and mediator. Some unknown day, he will return to
consummate history and to fulfill the eternal plan of God, as rightful Judge
and Lord over all creation.
Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit, the third Person of triune God, convicts the world of sin and gives new
life to those who trust in Jesus. He is not a force, but a person of God. The
Spirit regenerates believers to new life. He indwells all believers and is
available to empower them to lead Christ-like lives. The Spirit gives them
spiritual gifts with which to serve fellow believers and reach out to a lost
and needy world.
Doctrine of Judgment. At the final
judgment, after Christ's return and end of his millennial reign on earth,
unbelievers will be separated from God by the Son, bound and cast into hell
forever. Believers will be received into God’s loving presence and will be
forever rewarded with joy, joined to God the Son as his forever Bride, eternal
heirs to the Kingdom of God.
Doctrine of the Church. All who repent
from sin and trust in Jesus alone for their salvation are members of the body
of Christ, the one true church universal. Spiritual unity is to be expressed
among Christians by acceptance and love of one another across ethnic, cultural,
socio-economic, national, generational, gender, and denominational lines. The
local church is a group of believers of any size who gather for worship,
prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, community with each
other, and as a witness to the world for Christ.
Doctrine of Baptism. Baptism is not a requirement
for Salvation, but a ritual of water baptism following Christ's example
commanded of all new Believers, given by another Believer, and to follow if at
all possible soon after coming to faith. It is a public profession of faith in
Christ that you have died to your old life living for sin, and are raised up a
new person in Christ now living by the Spirit at peace with God. It identifies
you as a Christ follower. Like the Lord's Supper, it is one of the two
commanded ordinances for all true Believers to follow as a unique
identification that you belong to Him.