Doctrine
You will find below a concise statement of the doctrinal positions held by our church. This is not a comprehensive statement, but is intended to present the doctrinal character and distinctives of our church. If you have further questions or need of clarification on any issue we invite you to contact us.
God:
We believe in the one, true God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible: omnipotent, omniscient, perfect in holiness and love, the Creator of all things in six literal days, and eternally existing in three persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Son became incarnate as the Lord Jesus Christ to provide redemption for mankind, lowering Himself to take human form but retaining His full deity. The Holy Spirit is also fully God (not merely an influence) and operates in the world today in perfect accordance with the revelation of the Bible. [Genesis 1, Matthew 3:16-17, John 1:1-18, Philippians 2:5-11, John 16:1-13]
The Bible:
The Bible is God’s perfect and complete revelation of Himself to man, different from all other books. God breathed out (“inspired”) not only the ideas but the very words of Scripture to holy men who were carried along by the Holy Spirit in their writing, thereby keeping them from error and establishing the Word of God as the absolute authority in all matters. God has verbally preserved His revelation for each generation in the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT) and the Greek Received Text (TR) so that any faithful translation of these texts into another language may be rightly called “the Word of God.” We use the King James version in our church because it is a faithful translation and is the only available English translation made from these texts (MT & TR). [II Timothy 3:15-17, II Peter 1:19-21, I Corinthians 2:13, Psalm 12:6-7, Matthew 5:18-19, 24:35, Isaiah 59:21]
Salvation:
Because all persons are sinners by nature and by choice, God Himself in His mercy has provided the means of salvation by the sinless life Jesus Christ, His substitutionary death on the cross, and His resurrection from the grave. This provision of salvation is sufficient and available to all, is obtained only by those who repent of their sins and receive Christ alone as Savior, and is experienced in the Divine miracle of the new birth. Salvation from the penalty of sin is immediate, salvation from the power of sin in the life is on-going, and salvation from the presence of sin is future when each believer will be glorified in the resurrection/rapture of the saints. Genuine salvation is evidenced by a righteous life and secures the soul of the believer for all Eternity. [Romans 3:23, 6:23, John 1:12-13, 3:3,16, 10:28]
The Church:
Although the English word “church” is used to refer to buildings, denominations, all believers around the world, etc., the use of the word in the New Testament refers only to a local assembly. A New Testament church is an assembly of believers who have each received Christ as their Savior, identified themselves with the Lord by baptism into the church membership, and have covenanted with each other to continue in the fellowship and Biblical doctrine of that assembly. There are only two Scriptural ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper.) Churches exist to honor and worship the Lord by living lives that are obedient to the Scriptures, evangelizing the lost, and training Christians to obey the Scriptures. Churches should be autonomous - operating independently of denominational or government control. [Matthew 16:16-19, 18:15-20, 28:18-20, Acts 2:41-47, 5:27-32, 6:1-7, 20:17,28, I Timothy 3:1-16]
Future Events:
The present dispensation of God’s dealing with man, known as the Church Age, will end when Christ returns to rapture/resurrect His saints who are living or dead. Following that event He will judge the world in a seven year period known as the Tribulation Period during which time the Antichrist will establish a world government in conjunction with a world or harlot church. At the end of this period the Lord will return in glory to destroy those who have not believed upon Him and will establish a 1,000 year reign in Jerusalem which will fulfill God’s OT promises to Israel. Satan will be imprisoned during this Millennium and the earth will be restored to her creation glory. At the end of this time, Satan will be loosed to lead an earthly rebellion which Christ will crush. Then will be the final judgment in which unbelievers will be cast into the Lake of Fire to burn for Eternity and God’s people will inhabit the Holy City situated in a new heaven and new earth. [John 14:1-3, I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, II Thessalonians 2:1-12, Revelation 17:1-18, 19:1-20:8]
Separation:
The Christian and the church are to maintain obedience to God’s commands and separation from all sin, worldliness, and false doctrine. [I Peter 1:13-16, II Corinthians 6:14-7:1] Churches are to discipline their members who engage in sin and also warn them of false teachers. [Matthew 18:15-20, I Corinthians 5:1-13, Romans 16:17-19, II John 9-11] The music of the church should be Scriptural in its lyrics and promote holiness in its musical composition while avoiding the styles and sounds identified with the world. Individual Christians should uphold these music standards in their personal lives. [Ephesians 5:18-20, Colossians 3:16-17, I Samuel 16:14-23] The leaders in the church should manifest character that is exemplary in conduct. [I Timothy 3:1-16] Both in the church services and in daily life Christians should dress in a way that is clearly marked by modesty and a distinction between the sexes. [I Timothy 2:8-10, Deuteronomy 22:5, I Corinthians 11:14-15] Christians and churches must not cooperate with but should expose the false doctrine and disobedient practices of movements such as the Charismatic, Ecumenical, and Contemporary church movements. [Ephesians 5:6-11]