OUR BELIEFS
GOD
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
GOD THE FATHER
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
GOD THE SON
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself the demands and necessities of human nature and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet living on Earth without sin. He honored the Divine Law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, partaking of the nature of God and of man, and in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the assurance of God to bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service
THE SCRIPTURES
The Bible is the self-revelation of God to humankind and is thus the word of God. It was written by human authors under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Both the Old and New Testament point to Jesus Christ and are true without any mixture of error. The canon of protestant scripture is accepted to be the completed Bible.
HUMANITY
Humanity is the highest creation of God, the object of His love. God made humanity in His own image, and gave them dominion over creation. Humans were created by God without sin, yet fell into sin because of Adam's rebellion. As a result of Adam's sin, humans inherit a nature that is (1) guilty of Adam’s original sin (2) unable and unwilling to come to God, and (3) guilty of personal sins, which are the fruit of this depraved nature. Thus all of fallen humanity is guilty before God. A person's fallen condition is remedied only by the Holy Spirit's drawing that person to faith in Jesus Christ. Those who have faith in Jesus Christ are forgiven and adopted as children of God, and will spend eternity with Him.
SALVATION
Salvation is God's redemption of a person from sin. It is offered to humankind through Jesus Christ. Salvation is the free gift of God. It is through faith in Jesus Christ (which is a genuine turning from sin and trusting in Christ's completed work on the cross as the only sufficient payment for sin). Salvation includes (1) the work of the Holy Spirit to draw a person to Jesus Christ, (2) one's being forgiven and given the positive righteousness of Christ, (3) the lifelong process by which the Holy Spirit transforms one’s character to be like Christ’s, and (4) glorification, which will be brought about when believers are bodily-resurrected to be forever with God. Those who do not receive salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will be eternally separated from God in Hell. Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in his/her salvation for eternity. Salvation cannot be lost. It is maintained by the grace and power of God, not man.
MARRIAGE
Christian marriage is an institution ordained of God, blessed by our Lord Jesus Christ, established and sanctified for the happiness and welfare of mankind. It is the spiritual and physical union of one man and one woman, enabling them to live as partners, cherishing a mutual esteem and love, bearing with each other's infirmities and weaknesses, comforting each other in trouble, providing in honesty and industry for each other and for their household, praying for each other, and living together the length of their days as heirs of the grace of life.
MARRIAGE, FAMILY, & THE SINGLE LIFE
God has instituted marriage to be a life-long union of husband and wife, intended for their mutual joy, help and comfort; for the procreation and nurture of godly children; and for the blessing of society. Divorce is always contrary to God’s original intention, though in a fallen world it is sometimes an all-too-frequent and tragic reality. The roles of father and mother, exercised in a variety of ways, are God-given and profoundly important since they are the chief providers of moral instruction and godly living. The single life, either by call or circumstance, is honored by God. It is therefore important for unmarried persons to embrace and be embraced by the Christian family.
HUMAN SEXUALITY
Sexuality is inherent in God’s creation of human beings in His image as male and female. As sexual beings, all Christians are called to chastity: Husbands (male) and wives (female) by exclusive sexual fidelity to one another, and single persons by abstinence from sexual relations. God has designed humans to express their physical love for each other within His "Safe Zone", marriage, and to benefit from honorable sexual relations physically, emotionally, and spiritually. God intends and enables all people to live within the boundaries of His Safe Zone, with the help and in the fellowship of the Community of Believers.