We Believe God’s Gospel:

Reveals the holy love of the eternal triune God 

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in a unity of love in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  This one God, who knows the end from the beginning and rules over all things, has, in love and grace, purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to restore His fallen creation for His own glory.

 

Is authoritatively announced in the Scriptures 

We believe that God has spoken through the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. They are the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and the ultimate authority which stands over every realm of human knowledge.  We confess that we cannot know God’s truth exhaustively, but we affirm that we can know it truly.  Therefore, the Bible is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises.

 

Alone addresses our deepest human need

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they fell into sin through the temptation of Satan, distorting that image. As a result, all humanity is alienated from God and under His wrath and can be rescued, reconciled, and restored only through God’s gracious work in Jesus Christ.

 

Is revealed in history through the Person of Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel, is God incarnate, one Person in two natures, fully human and fully divine, having been conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of God the Father, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.

 

Is accomplished through the work of Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, died on the cross as the perfect, complete, and sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His shed blood and resurrection are the only ground for salvation, and it is through faith alone in Christ and His saving work that anyone is justified before God.

 

Is applied and empowered by the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and, during this age, convicts the world, regenerates sinners, baptizing them into union with Christ, and indwells, guides, instructs, and equips believers, empowering them for Christ-like living and service.

 

Is now embodied in Jesus’ new community–The Church

We believe that the true church is composed of all those who have been saved by the grace of God through union with Christ by faith and through regeneration by the Holy Spirit. This Church, of which Christ is the Head, is manifest in local churches.

 

Calls us to Christ-like living and witness to the world

We believe that God’s justifying grace in the gospel must not be separated from its sanctifying power and purpose. He calls us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves, acting with compassion toward the poor and needy, seeking justice for everyone. In fellowship with one another, we are to battle the world, the flesh, and the devil with the Word of God and prayer through the prevailing power of the Holy Spirit. Since the age to come has already dawned in Christ, we are called to take the light of Christ to the world, bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed to every nation, people, and language.

 

Will be fulfilled at the end of the age

We believe in the personal and glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels, when He will establish His kingdom fully and exercise His role as Judge of all. This coming of Christ, for which we must be constantly prepared, is our blessed hope.

 

Determines the eternal destiny of every person as each responds

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead: of the unbeliever to judgment and eternal conscious punishment, and of the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord, to the praise of His glorious grace.