Articles of Faith :

(A) The Holy Scriptures.

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally and
plenarily inspired Word of God. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed and, therefore,
are the final authority for faith and life. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the
complete and divine revelation of God to Man. The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their
normal grammatical-historical meaning, and all issues of interpretation and meaning shall be determined
by the pastor. The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official translation used by the church.
(2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)

(B) Dispensationalism.

We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their natural, literal sense reveal
divinely determined dispensations or rules of life which define man’s responsibilities in successive ages.
These dispensations are not ways of salvation, but rather are divinely ordered stewardships by which
God directs man according to His purpose. Three of these dispensations—the law, the church, and the
kingdom—are the subjects of detailed revelation in Scripture. (Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 9:17; 2 Cor. 3:9-18;
Gal. 3:13-25; Eph. 1:10; 3:2-10; Col. 1:24-25, 27; Rev. 20:2-6)

(C) The Godhead.

We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit—each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the
same attributes and perfections. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:10, 26; 2 Cor. 13:14)

(D) The Person and Work of Christ.

1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to
be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He
might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-
21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8)

2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the
cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and, that our justification is made
sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1
Pet. 2:24; 1 Peter 1:3-5)

3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of
God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and
Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Rom. 8:34; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)

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(E) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit.
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and
of judgment; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into
the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11;
Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14)

2. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the
Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Eph.
1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God
uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that
they can do the work of the ministry. (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12)

4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of
healing, were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the
baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. Ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death
awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to
answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)

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(F) The Total Depravity of Man.

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God; but
that in Adam’s sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. Man is
totally depraved and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-
23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

(G) Salvation.

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by
personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness
of our sins. We believe that all sins, except blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, are forgivable. (Matt. 12:31-
32; John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9)

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(H) The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers.
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in
Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1; 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)

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2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation
through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian
liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

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(I) The Church
1. We believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely
made up of born-again persons. (1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-27)

2. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined
in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)

3. We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. (Acts
13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Rom. 16:1, 4; 1 Cor. 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Pet. 5:1-4)

4. We recognize water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for
the church in this age. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)

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(J) Separation.

We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon
their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and
sinful pleasures, practices, and associations, and to refrain from all immodest and immoderate
appearances, piercings, and bodily markings. (Lev. 19:28; Rom. 12:1-2; 14:13; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor.
6:14-7:1; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)

(K) The Second Advent of Christ.

We believe in that blessed hope, the personal, imminent return of Christ,
Who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation,
Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints, to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom
which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Ps. 89:3-4; Dan. 2:31-45; Zech. 14:4-11; 1 Thess. 1:10,
4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Rev. 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

(L) The Eternal State.
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to
judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25-26; Rev. 20:5-6, 12-
13)

2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with
the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body
are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23; 3:21; 1
Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 20:4-6)

3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and
torment until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the
Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but
to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matt. 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke
16:19-26; 2 Thess. 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Rev. 20:11-15)

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(M) The Personality of Satan.

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall
of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished
in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10)

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(N) Creation.

We believe that God created the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution,
the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Gen. 1-
2; Ex. 20:11)

(O) Civil Government.

We believe that God has ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic
institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but
all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has
given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the
understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the
state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God.
(Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 2:13-14)

(P) Human Sexuality.
1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a
marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality,
lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful
perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to
alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-
30; Rom. 1: 26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4)

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2. We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24;

Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23)

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(Q) Family Relationships
1. We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has
ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the
church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and
deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the
church. (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; 1 Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)
2. We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the
Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children
are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and
moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline,
including Scriptural corporal correction. (Gen. 1:26-28; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 127:3-5;
Prov. 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mk. 10:6-12; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4, Col. 3:18-21;
Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)