Divine inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the Scriptures
We believe the Bible is divinely inspired or “God-breathed,” without error in the original autographs, and completely authoritative in all areas that it touches (II Tim. 3:16). This is the foundation of all we believe and we would not have the information we have unless it was revealed to us by God (Rom. 1:17; I Cor. 2:10, 12).
The Trinity
The persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are of one essence, God (Mk. 12:29; Lk. 3:21, I Pt. 1:2, deity of each Jn. 6:27; Heb. 1:8; Acts 5:3, 4).
The virgin birth and deity of Christ
The Virgin Birth is the foundation for the belief in the deity of Christ. It also explains how He was able to be a suitable sacrifice, being fully God and fully man though without a sin nature. Christ was the “God-man” in that he was fully divine through his Father and fully human through His Mother Mary (Mt. 1:23; Lk. 1:35).
The atonement and resurrection of Christ
The atonement was substitutionary, in that, Christ died in our place and took our punishment. Because of this substitution, we can have eternal life by trusting Christ. His resurrection is proof of our resurrection (I Pet. 3:18; II Cor. 5:21).
The fall of man, his state by nature and his need of regeneration
The fall of man occurred when Adam and Eve disobeyed in the Garden of Eden. Mankind then became depraved or fallen in all areas of being (Eph. 4:18). This was passed on subsequently to all men as original sin (Rom. 5:12) and the resultant spiritual death (Rom. 6:23). To remedy this, in Christ, we are regenerated and given the life of Christ resulting in a stultifying of death or positively stated: eternal life (Titus 3:5; Jn. 5:24).
Salvation and justification, including the eternal security of the believer
Justification is a legal term indicating that God sees us in the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 5:1). This occurs at salvation, the point in time we personally trust that Christ died in our place as sinners (Jn. 1:12; Jn. 5:24; Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:8-11, Rom. 10:9-10).
We believe in eternal security that is, that believers cannot lose their salvation (otherwise the term “eternal life” would make no sense, cf. Jn. 10:28-29).
Sanctification, including the role of grace, in the Christian walk.
We believe all we do must be done in the power of the Holy Spirit, that is, with reliance on and faith in God (Jn. 15:5). This, then, is by grace, unmerited favor. Though we are promised rewards after salvation (I. Cor. 3: II Cor. 5), these, too, are by grace as we obey and act in reliance on the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4).
The person and work of the Holy Spirit, including the matter of spiritual gifts.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and fully God having personhood and deity. He has come to continue the work the Lord began while He was on earth (Acts 1:1).
The believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at salvation (Rom. 8:9) and should strive to be filled with the Holy Spirit always (Eph. 5:18).
We believe the Spirit continues to distribute gifts to each believer (I Cor. 12:7) though the more sensational “sign” gifts (healing, prophesying, Public gift of tongues) as claimed by those in the “signs and wonders” and “charismatic” movement have historically faded from use.
The universal church and the local church
The universal church is the invisible church of all believers throughout time (Mt. 16:18). The local church is the visible fellowship of believers joined together to do the work of the Lord today (Mt. 28:19, 20; Col. 1:2; 4:15).
Future events, including the sequence of the second coming of Christ, the tribulation, rapture of the church, and the millennium
We are dispensationalist and, therefore, premillenialist who believe in a Pre-Tribulational Rapture (I Thes. 4:16; I Cor. 15:51, 52). Under this scheme, we are now in the church age. The Rapture or removing of the saints by the Lord will precede the Tribulation of seven years, then the Lord will return to rule on earth for one thousand years (Rev. 6:17 w/ I Th. 1:10; Rev. 19:11; 20:4).
The responsibility of the church to the lost world
The responsibility of the Church to the lost world is to proclaim the gospel (Mt. 28:19, 20) and to be salt to slow down moral decay in the world and be a source of truth in light (Mt. 5:13, 14).
It is also the responsibility of the church to baptize those who have already made a profession of faith in Christ (Mt. 28:19, 20), not to obtain salvation but as a representation of the death and resurrection with Christ that has already occurred (Rom. 6:1-23).
The punishment of the lost and the reward of the saved
We believe the punishment of the lost is Hell, the complete deprivation of the presence of God as well as extreme pain and suffering (Lk. 16:23; Rev. 20:11-15). There are degrees of punishment in Hell (Mt. 11:22, 24: Lk. 12:47, 48).
There are also degrees of reward for the saved in Heaven according to our works which are by grace after salvation (I Cor. 3: II Cor. 5). This is not to be confused with salvation which is only by grace alone and not any works on our part (Eph. 2:8).