The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was given by inspiration of God and written by men divinely inspired. It is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction. It is accurate in every word and in its entirety in the original manuscripts. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter. It reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should by tried.
The Sovereign God
There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself, all perfections and being infinite in them all; and to Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. God from eternity, decrees or permits all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not to destroy the free will and responsibility of intelligent creatures.
Creation
God created the universe in six literal days as recorded in Genesis. On the seventh day God rested and declared that His creation was “very good.”
The Trinity
God is revealed to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit each with distinct personal
Attributes, but without division of nature, essence or being.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. As such he indwells and gives life to believers, enables them to understand the Scriptures, empowers them for godly living and equips them for service and witness.
The Mediator
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the divinely appointed mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the Law, suffered and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended to His Father, at whose hand He ever liveth to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the Universe.
The Fall of Man
God originally created man in His own image, and free from sin; but, through the temptation of Satan, he transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original holiness and righteousness; whereby his posterity inherit a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law, are under condemnation, and as soon as they are capable of moral action, become actual transgressors.
The Freeness of Salvation
The blessings of salvation are made freely to all by the gospel, and it is the immediate duty of all to accept them by a cordial, penitent, and obedient faith. Nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner on earth but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the gospel; which rejection involves him in an aggravated condemnation.
Justification
Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of sinners, who believe in Christ, from all sin, through the satisfaction that Christ has made; not for anything wrought in them or done by them; but on account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ, they receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith.
Regeneration
Regeneration is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit, who quickeneth the dead in trespasses and sins enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the Word of
God, and renewing their whole nature, so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone.
Repentance
Repentance is an evangelical grace, wherein a person being, by the Holy Spirit, made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbleth himself for it, with godly sorrow, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, with a purpose and endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things.
Faith
Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatsoever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ; accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, and is accompanied by all other saving graces, and leads to a life of holiness.
Sanctification
Those who have been regenerated are also sanctified by God’s Word and Spirit dwelling in them. This sanctification is progressive through the supply of Divine strength, which all saints seek to obtain, pressing after a heavenly life in cordial obedience to all Christ’s commands.
Perseverance of the Saints
Those whom God hath accepted in the Beloved, and sanctified by His Spirit, will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall, through neglect and temptation, into sin, whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church, and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance, and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
The Church
The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel; observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by his laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word; that its only scriptural officers are Bishops, or Pastors, and Deacons, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are defined in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus.
Baptism
Baptism is an ordinance of the church, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of his giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church fellowship, and to participation in the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of the church, to be administered with the elements of bread and wine, and to be observed by his churches till the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge and renewal of their communion with Him, and of their church fellowship.
The Lord’s Day
The Lord’s Day is a Christian institution for regular observance on the first day of the week, and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private, resting from worldly employments and amusements, works of necessity and mercy only excepted.
The Resurrection
The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God—the righteous to rest with Him; the wicked to be reserved under darkness to the judgment. At the last day, the bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised.
The Judgment
God hath appointed a day, wherein he will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when every one shall receive according to his deeds; the wicked shall face everlasting punishment in hell; the righteous, will inherit everlasting life in heaven.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband is to lovingly lead, protect and provide for his family. The wife, who is of equal worth before God, is to graciously submit to her husband. Children, from the moment of conception, are an heritage of the Lord and are to be trained up in the way they should go. Children are also to submit to the loving discipline of their parents and are to honor and obey them.
Social Issues
Abortion
Human life begins at conception and the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable.
Human Sexuality We believe that God wonderfully foreordained and undeniably created each person as either male or female in conformity with their biological sex at birth. These two distinct yet complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26–27). We believe this thereby discounts and forbids any belief in or support of gender neutralism, transgenderism, or any other diversion from God’s creation. God also disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. In accordance with God's Word, any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex (Leviticus 18:2, 3, 22; 20:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10).
Separation From the World
Born again Christians should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon the Lord Jesus Christ. They should refrain from worldly and sinful pleasures and practices such as piercings and bodily markings, gambling, illegal drug use, drunkenness, tobacco use, immodest dress and listening to music (Christian or non-Christian) that is not Christ edifying.
