What We Believe

      We believe the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God, without error in the original manuscripts. .  The Bible is therefore profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.

(John 14:26; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

Explanation:

      While written by many different hands, in many different places, and at many different times, the Bible is nonetheless the Word of God, inspired in its entirety and at every point by the Spirit of God, and is therefore without error. 

      Through the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, the Bible tells the one true story of God saving God’s people, ultimately through the work of God’s Son. Our hope of knowing God is to therefore know him through the person and work of his Son, through the written words of the Bible.

      As the final authority in all matters of life and faith, we trust all that it says to us and strive to fulfill all that it asks of us.  

      We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

(Isaiah 45:22; Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

Explanation:

      Forever and always, the one true God has existed in the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since before the world began, this God has known exhaustively the end from the beginning, has ruled over all things in absolute sovereignty, and has perfectly been bringing about his good will in our world.

      Together, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the world, sustain it by their power, and redeem it for their glory. These three, being equally divine – perfect in holiness and unified in purpose – are therefore equally deserving of our love and devotion.

      We believe that God created Adam and Eve in his image, but through disobedience they fell into sin by the temptation of Satan, distorting that image. As a result, man is alienated from God, under his wrath, spiritually dead, and unable under his own power to make himself right before God.

(Genesis 1:27, 2:7, 3:1-6, 5:1; Ephesians 2:1-12; Titus 3:3-5)

Explanation:

      Creation. In the beginning, God brought all things, both visible and invisible, into existence. He did so of his own free will and for the display of his character, creating everything out of nothing and ordering our world according to his good purposes, perfect and without corruption.

      As the climax of creation, God made humanity in his image, both male and female, and appointed them to care for creation and govern it according to his Word.

      Together men and women were made to complement one another in this endeavor according to their distinct roles, whether within the created order, within the community of believers, or within the covenantal relationship of marriage. In this we reflect the fullness of God’s image, known most particularly in God’s relationship with his people and displayed most fully in Christ’s relationship to his church.

      In everything, we submit ourselves to God as the one who created this world, is presently re-creating it through the word of his Son and by the power of his Spirit, and will one day re-create it finally for good.

      The Fall. Though made without fault or flaw, the world in which we live was corrupted and the image in which we were made was distorted when our foreparents, Adam and Eve, willfully disobeyed God.

      Tempted by Satan, they fell into sin and thus earned for themselves and for all their offspring after them the punishment of physical, spiritual, and eternal death. All humanity since has been born corrupt in nature and likewise continues to live in both disobedience to and conflict with their Creator.

      We are therefore all rightly condemned to the punishment of sin apart from the gracious intervention of the one we have sinned against. We therefore look to God as our only hope of being rescued from death, reconciled to him, and renewed in his image.

      We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his virgin birth, in his sinless life, in his miracles, in his vicarious and atoning death through his shed blood, in his bodily resurrection, in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in his personal return in power and glory.

(Psalm 110:1; Luke 1:27 & 35, 24:6-7; John 1:14, 10:25, 20:30-31; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 3:24-26; 1 Corinthians 15:4-5; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Hebrews 4:15)

Explanation:

      For his glory and because of his great love, God the Father sent his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Lord and Savior of the world.

      Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, Jesus was both fully God and fully man, one person with two distinct natures. He lived a perfect life, without sin and in complete submission to the Father. He then suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified by the hands of sinful men, died, and was buried. But the death that Jesus died was a death that we deserved, as he bore on the cross the punishment of sin on our behalf.

      The Father then raised him up from death to life, thereby defeating death and overthrowing our enemy, and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, thus giving to Jesus all authority in heaven and on earth.

      By grace, Jesus died in our place. Through faith, Jesus’ perfect obedience is credited to us as we trust in him alone as our Savior and Lord.

      We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential for the salvation of lost me and that this salvation is wholly of grace through faith.

      We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. The Holy Spirit gives gifts so that the body of Christ, the church, is enabled to fulfill the Great Commission.

(Romans 7:4-6, 8:5-11; 1 Corinthians 2:4-7; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 2:8-9, 4:11; Matthew 28:19-20)

Explanation:

      Having secured a way back to himself through the work of his Son, God grants life to his own through the work of his Spirit.

      In the gospel of Jesus Christ, God declares his love for the world and offers the means by which his people might be saved. By his Spirit, the proclamation of this good news is accompanied with power as God calls his people from death to life, enables them to live a life of godliness, and equips them to join Jesus in his work of ministry and mission.

      By grace we turn back to him, place our trust in the work of the cross, are made alive together with Christ, and are empowered to live as followers of Jesus. Through faith we are united with Jesus, joined as members of his body, and sealed as heirs and children in the family of God.

      We believe in the spiritual unity of believers, through and in our Lord Jesus Christ and in the church, which is his body.

      We believe in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

(Matthew 16:17-18, 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23, 4:3-6)

Explanation:

       Since God first set about to save the world, his people have been those called out of darkness to live by faith, in faithfulness to God. On account of Jesus’ work on the cross, God’s people are rescued from death by grace, reconciled to God through faith, and renewed into the image of Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit.

      Together, we live out God’s love for us in our love for Jesus, our love for Jesus’ followers, and our love for this world that Jesus loves so much. Our faith in God’s faithful Son finds expression in our commitment to and partnership in local communities of believers, proclaiming in Baptism God’s work of bringing individuals from death to life, remembering in the Lord’s Supper Jesus’ body broken and blood poured out on our behalf, and together submitting ourselves to and declaring to others the truths of the Bible.

      Through these demonstrations of our devotion to Jesus, we tell and retell the story of his faithfulness to us as we look forward to his return.

      We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost, they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

(John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58; Revelation 20:11-15)

Explanation:

      Jesus has promised that he will someday return to earth to put all wrongs right again. On that day, the dead will be raised and all humanity judged. Those who put their faith in Jesus will be welcomed into everlasting life in his heavenly kingdom; those who did not, condemned to everlasting punishment in the judgment of Hell.

      Jesus’ followers will then finally experience the full restoration of their relationship with God. Forever we will dwell with him under the loving reign of his Son, in the glory, splendor, and joy of his eternal kingdom, when the entirety of God’s will is at last done on earth as it is in Heaven.

      For now, we live as citizens of that kingdom, following Jesus by growing Jesus-followers and inviting others to join us until he returns.