Section 1. Statement of Faith

The doctrinal standard of this Church is in keeping with that held by the Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches in general. The full doctrinal statement is as follows:

1. The Bible. We believe the Holy Bible, the Old and New Testaments, with its sixty-six canonical books in the original manuscripts is the verbal, plenary, inerrant and infallible Word of God, entirely without error or contradiction in all matters of which it speaks; we additionally believe that God by His singular care and providence has preserved it as the only sufficient final and supreme rule and authority of faith and practice, Psalm 12:6, 7; 119:89, 105, 152, 160; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Luke 16:17; II Timothy 3:16, 17; Hebrews 4:12; I Peter 1:24, 25; II Peter 1:21; Revelation 22:18-19.
   
   
2. The Godhead. We believe that God is Triune; that there are three eternal, co-equal divine persons in the Godhead (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), and these three are one God, Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14.
   
   
3. The Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God that became incarnate (became a man), through conception of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit and was born by her. He is the true God and true man, virgin born, and sinless in his life, John 1:1, 14, 18; Hebrews 1:6-8; I John 5:20; Matthew 1; Luke 1.
   
   
4. The Holy Spirit. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead, who regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and teaches all true believers in Christ and fills those who are yielded to God, Matthew 28:19; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 6:19-20; 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18.
   
   
5. Man. We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but in Adam all mankind fell into sin with the result that all men are sinners, hopelessly sinful in themselves, apart from the grace of God, Genesis 1:27; 3:1-14; Romans 1:18-3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1.
   
   
6. Salvation. We believe that the only way to be saved is by faith in the substitutionary blood sacrifice, death and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. All who are born of the Spirit through faith in Christ can have assurance of salvation and are eternally secure in Him, Acts 4:12; 13:38; I Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 5:8; 10:9-13; John 3:3, 6, 16; 10:28, 29; I John 5:13; II Timothy 1:12.
   
   
7. Sanctification. We believe that every true believer has positional sanctification and is promised progressive and ultimate sanctification, John 17:17; Ephesians 5:26; I Thessalonians 4:3, 4; Hebrews 10:10, 14; I John 3:2; I Corinthians 15:51-57.
   
   
8. The Priesthood of Christ. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father; that he ever liveth to make intercession for all that come to God by Him, Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 4:14-16; 7:25.
   
   
9. The Church. We believe that the church is the body and bride of Christ which began with the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and is composed of all true believers, formed by the baptism of the Holy Spirit which takes place at the moment of one’s placing saving faith in Christ. The local Church is a company of believers, having been baptized by immersion in water, whose duty it is to worship God, observe the ordinances, edify itself, and evangelize the world, Ephesians 1:22, 23; 4:12; 5:24-30; I Corinthians 12:12, 13, 27; Philippians 1:1; Acts 2:41-47; Matthew 28:18-20.
   
   
10. The Church Ordinances. We believe that the ordinances of baptism by immersion in water and the Lord’ s Supper are for all true believers in Christ, Matthew 28:19- 20; Acts 8:30-39; 10:47-48; I Corinthians 11:23-26.
    
    
11. Angels. We believe that angels are personal beings and were originally created as holy, but now exist as unfallen and fallen angels, including Satan. Satan is the author of the fall and continues trying to thwart God’s plans, but shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire at the final judgment, Colossians 1:16; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 148:2-5; Jude 6; Matthew 4:1-11; 25:41; Genesis 3:1-19; Revelation 12:9; Ephesians 6:11, 12; Revelation 20:10.
    
    
12. The End Times. We believe in the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ for his Bride, the Church, which is the blessed hope of the church. This is followed in order by: the Tribulation; the second coming of Christ to the earth after the Tribulation; the establishment of the reign of Christ on the earth for one thousand years; the great white throne judgment for the unsaved who will be in an eternal state of punishment in the lake of fire; a new heaven and new earth for the eternal state of blessing for the saved. We also believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust; in the eternal conscious punishment of the lost; and the eternal joy of the saved, Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; 5:4-10; Revelation 3:10; 20:1-6, 11-15; Matthew 24:21, 29, 30; 25:46.
    
    
13. Spiritual Gifts. We believe that the sign gifts of I Corinthians 12 are not for today but were necessary for the early church until the completion of the New Testament, Acts 10:44-48; I Corinthians 1:22; 14:21-22; 13:8-12.
    
    
14. Biblical Interpretation. We believe that the Bible should be interpreted literally except where obvious figures of speech are used. Therefore, we believe that God has revealed different dispensations or stewardships with corresponding rules of life, of which the present dispensation is the age of grace, II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:21; I Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 3:2-11; Colossians 1:25-27; Romans 6:14; Hebrews 7:18-19.
    
    
15. 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. 16.
    
    
16. 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 each 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.
    
    
17. Human Sexuality.
    1. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a 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, Gen. 2:24; Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4.
    
    2. We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman, Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23.
    
    3. 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; 1 Tim. 3:4-5, 12.
    
    
18. Divorce and Remarriage. We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. We also believe it is contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures for any person who is divorced to remarry while the other party of the marriage contract is still living. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the Church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon, Mal. 2:14-17; Matt. 19:3-12; Rom. 7:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6.
    
    
19. Abortion. We believe that human life begins at conception and that 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 mental well-being of the mother are acceptable, Job 3:16; Ps. 51:5; Ps. 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; Isa. 49:1, 5; Jer. 1:5; Jer. 20:15-18; Lk. 1:44.
    
    
20. Lawsuits Between Believers. We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the Church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the Church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members, 1 Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32.
    
    
21. Giving. We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local Church financially. We believe that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the Church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe or offering once the gift has been made, Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Jn. 3:17.

Section 2. Authority of Statement of Faith

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing statement of faith accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, is binding upon all members. All literature used in the Church shall be in complete agreement with the statement of faith.