Our Beliefs

The Bible

The Bible, in its entirety, is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, written by human authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As God’s truth, it is fully trustworthy and authoritative in all it teaches, and it speaks with power and relevance to every part of our daily lives and faith.

• Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Psalms 119:11, 89, 105; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 22:29; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Romans 15:4; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 3:16

Trinity

The one true and eternal God exists in three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—who are one in substance and equal in power, glory, and authority. From all eternity, God has existed in perfect, loving communion, and together the Father, Son, and Spirit carry out the work of creation, redemption, and the sustaining of all things.

• Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 61:1; Matthew 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 1:35; John 5:21-23; 14:10, 16; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:8-10; James 2:19

The Father

God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchanging in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. He is all-knowing, all-powerful, and ever-present. Yet this great and holy God is also our Father—faithful to His promises, full of love, compassion, and mercy. In Him we live, move, and have our being, and He alone is worthy of our trust and worship.

• Exodus 3:14; Numbers 23:19; Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; Psalm 11:4-6; Malachi 3:6; John 3:16; 4:24; 5:26; 14:1; Acts 17:28; Romans 3:3-4

The Son

Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, possessing two natures inseparably united in one divine person without confusion, mixture, separation, or division. Each nature retains its own attributes, affirming His complete humanity and complete divinity. In the incarnation, He was born of the Virgin Mary and lived a perfect life among us, fulfilling God's demand for perfection.

He is the only plan for reconciling humanity to God, serving as our Mediator. Through His crucifixion, He took upon Himself our sins, satisfying God's justice. He was crucified, dead, and buried, and on the third day, He rose from the dead, defeating death and offering us the gift of eternal life. After His resurrection, He ascended to heaven and will come again in glory and judgment.

In Him, we find our hope and the assurance of a right relationship with God, as He is the only way for those who are far from God to be brought back into fellowship with Him.

• Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 14:33; 16:16; 28:5-6; Luke 22:70; 24:46-47; John 1:1, 14; 10:30; 11:25-27; 17:1-5; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 8:1-3; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Gal 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15; 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is one substance with the Father and the Son, eternally proceeding from both. He dwells in the hearts of believers, assuring us of our relationship with Christ. The Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth, exalts Christ and convicts us of sin, God's righteousness, and the coming judgment.

He comforts us in our struggles, imparts spiritual gifts upon us, and works within us to make us more like Christ through a cooperative process of sanctification. The presence of the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live in accordance with God's will and to grow in relationship with Him.

• Genesis 1:2; Psalm 51:11; 139:7 ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Mark 1:10; Luke 1:35; 4:1; 11:13; 12:12; John 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4; 13:2; Romans 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:13-14; 2 Peter 1:21; Revelation 22:17

Eternity

Man was created to exist forever. He will exist either eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is Heaven. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.

• John 3:16, 36; Romans 6:23; 1 John 2:25; 5:11-13; Revelation 20:15

Man

Man is made in the image of God and is the supreme object of His creation. Man was created to have fellowship with God but became separated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, man cannot attain a right relationship with God through his own effort. Every human personality is uniquely created, possesses dignity, and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

• Genesis 1:26-30; 2:7, 18-22; 3; Psalms 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 23; 5:6; 6:6; 7:14-25; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22; Ephesians 2; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11

Salvation

The blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the only way of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. Salvation occurs when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin. Salvation is a gift from God, and it cannot be earned through our own efforts.

• Isaiah 1:18; 53:5-6; 55:7; Matthew 1:21; 27:22-66, 28:1-6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 16:30-31; Romans 1:16-18; 3:23-25; 5:8-10; 6; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Hebrews 9:24-28; Revelation 3:20

The Church

The Church is a local community of baptized believers unified through faith in Christ. It is committed to the teachings of Christ and obeying all of His commands, and it seeks to bring the Gospel to the world. The Church works together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ.

• Matthew 16:18-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-47; 5:11-14; 13:1-3; 14:23; 16:5; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:10-12; 5:22-32; Colossians 1:18; 3:15; 1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 21:2-3

Marriage & Sexuality

God established a permanent design for gender, family, and sexuality at creation and reaffirmed it throughout all of Scripture. God created humanity, biologically male and female, for one another. There are two distinct, God-given gender identities – male and female – rooted in these two biological sexes that are not interchangeable. They come together to form the foundational relationship of marriage.

God designed marriage to be a lifelong, public covenant between one biological man and one biological woman that reflects His relationship with His people. Sex is a gift from God to be enjoyed exclusively within the marriage covenant as defined by God. Therefore, all sexual activity outside of a heterosexual marriage is sinful because it falls short of God’s design for human relationships.

• Genesis 1:26-28, 2:18-24; Deuteronomy 22:5; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 19:4-9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, 18; Ephesians 5:21-33