The Bible is our all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. II Timothy 3:16-17
1. We believe in the plenary, verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the WHOLE Bible as originally written and that the Bible is the all-sufficient rule of faith and practice. (Psalm 119, Psalm 160, II Timothy 3:16-17)
2. We believe in three distinct persons in the triune God; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, equal in divine perfection. (Matthew 28:19, Romans 1:20)
3. We believe in the 6 day Genesis account of creation. (Genesis 1:1-2)
4. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel and the archenemy and of man, the unholy god of this world, and that his destiny is the eternal lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15, Ezekiel 28:11-19, Matthew 25:41, II Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 6:10-17, Revelation 20:10)
5. We believe in the virgin birth and humanity of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:18-25, Isaiah 7:14)
6. We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. (John 10:30, Hebrews 1:8-9)
7. We believe the Holy Spirit is the divine administrator for Jesus Christ in His churches. (Luke 24:49, John 14:16-17, John 16:13, Acts 1:4, 5, 8)
8. We believe that miraculous spiritual gifts were done away when the Bible was completed and that only three spiritual gifts remain; faith, hope and love. (I Corinthians 13:8-13, Ephesians 4:7-14)
9. We believe that man was created in the image of God, and lived in innocency until he fell by voluntary transgression from his sinless state, the result being that all mankind are now sinners. (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:6-24, Romans 5:12, 19)
10. We believe that the suffering and death of Jesus Christ was substitutionary, sufficient and efficient for all mankind and reject Calvinism and Armenianism. (Isaiah 53:6, Hebrews 2:9, I Peter 3:18, II Peter 3:9, I John 2:2)
11. We believe in the pre-millennial, personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ as the crowning event of the Gentile Age. This event will include the resurrection of the righteous, and the marriage of Christ to His bride, the Church. The millennium will be followed by the resurrection of the unrighteous into eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (John 14:1-6, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, II Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19, Revelation 20:4-6, Revelation 20:11-15, Revelation 21:8)
12. We believe that the depraved, alien sinner is saved wholly by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, and the requisites to regeneration are repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 13:3-5, John 3:16-18, Acts 20:21, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9) And that the Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, seals, secures, and indwells every believer. (John 3:6, John 16:8-9, Romans 8:9-11, I Corinthians 6:19-20, Ephesians 4:30, Titus 3:5)
13. We believe that all who trust Jesus Christ for salvation are eternally secure, and will be preserved in Him and will not perish. (John 3:36, John 5:24, John 10:27-30, Romans 8:35-39, Hebrews 10:39, I Peter 1:5)
14. We believe that God deals with believers as His children, that He chastises the disobedient, and that He rewards the obedient. (Matthew 16:27, Matthew 25:14-23, John 1:12, Hebrews 12:5-11, II John 8, Revelation 22:12)
15. We believe that Jesus Christ established His Church during His ministry on earth, and that it is always a local, visible assembly, of scripturally baptized believers, meeting together in covenant relationship, to carry out the commission of the Lord Jesus Christ, and each church is an independent, self-governing body, and no other ecclesiastical body may exercise authority over her. She is not to be confused with the family of God, consisting of all the saved. (Ephesians 3:15) We believe that Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission to the New Testament churches only, and that He promised the perpetuity of His churches. (Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 18:15-18, Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 1:14-20, John 13:35-51, Ephesians 3:21)
16. We believe that there are two pictorial ordinances in the Lord's churches: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Scriptural baptism is the immersion of penitent believers in water, by the authority of a scriptural New Testament church, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and administered by a scripturally ordained minister. The Lord's Supper is a memorial ordinance restricted to the members of the church observing the ordinance. The elements of which are to be the unfermented fruit of the vine, and the unleavened bread, which picture His shed blood and broken body. It is the New Testament order for the ordained pastor to administer the ordinance of the gospel. We do not recognize any church holding universal church theory, knowingly receiving alien immersion, practicing open communion, or not holding perpetuity to the personal ministry of Christ as having the authority to administer these ordinances. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 8:12,38, Romans 6:4, I Corinthians 11:1-2, I Corinthians 11:17-20,26)
17. We believe that there are two divinely appointed offices in a church: pastors and deacons to be filled by men whose qualifications are set forth in Titus and I Timothy. These men shall not have more than one woman in marriage as long as she lives. (Acts 6:3, Titus 1:5-9, I Timothy 3:1-13)
18. We believe in the separation of church and state. (Matthew 22:21) And affirm our belief in civil obedience. (Romans 13:1-7, I Peter 2:13-15)
19. We believe that Jesus Christ has all power (authority), and that He gave only what is commanded in the Bible to His church. (Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:22)
Our Church Covenant
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now in the presence of God, angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another, as one body in Christ.
We engage therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church, in knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotion; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale of and use of destructive drugs or intoxicating drinks as a beverage; to shun pornography; and to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to aid each other in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Saviour to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will as soon as possible unite with some other church, where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.