The Godhead

     I believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - each co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26.

 

The Person and Work of Christ

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8) I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5) I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9,10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2)

 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

     I believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person Who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) I believe that He is the divine Teacher Who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27) I believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer.  God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12) I believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. I believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing. (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)

 

The Holy Scriptures

     I believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and that they compose the entire Word of God.  The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed; and therefore, are the final authority for faith and life.  The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man.  The Scriptures should be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.  I believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the preserved Word of God. I believe that the Scriptures should be translated directly from the divinely preserved Hebrew and Greek texts (Hebrew Masoretic of the Old Testament and Greek Textus Receptus of the New Testament) into the target language. The Scripture should be translated as literally as possible following a “formal equivalence” or “essentially literal” philosophy of translation. I recognize that it is impossible to translate absolutely literal in every word. Therefore, some linguistic freedom needs to be allowed. I strive to be “as literal as possible, as free as necessary.”

 

The Fallen Nature of Man

     I believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin, the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God. All men are sinners by birth and by choice, and, of themselves, utterly unable to remedy their lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

 

Salvation

     I believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18-19) I also believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again, that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus, and that it is instantaneous and not a process.

 

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

     I believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; 1 Peter 1:4-5) I believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)

 

The Return of Christ

     I believe in the personal, imminent return of Christ Who will rapture His Church prior to the seven-year tribulation period.  At the end of the Tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic Kingdom which was promised to the nation of Israel. (Psalm 89:3-4; Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)

 

The Eternal State

     I believe in the bodily resurrection of all men - the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13) I believe that the souls of the redeemed are at death absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6) I believe that the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection when, with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment and torment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)

 

The Church

     I believe that the local church, which is the body and the espoused bride of Christ, is solely made up of born-again persons. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27) I believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11) I believe in the autonomy of the local church, free from any external authority or control. (Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; 1 Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; 1 Peter 5:1-4) I recognize water baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; 18:18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

 

The Personality of Satan

     I believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, and the cause of the fall of man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10)

 

Separation

     I believe that all the saved should live in a manner that does not bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord; and that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations is commanded of God. (Romans 12:1-2; 14:13; 2Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2Timothy 3:1-5; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11)