WE BELIEVE...

We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united.  He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.  As ministering Servant he lived, suffered and died on the cross.  He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return.  He is the eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by him al men will be judged.

We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son.  He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.  He leads men through faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the Church.  He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth.

We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation.  It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice. Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith nor is it to be taught as essential to salvation.

We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ.  We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and catholic (universal).  Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

We believe sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of the Christian's profession and of God's love toward us.  they are means of grace by which God works invisibly is us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith in him.  Two sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

We believe man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil.  Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.  In his own strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God.  We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.

We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.  The offering Christ made on the cross is the perfect sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.

We believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We believe regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life.  By this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with the will and the affections.   We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.

We believe good works are the necessary fruit of faith and follow regeneration but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment.  We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith, for through and by them faith is made evident.

We believe sanctification is the work of God's grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God's will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.  Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one's neighbor as one's self.  

We believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day.  We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to eternal condemnation.

We believe divine worship is the duty and privilege of man who, in the presence of God, bows in adoration, humility and dedication.  We believe divine worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth.