The Triune God:

There is one and only one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three persons contain the very nature of God and are equal in every divine perfection. They each execute distinct but harmonious roles in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. The Triune God is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. He is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. He is all-powerful and all-knowing, and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him, we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The Triune God is worthy of our praise, loyalty, and love. Our church will worship the Triune God when we gather and will model our lives according to God's grace and goodness.

 

Genesis 1:1, 26; Exodus 34:6-7; Deuteronomy 32:3-4; Psalm 48:10; Isaiah 43:10-13; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-3; John 4:24; Romans 1:19-20; Ephesians 4:5-6

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God the Father:

God, the Father, is the Creator of heaven and earth. By His word and for His glory, He freely and supernaturally created the world from nothing. Through the same Word, He daily sustains all His creatures. He rules over all and is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is faithful to every promise and works all things together for good for those who love Him, and in His unfathomable grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for humanity's redemption. He made man for His glory and intended that all creation should live to the praise of His glory.

 

Gen. 1:1; Gen. 1:1-31; Col. 1:17; 1 Tim. 6:15; Job 42:2; Rom. 8:28; John 3:16; Is. 43:20-21

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God the Son:

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with humanity yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose person has effected the reconciliation between God and humanity. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever-present Lord.

 

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18 23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 

14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 

10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6;15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10;Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28;

9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16

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God the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination, He enables people to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts people of sin, righteousness, and of judgment. He calls people to the Savior and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration, He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

 

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7 ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 

3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12;Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-

17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28;16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17

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The Scriptures:

The Holy Bible consists of 66 books, 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament, written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is accurate and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

 

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 4:16;

40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39;16:13-15; 17:17;

Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21

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Man:

Man, a general term encompassing the human race, is God's special creation, made in His own image. In His divine sovereignty, He created them, male and female, as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender, which is limited to a biological male and a biological female, is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by their Creator with freedom of choice. By their free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan, man transgressed the command of God and fell from their original innocence, whereby their posterity inherited a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created men and women in His own image, and Christ died for all peoples; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.

 

Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32;3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11

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The Gospel:

Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ's crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, His resurrection is the power of the gospel, and His ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ's death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God's holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only Mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches, and ministries to proceed from and be related to the cross.

 

1 Tim. 1:11; 1 Tim. 1:15-16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Rom. 1:16-17; Rom. 3:25; Heb. 2:17; 1 Joh. 2:2; 1 Joh. 4:10; 1 Tim. 2:5; Acts 4:12; John 14:6; 1 Pet. 2:24; Eph. 5:1-2; Gal. 1:4; 1 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 4:25

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Man's Response to the Gospel:

The proper response to the gospel is repentance through faith. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service or works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow Christ, he cannot become His disciple. This response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in God's free and unconditional election for His own pleasure and glory. This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations.

 

Act. 20:21; Mark 1:14-15; Titus 3:6-7

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Man's Inheritance through the Gospel:

Salvation, the free gift of God, is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, and for the glory of God alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to him. He is justified and entirely accepted by God. Through Christ's atonement for sin, an individual is reconciled to God as Father and becomes His child. The believer is forgiven the debt of his sin and, via the miracle of regeneration, liberated from the law of sin and death into the freedom of God's Spirit.

 

Eph 2:8; Rom 9:22-24; Mark 1:15; Gal 2:16; 2 Cor 5:21; 1Jn 3:1-3; Rom 8:2

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Sanctification:

The Holy Spirit is the active agent in our sanctification and seeks to produce His fruit in us as our minds are renewed and we are conformed to the image of Christ. Though indwelling sin remains a reality, as the Spirit leads us, we grow in the knowledge of the Lord, freely keeping His commandments and endeavoring to so live in the world that all people may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. All believers are exhorted to persevere in the faith, knowing they must give an account to God for their every thought, word, and deed. The spiritual disciplines, especially Bible study, prayer, worship, confession, and community, are vital means of grace in this regard. Nevertheless, the believer's ultimate confidence to persevere is based on the sure promise of God to preserve His people until the end, which is most certain.

 

John 14:2; Gal 5:22-23; Rom 8:29; Rom 14:12; Phil 3:14

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The Church:

The church exists for the display of the glory of God, to seek and save the lost, and to make disciples. Those who trust and follow Jesus are caught up in something bigger than themselves. We have graciously been invited into God's redemptive purposes in the world. Since the beginning, God has created and called forth His people to display His glory in a grand narrative of redemption and reconciliation.

 

Though creation now suffers the curse of Genesis 3, the gospel is how the world is being made right. The gospel also carries with it the promise of ultimate renewal, a restoration even more glorious than Eden, and thus believers eagerly anticipate the return of Christ. The Church universal (i.e., all believers, everywhere) is how God fulfills His purposes in the world.

 

The Church universal is used to write God's beautiful and dramatic story of redemption and reconciliation. In light of this reality, the opportunity to join a local church body (i.e., a particular group of believers in a particular locale) is much more than a commitment to consistent attendance or active involvement in the community. It is also a sacred call to be involved in the redemptive work of our sovereign God to push back the darkness of a fallen world through the power of the Holy Spirit with the light of His Son, Jesus Christ.

 

The church is the gathering of the redeemed, the household of God, the bride of Christ, and the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12 speaks of many members within the same body. Just as a human body relies upon the mutual dependence of individual members for proper functioning, so the body of Christ requires sacrificial and responsible service by its individual members; as the Scriptures say, "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.'" Likewise, a church member cannot tell another member that he or she is unnecessary. We all have gifts that differ according to the gracious provision of the Holy Spirit. Contrary to the beliefs of our culture, we need each other.

 

John 11:40; Luke 19:10; Matt 28:19; Rom 8:19; 1 Pete 2:9; 2 Cor. 5:17–20; Eph. 2:19; Rev. 21:2, 9; 1 Cor. 12:12–31; 1 Cor. 12:21; Rom. 12:3–8

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Sacraments of the Church:

Water baptism is only intended for the individual who has received the saving benefits of Christ's atoning work and becomes His disciple. Therefore, in obedience to Christ's command and as a testimony to God, the church, oneself, and the world, a believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual demonstration of a person's union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that his former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts a person's release from the mastery of sin. As with water baptism, the Lord's Supper is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ's body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ's death. As we partake of the Lord's Supper with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls, and signify our unity with other members of Christ's body.

 

Matthew 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12

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The Consummation:

The consummation of all things includes the visible, personal, and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the translation of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ's kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan with his hosts and all those outside Christ are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, shall live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then shall the eager expectation of creation be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God who makes all things new.

 

Isaiah 2:4; 11:9; Matthew 16:27; 18:8-9; 19:28; 24:27,30,36,44; 25:31-46; 26:64; Mark 8:38; 9:43-48; Luke 12:40,48; 16:19-26; 17:22-37; 21:27-28; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 17:31; Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 

15:24-28,35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 1:5; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 

5:1ff.; 2 Thessalonians 1:7ff.; 2; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1,8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:27-28; James 5:8; 2 Peter 3:7ff.; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14; Revelation 1:18; 3:11; 20:1-22:13

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The Family:

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It comprises persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

 

Marriage is uniting one biological man and one biological woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

 

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect, and lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. Being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, she has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.

 

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

 

Genesis 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalms 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16;Proverbs 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6,15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15,17; 31:10-31; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 9:9; Malachi 2:14-16;Matthew 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; 2 Timothy 1:3-5; Titus 2:3-5; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7