THE BIBLE
The Bible, composed of the Old & New Testaments, is a divine revelation. While involving human authorship, these sacred Scriptures are in their entirety the inerrant, inspired word of God. The uniting theme in all the Scriptures is the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, and this revelation is sufficient for the communication of God’s will to us today. The Bible is the ultimate, authoritative guide for the Christian’s life and the practices of the church. 2Timothy 3:15-17; 1Peter 1:23-25; 2Peter 1:21
GOD
There is one God, the Creator, and He rules over all. He is eternal - He has always been and will always be - and is unchanging in His character and attributes, and His righteousness provides the standard for determining right and wrong. He is perfect in love and holiness. He has always existed in a triunity - one God in three eternal Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While He is the sovereign creator of all, His Fatherhood is only truly appreciated by those who know him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 3:16-17; Galatians 4:6; 1John 1:5; 4:16
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is God manifest in human flesh. Since He is the eternal Son of the Father, He is fully God and is Lord of all. By His incarnation, He has become fully man, yet without sin, having been born of a virgin mother. In the divine plan of redemption, He willingly and lovingly came into the world to save sinners. He died a substitutionary, sin-atoning death, was buried, was raised the third day as a vindication of His righteousness and a seal of approval upon His finished work on the cross, was seen by many witnesses, and then ascended bodily back to Heaven and sits at God’s right hand. He will return to the air to take His church to be with Him, and will bring His people with Him as He returns to the earth to reign in righteousness in the coming kingdom. Matthew 1:23; John 1:1,14; Acts 10:36; 1Corinthians 15:3-7; 1Timothy 1:15; 3:16; Hebrews 1:3,13; 2:14
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person. His ministry is to glorify Christ, which He does by convicting people of their sin and their need of a Saviour, and revealing Christ in the Scriptures. By His regenerating power, sinners receive new life through faith in Jesus Christ. Every Christian is sealed and indwelled by the Spirit of God from the moment of their conversion, and are sanctified by His transforming power to become more like Christ. He energizes believers in their worship and equips each member for their particular ministry. John 16:7-14; 1Corinthians 12:7; 2Corinthians 3:17-18; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 1:13; Titus 3:4-6
MEN & WOMEN
The first man and woman were created good, directly by God, and in His image. By virtue of Adam’s sin, the human race is now fallen, possessing a sinful nature, and apart from salvation each individual is alienated from God. All men and women have sinned and are utterly unable to remedy their lost condition by their own ability. Anyone who rejects God’s mercy in His Son and thus dies in their sins is destined to eternal destruction. In salvation, we are reconciled back to God and destined to reign with the Lord Jesus in His coming kingdom. Genesis 1:26-27,31; John 3:18; Romans 3:23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:21-22; 2Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 5:9-10
SALVATION
Salvation is an unmerited gift of God, by which man is forgiven of his sins, declared righteous by God, and receives eternal life. Salvation is always received by grace, through repentance and faith, and in virtue of the death of Christ on the cross. Salvation is available for all but is only experienced by those who respond to God’s offer of mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is not a means of salvation, but an act of obedience by which believers show their identification with Christ. Those who have been saved will grow in their salvation, will bear fruit for God, and will be kept eternally secure by God. Ultimately, the saved will be perfectly conformed to the image of God’s Son. Acts 20:21; Romans 3:21-29; 6:3-4,23; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9; 1Timothy 2:5-6; 1John 3:2-3; Jude 2. Read more of the gospel here.
THE CHURCH
Through the baptism in the Spirit, all believers of this age are incorporated into the body of Christ, the church. The church is not a humanly devised organization, but a spiritual organism composed of all born again persons. Baptized believers are then to participate in the fellowship of a local church. Each local church is an autonomous group of Christians, accountable to the risen Lord, and functioning under the authority of His word. The Lord Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, has entrusted the care of His churches to His under shepherds (also referred to as elders or overseers) who are responsible to lead each local church. The fellowship of the local church is to be marked by the regular corporate practices of the Lord’s supper, prayer, Bible teaching, evangelism, and loving support of one another. Acts 2:41-42; 20:17,28; 1Cor 12:13,26-27; 1Thessalonians 1:8; 1Peter 5:1-5