What We Teach

THE INSPIRATION AND AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE: We believe the Bible is the verbally inspired Word of God and the final authority in all belief and practice. The Old Testament is comprised of the 39 Books from Genesis to Malachi and the New Testament is comprised of the 27 Books from Matthew to Revelation. For sake of unity, the King James Version is used in all course material.  (John 5:24, II Timothy 3:16, II Peter 1:21).

THE PERSON OF GOD: We believe God is supreme in His person, eternal in His being, absolute in His attributes, glorious in His perfection. We believe in the Trinity.  This is to say that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption (Matt. 3:16-17, 28:19, John 14:16, II Cor. 13:14).

THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST: We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, His deity and sinless life, His vicarious death, His bodily resurrection and ascension, and in His personal, pre-tribulation, pre-millennial return for His church (John 1:1-14, 8:58, Matt. 28:18, I Cor. 15:4, Acts 2:24, I Tim. 4:14-18).

THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe that the Holy Spirit is the executive of the Godhead.  We believe that He executes the plan of God for our conviction and salvation.  All believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and empowered for service by Him (John 14:26, Ephesians 4:30, Acts 5:3-4, Gal. 4:6, Eph. 5:18, John 16:12-15, Rom. 8:14).

THE FALL OF MAN: We believe that man was created in the image of God and by choice fell into sin and death.  Hence, every person is sinful and under the condemnation of eternal judgment (Gen. 3, Rom. 5:12, 2:9-20, 3:22-23, 6:23).

THE FREENESS OF SALVATION: We believe that the blessings of salvation are made free by the Gospel, that nothing prevents the salvation of the greatest sinner but his own inherent depravity and voluntary rejection of the Gospel (Eph. 2:8-9, Rom. 10:13, John 1:12).

THE SALVATION OF SINNERS: We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace, and that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation (Acts 4:12, Rom. 4:1-5, John 3:16, Eph. 2:8-9).

THE SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER: We believe that those who receive Jesus Christ as Savior are eternally secure.  Our security rests in the finished work of Jesus Christ:  as a result, we have assurance (John 10:28-30, Rom. 8:38-39, I John 13).

THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH: We believe that the visible church is a congregation of baptized believers, practicing New Testament principles, believing its doctrines, observing its ordinances and exercising its autonomy. The local church is an indigenous group of believers which finds within itself the ability to govern itself, support itself, and reproduce itself, and willing to include the word “church” in its title.  The local church is independent of any external denominational or hierarchical control.  Its officers are the  pastor and deacons who are to be men.  (Eph. 1:22-23, I Cor. 5:4-5, 6:1-5, Matt. 8:15-17, Eph. 4:1-16; I Tim. 3:1-13).

CHURCH ORDINANCES: We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of the Local Church.  We believe that baptism by immersion should be administered to believers only as a symbol of their belief in the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; and as a testimony to the world of their personal faith in and their identification with the work of Christ for salvation.  We believe that the Lord’s Supper should be partaken of by believers only to show forth their association with His death, till He comes (Matt. 28:19, Rom. 6:1-8, I Cor. 11:23-26).

THE DOCTRINE OF HEAVEN AND HELL: We believe in the eternal blessedness of the saved in heaven and the eternal punishment of the lost in hell and the lake of fire (Philip. 1:23, I Thes. 4:13-18, Luke 16:19-26, Rev. 20:13).

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST: We believe that Jesus Christ is risen, seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for the saints and is coming again. This second coming will take place in two phases: (1) The Rapture of the Church, which could occur at any time, where the saints are caught up to meet Christ in the clouds.  Then, following the seven year Tribulation Period, the (2) Revelation of Christ will occur when Christ returns to the earth to judge the nations and set up His Millennial Kingdom.

SEPARATE JUDGMENTS FOR BELIEVERS AND UNBELIEVERS: We believe that the believer has had his sins eternally judged in Christ on the cross, but will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, after the rapture of the church, and give account for his stewardship and service to Christ.  At this judgment, the believer will either receive a reward or suffer the loss of reward (I Cor. 3:9-15, II Cor. 5:1-10, Rev. 4:1-11).  We believe that the unbelievers of the ages will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the thousand year reign of Christ.  They will be judged for their sins and cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

THE DEVIL: We believe that Satan is an actual, personal angelic being, who through pride, ambition and self-will, attempted to rise above the authority of God.  He lost his position of purity to become the arch enemy of God and God’s people.  In this age, he is the “god of this world” and the “prince of the power of the air.”  He is the “father of all lies,” the tempter and accuser of the saints.  He will be put into the bottomless pit during the thousand year reign of Christ, released to lead a rebellion at the close of that reign, and cast into the lake of fire after the thousand year reign of Christ (Job 1-2, Ezek. 28:12-19, Isa. 14:12-27, John 8:44, Rev. 12:10, Eph. 2:2, 6:12, John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11, II Cor. 4:4, Rev. 20:1-10).

THE GREAT COMMISSION: We believe that all believers are responsible and accountable to the Great Commission given to the Church. We believe that this commission was given to the apostles as representative of all believers during the Church Age. The agency through which this commission is to be organized is the Local Church. (Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8)