Hover over the any blue Scripture reference to see the verse.
Scripture
We believe the Holy Bible was written by men divinely-inspired by God, and it 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 totally true and trustworthy.
- It reveals the principles by which God judges us.
- It is 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.
- The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
God
We believe in one, and only one, living and true God. (
)- The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. ( )
God the Father
We believe God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. (
)- God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. ( )
God the Son
We believe 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. ( )
- 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. ( ), ( )
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. (
)- He exalts Christ. ( )
- He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. ( )
- He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. ( )
Man
We believe man is the special creation of God, in His own image. (
)- God created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. ( )
- By his free choice, man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. ( )
- The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. ( )
Salvation
We believe salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. (
, )- In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. ( )
- Regeneration happens when the Holy Spirit makes us a new creation. He rescues us from being dead in our sin and makes us alive in Christ. ( )
- Justification is when God pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of their faith in Christ and His sacrifice. We are justified, or declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. ( )
- Sanctification is the process where God sets Christians apart from the rest of the world and makes them holy. It is the process of believers growing in the Lord. ( )
- Glorification is the transformation God has promised after this life, when believers will be like Christ in perfected bodies with the corruption of sin removed. ( )
God’s Purpose of Grace
We believe election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. (
, )- All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. ( )
The Church
We believe a New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers.
- It is associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, governed by His laws, exercising the gifts, rights, and privileges invested in them by His Word, and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth.
- Each congregation operates under the Lordship of Christ through democratic processes. In such a congregation, each member is responsible and accountable to Christ as Lord.
- Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
We believe Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water. (
)- It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. ( )
We believe the Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. (
)Evangelism and Missions
We believe it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. We are to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ. (
)The Lord’s Day
We believe the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion. (
)Last Things
We believe God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. (
)- Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, and the dead will be raised. ( )
- Christ will judge all men in righteousness. ( )
- Those who have not accepted Christ’s sacrifice and been covered by His atonement will be consigned to Hell. Those who have accepted Christ’s sacrifice and made Him their Lord and Savior will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord. ( )
Stewardship
We believe God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. (
, )- Christians have a spiritual responsibility to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions. ( )
Cooperation
We believe Christ’s people should organize such associations and conventions as may best secure cooperation for the great objects of the Kingdom of God.
- Such organizations have no authority over one another or over the churches.
- Cooperation is desirable between the various Christian denominations.
The Christian and the Social Order
We believe all Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in our own lives and in our interaction with human society. (
)- In the spirit of Christ, Christians should call everyone to turn from sin, which includes (though is not limited to) racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. ( , )
- We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. ( , )
- We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. ( , )
- Christians are called to mercifully and lovingly seek the restoration of those who fall to sin without ever compromising God’s Word by accepting the sin. ( )
Religious Liberty
We believe the church and state should be separate.
- The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends.
- A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal.
Family
We believe God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society.
- It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption.
- Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.
- The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.
- A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to lead his family in seeking and following the Lord and to do his utmost toward providing for and protecting it.
- 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. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing and providing for 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 God’s pattern for marriage to their children.
Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.