What We Believe

"For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ" Rev. 1:9

The 5 Core Doctrines of the Protestant Reformation

SOLA SCRIPTURA

(SCRIPTURE ALONE)

The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured.

SOLA GRATIA

(BY GRACE ALONE)

In salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by His grace alone. God’s spontaneous and unmerited favor is granted through the calling and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who releases us from our willful bondage to sin and enables us to repent and believe in Christ.

SOLA FIDE

(THROUGH FAITH ALONE)

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone. Justification can never be the reward or result of human works or merit, nor does it grow out of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness.

SOLUS CHRISTUS

(BECAUSE OF CHRIST ALONE)

Our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary death alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

(FOR THE GLORY OF GOD ALONE)

God glorifies Himself in all that He does. Therefore we should acknowledge His highest purpose and live for His glory alone.

Statement of Faith

This local church exists in order to fulfill a threefold purpose:

The worship of God in Spirit and Truth (John 4:23)

The edification of the body of believers (Ephesians 4:16)

The fulfillment of the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19)

The Holy Scriptures contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the only rule or standard that God has given the churches to govern all matters of faith and practice. All church doctrines and confessions of faith are subordinate to, and must be measured by, the Holy Scriptures. As its subordinate standard, this church recognizes the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. The 1689 London Baptist Confession stands in the line of historic Protestant confessions.

Charles Spurgeon, in his preface to the 1689 London Baptist Confession, wrote:
“[The 1689 London Baptist Confession is not provided] as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be lettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness. Here, the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity in small compass, and by means of the Scriptural proofs, will be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them. Be not ashamed of your faith; remember it is the ancient gospel of martyrs, confessors, reformers, and saints. Above all, it is the truth of God, against which the gates of hell cannot prevail. Let your lives adorn your faith, let your example recommend your creed. Above all, live in Christ Jesus, and walk in Him, giving credence to no teaching but that which is manifestly approved of Him, and owned by the Holy Spirit. Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you.”

What We Believe

Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Faith Alone, Grace Alone, Glory to God Alone.

  1. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by the inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.
  2. We believe in one triune God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the same in essence, equal in power and glory.
  3. We believe in the fall of Adam from original righteousness; in the imputation of his sin to all his posterity; in the total depravity of human nature; and in man’s inability to restore himself to the favor of God.
  4. We believe that God has loved His people with an everlasting love; that He chose them in Christ before the foundation of the world; that He called them with a holy and effectual calling; and, being justified alone by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, they are kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation.
  5. We believe there is one Mediator between God and man—the man Christ Jesus, who, by the satisfaction made to law and justice, in becoming an offering for sin, has, by His most precious blood, redeemed the elect from under the curse of the law and the just wrath of God; that they might be holy and without blame before Him in love.
  6. We believe that good works are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, and are evidences of a gracious state; and that all believers are bound to obey every command of God from a principle of love.
  7. We believe that a visible church of Jesus Christ is a congregation of faithful persons, who have given themselves to the Lord, and to one another, by the will of God and have covenanted to keep up a godly discipline, agreeable to the gospel.
  8. We believe that Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are gospel ordinances, appointed by Jesus Christ, and are to be continued in His church until the end of the age.
  9. We believe that the immersion of the body in water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is the only Scriptural way of Baptism, as taught by Christ and His apostles.
  10. We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the day of public worship for Christians. It is a Christian institution for regular observance. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead and should include exercise of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. “Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.”
  11. We believe in the general bodily resurrection of the dead and the final Day of Judgment; that the happiness of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked will be everlasting.
  12. We believe in the complementary role of men and women. Men and women are absolutely equal in essence, dignity, and value, but are different by God’s design. As part of God’s good created order, men and women are to have different, yet complementary, roles and responsibilities in the home and church, especially as it comes to authority and teaching. These role distinctions are God’s grace to man and woman and are to be protected, preserved, and practiced, for His glory and our joy.
  13. We believe that marriage is ordained by God to be the exclusive union of one man and one woman, until death do them part.
  14. We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God.
  15. We believe that God has created mankind in His image and that human life begins at conception. God, in His infinite sovereignty, uniquely formed human beings and gave them a special dignity, personal freedom, and individual accountability among all the works of creation. Human beings have been made for relationship with God and to be good and faithful stewards of creation. God created each person’s inmost being, forming each person in his mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). As God’s individualized and personal creation, each person is fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14). God has ordained all the days of each person’s life before they came to be (Psalm 139:16).
  16. We believe that God has ordained the sanctity of all human life, and we therefore condemn any attack on that sanctity, including murder, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, and the assisting of another’s suicide.
  17. We believe that all things, whether in life or in death, must be done to the glory of God alone.