We Believe there is one God; that God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; that while each of these is a separate Person, they share equally in the One Nature and Essence of God; and that this is called the Godhead in the Scripture [Deut. 6:4; 1 Jo. 5:7; 1 Tim 3:16; Jo. 1:1-14; Acts 5:1-4; Col. 2:9; Rom. 8:9-11].

We Believe the Word is Christ, the eternal God, by whom all things are made and consist; and that Christ Jesus is “God manifest in the flesh” [1 Tim. 3:16], was born of a virgin, the only begotten of the Father; that He lived a sinless, miraculous life, died on a cross suffering the judgment of our sins in His own body, was buried in a nearby tomb, and arose bodily from the grave the third day, alive, according to the Scriptures [John 1:1-14; Col. 1:15-17; 1 Tim. 3:16; He. 1:3; Phil. 2:5-11; Matt. 1:18-20; Heb. 4:15; John 20:30-31; Matt 26-27; 1 Co. 15:1-8]; He lives evermore [Rev. 1:18; Heb 7:25]

We Believe the Holy Spirit is God; that he dwells in the believer at salvation and that Jesus baptizes the surrendered believer with the Spirit who then fills the believer empowering him for service; we believe the Holy Spirit fills the body which is Christ’s temple today, prefigured by the Old Testament Temple; and that this filling is grounded upon the sacrifice of the blood of the Lamb, and effected at the dedication of the temple in obedience to God. We believe the Spirit directs the Church’s ministry today and flows through believers into the world [Acts 5:1-4; Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:1-5; 11:16; John. 16:7,14; Ac. 4:30,31; Rom. 8:9-11; 12:1,2; Eph. 5:18; Acts 1:8; 2:4; 13:2; 16:6; 19:2; 1 Co. 12-14].

We Believe  Satan is an angel created by God and made the covering cherub; he was perfect in all his ways until iniquity was found in him; he is a liar and the father of it; he set himself against God and declared he would exalt himself above God’s stars, and he coveted the likeness of God; he was denied and cast down and deceived 1/3 of God’s angelic host to follow him into his rebellion.

We Believe Satan is God’s enemy. God has condemned Satan and his devils to burn forever in the Lake of Fire. Their judgment is set for a future time; meanwhile, Satan continues to oppose God’s will and ways and seeks to overthrow God’s rule in man’s heart; he has succeeded so far as to establish himself as the god of this world, but Christ has conquered him [Ezek. 28:13-19; Is. 14:12; Rev 12:4; Jo. 8:44; Matt. 25:41; 8:29; 4; 2Co. 4:4; Jo 16:33; Col. 2:15; 1 Jo. 4:4; Eph 6:12].

We Believe Man was created male and female and in the image and after the likeness of His maker, God; that God made him a moral agent with the prerogative to exercise his will freely to submit to God’s will, that man’s greatest purpose is to love God; that, however, man exercised the prerogative of his will to disobey God, and so followed Satan in sin; and that through sin man’s nature became sinful, and that this nature is passed on to all Adam’s race. Albeit retaining God’s image, by sin, Man took on Satan’s nature. We believe man has a conscience given to him by God, by which he may know God’s law; that this conscience may be silenced through sin; and we believe God has given every man a divinely appointed measure of faith; that Jesus draws all to Himself by the Cross [Gen. 1:26,27; 3; Rom. 3:10-23; 5:12; 2:14; 12:3; John 8:44; James 3:9; 1 Jo. 3:8].

We Believe the wages of sin is death, that all have sinned, that those who die in their sin cannot go to heaven and must suffer the eternal fires with Satan and his devils; that, however, God has provided salvation for mankind through Jesus Christ; that this salvation is by grace through faith alone without works of righteousness; that salvation is made available by Jesus Christ through His sacrificial death on the cross which paid man’s debt for sin; that salvation is received through Jesus Christ alone by confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus, believing in the heart that He arose from the dead, and calling on His name to be saved. [Rom. 6:23; 3:23; John. 8:21-24; Matt. 25:21; Rev. 21:8; Eph 2:8,9; 5:8,9; 10:9-13; 1 Jo. 5:13].

We Believe Christians cannot lose their salvation, but we do not believe this means Christians may live any way they choose without eternal consequences. We believe Christians will be chastened for sin now, in this life; and in the life to come sinning Christians will suffer a loss of rewards at the judgment seat of Christ. They will receive the things done in their body, according to what was done; and that both good and bad works will be judged. We, with the Apostle Paul, take this judgment very seriously and testify to holy regard for the fear of the Lord who is Holy, Holy, Holy [Rom. 8:38,39; He. 12:6-11; 1 Co. 3:11-16; 2 Co. 5:9-11; Is. 6:3]

We Believe Jesus Christ will physically return for all believers; and that *He could return any moment to rapture all Christians out of this world before the tribulation begins; **that he will then return to the earth with His saints to establish His kingdom and authority on this planet [Acts 1:1-11; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 3:13; Rev 19:11-15; 20:1-5; Cf. 11-15].

We Believe the church is Christ’s body, that it is a local, visible congregation of baptized believers who are committed to the Lord and to His Word, and who are organized in accordance with the Scriptures with the mission to reach the world with the gospel message [Eph 1:22, 23 Matt 28:18-20; Rev 1:20}

We Believe the Lord’s churches are independent; i.e., not governed by any denominational board or hierarchy; His churches are not organized under the oversight of any affiliation; none of the many wonderful leaders among the independent Baptist churches exercise anything more than what influence each individual church leadership recognizes as coming from the HEAD, which is Christ ALONE; His churches are organized according to Jesus’ clear instruction with one Bishop, usually referred to as senior Pastor, and whatever deacons might be thought necessary to assist the pastor in the ministry of the Church [Rev 2-3; Acts 9:31; 15:41; Rom. 16:16; Acts 6, 15; Eph 1:22; 5:23; 1 Tim. 3; Phil. 1:1].

We Believe water baptism is the baptism of repentance given by God to John the Baptist **and commanded for all believers by Jesus Christ to His churches; it pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; it is necessary for obedience, but not essential for salvation. Baptism identifies a believer publicly as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is for believers only. For baptism to be genuine it must be Scriptural: the baptism of repentance is by full immersion in water and administered by a New Testament Church with biblical authority [ Rom. 6:1-4; 1 Co. 1:17; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet. 3:21; Acts 19:1-5].

We Believe the Lord’s Table was given by Jesus Christ to His future Bride, the Church, as a special memorial for her to observe during His absence. **The elements of the Table are representative of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, and the receiving of these by the believer is a testimonial of our faith in Christ Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins, and the power of the blood of Jesus to wash away our sins. *Because of our belief in the Bible’s teaching concerning the Church, we believe this memorial service was given especially to His churches, and that it is closed to any who are not born again, identified as a disciple of Jesus Christ by biblical baptism, and united with His Church [1 Co. 11; Matt 26:26ff]. *We believe the communion is to be a private assembly of members only, following the example set by Jesus Christ.

We Believe separation is commanded in the Scripture; that it is God’s will that believers separate themselves from the world by denying ungodly lusts, shunning ungodly activities, and pursuing holiness in attitudes and actions; that it is God’s will for believers to separate from false brethren, and from error in doctrine; while maintaining a loving disposition toward the sinner, we refuse the sin and reject the heretic [2 Co. 6:17; 1 Jo. 2:15; Titus 2:12; Eph 5:3; 2 Co. 7:1; Rom. 16:17; Titus 3:10; Jo. 3:16]

We do not affiliate with the WCC or NCC, or any other group denying any of the fundamentals of the Christian faith.

We believe it is insulting to our Holy God when we fail to maintain clear distinctions between the profane and the holy [ Ezek 22:26; 44:23]

We Believe  it grieves the Holy Spirit of God when believers bicker in bitterness and wrath and anger; that evil speaking should be put away with all malice; that believers ought to be marked by a spirit of tenderheartedness, forgiving one another, supporting one another in brotherly love; that because so much discord is found among believers, prayers are hindered and revival tarries [Eph. 4:30-32; Matt. 18:15-20; Acts 4:24-31]

We Believe  it quenches the Holy Spirit when believers yield to the flesh, refuse to distinguish themselves from the world in dress and manners, and attempt to win the world by identifying with the fashions and amusements of this adulterous and rebellious generation. We believe churches which accommodate the carnality of worldly Christians defile the conscience of the wicked, and encourage Satan in his effort to sow tares among the wheat, and harden believer’s hearts against humble repentance and so shutting the door against any hope for true, Holy Ghost revival in our land [ 1 Thes. 5:19; Gal:16-21; 1 John 2:15-16; 1 Co. 7:31 with Deut. 22:5; 1 Tim 2:9; 1 Pet 1:15, 16; 1 Co. 3; 1 Tim 4:1-4; Matt. 13:25; 2 Chron. 7:14; Is. 58:1,2; Jer. 10:17-21]

We Believe the Holy Spirit is limited by believers who refuse to worship according to the Spirit and Truth; that the Holy Spirit desires to operate in and through the congregation manifesting Christ Jesus, comforting, counseling, convicting and correcting as needed; but that because we grieve, quench and/or limit the Holy One of Israel, the Churches are woefully lacking in an authentic experience of the Holy Ghost; that as a consequence of this lack of genuine experience of the Holy Ghost in our worship, many have attempted to substitute carnal stimulation of the flesh through fleshly music and encouraging a carnal emotionalism; even going so far as to fake the demonstration of the Spirit through staged healing and pagan ecstatic utterance passed off as the spiritual gift of tongues. While we certainly do not believe excitement and enthusiasm for the Lord and expressions of genuine affection for Him in public worship tend toward any evil; we do believe the Holy Ghost is concerned about what vessel He uses to effuse His Glory; that fleshly worship has never been acceptable to Him [Ps. 78:41; John 4:24; 1 Cor. 12-14 & Acts; John 15:26; 16:8-13; Acts; 1 Co. 3; Gal. 5:16-21; Rom 7-8; 1 Co. 14; Ps. 150; 1 Thes. 4:4; 2 Tim. 2:20, 21; Ezek. 44:23; 2 Co 6:17]

*A Special note regarding the gift of tongues is thought necessary in light of the confusion and controversy Satan has succeeded at working among Christians over this doctrine.

The Bible teaches the Jews require a sign [1 Co. 1:22]

*Tongues were given for a sign [1 Co 14:22]

The Bible predicted that God would announce His offer of the kingdom to Israel by the sign gift of tongues; that they would reject it and thereby forfeit the Kingdom [Is. 28:11, 1 Co. 14:21]

*The Bible teaches this did in fact occur; Israel was cast away, or cut off [Ac. 2:5; 28:27, 28; Ro. 11:20b-21]

*The Bible predicted Jesus would be born of a virgin as a sign to Israel [Is. 7:14]. This occurred. It is now history. We do not look for this sign today, even though it is still found in Scripture. Likewise, we believe the gift of tongues has served its purpose; it is a fulfilled prophecy [Is. 28:11; Acts 2; 1 Co. 13:8]

*We are particularly concerned about the current emphasis on “signs” as that by which we validate, or approve a ministry because, first, the Bible clearly indicates it is the proper knowledge and teaching of Scripture that approves a ministry [1 Tim 2:15-16; 1 Co. 11:19] and second, it is by means of “signs” and miracles that Satan will deceive the world in the end-time [Rev. 13:11-18]

We Believe  sodomy (homosexuality) is an abomination to God a danger to those who practice it both spiritual and physically, and a curse to society; (while we love the sinner, we reject the sin); [Ro. 1:26, 27; Lev 18:22]

We Believe the Bible recognizes the infant in the womb to be a person and therefore must condemn abortion as murder [Lu 1:41; Jer 1:5; Ps 139:14-16].

We Believe the Lord Jesus has commanded us to obey the laws of government, to honor those in authority, and to pray for them. We believe the authority of government is not unlimited; and that our allegiance to conscience and faith supersedes our allegiance to the government; that, however, this does not mean if we disagree in conscience or faith with the laws of our government we are obliged to take up arms; we believe Jesus has given us only the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God; that our battles are spiritual and not carnal. Nonetheless, it is required of believers to exercise their role in the community as both salt and light; and so all believers are encouraged to participate in the political process, as did Daniel, and Joseph, et al; and to utilize the protections afforded to us by our laws as did the Apostle Paul before us. [Ro. 13:1-9; 1 Peter 2:13-17; Acts 5:29; 2 Co. 5:20; Eph 6:9; Eph 6:12-18; Matt. 5:13,14; Acts 21-23]

We Believe the New Testament Temple is the body of the believer, and every Christian is a New Testament priest. As the Spirit (Shekinah Glory) dwelt between the Cherubim of the ark in the Holy Place of the Old Testament Temple, now He dwells in the heart of the believers. As the Glory of the Lord filling the body of believers. We believe every New Testament priest is called to service the New Testament Temple, offering the sacrifices of praise, prayer, the surrender of body and spirit in holiness, and to participate in sacrificial giving [ 1 Co. 6:19; 1 Pe. 2:5; Gal. 4:6; Acts 4:30, 31; He. 13:15; Ps. 141:2; Ro. 12:1-2; 1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 7:1-2; Phil. 4:18].