What do we believe?
About the Bible
The Bible is God’s Word to us, in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic and Koine Greek. Human authors wrote it under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because God inspired it, it is the truth without any mixture of error, absolute in its authority (Psalm 119:160), complete in its revelation, final in its content, and sufficient for life and godliness.
6 The words of the Lord are pure words; As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
Psalm 12:6
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
Psalm 119:105
160 The sum of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.
Psalm 119:160
20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
21for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
2 Peter 1:20–21
5 Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
Proverbs 30:5
13 Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.
2 Timothy 1:13
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16–17
About God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He is eternally existent in three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit and are one God co-equal in power and glory, having precisely the same nature and attributes.
We teach that God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes of all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is the Creator of all things. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption.
His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. He is a spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty, He is neither author nor approver of sin, nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures.
He has graciously known from eternity past those whom He would have as His own; saves from sin all who come to Him through faith alone in Jesus Christ; adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:26–27
2 Before the mountains were born
Or You gave birth to the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
Psalm 90:2
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
Matthew 28:19
8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.
11 “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
John 14:8–11
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God
Romans 8:13–16
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form
Colossians 2:8–9
3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit.
5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord.
6 There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.
1 Corinthians 12:3–6
About Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God the Son and is co-equal with God the Father. He was virgin-born, without sin, perfect, offered Himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sin, and rose again on the third day to pay for all sins. Everlasting life is given to all who trust in Him. He now lives for us in heaven and will imminently return for all believers.
22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:22–23
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth,
27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.
28And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”
29But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31“And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”
35The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:26–35
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:14–15
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
5and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
6After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep;
7then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles
1 Corinthians 15:3–7
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
Acts 1:9–11
13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate,
14that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords
1 Timothy 6:13–15
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,
14who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
Titus 2:11–14
24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24
About the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, eternal, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and truthfulness. He is co-equal with God the Father and the Son in all the divine attributes. He is present in the world to draw people to Christ.
He lives permanently in every Christian the moment they trust in Him, enabling the Christian to live with power and authority. He is Teacher, providing understanding of spiritual truth. He is Counselor, providing guidance in doing what is right and an ability to serve Him. And He is Comforter in times of stress and hardship.
We teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today. Speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were to point to and authenticate the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristics of the everyday lives of believers.
7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12 “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
John 16:7–13
16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.”
John 14:16–17
8 “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
Romans 8:1–11
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:1–8
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God
1 Corinthians 2:12
16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part;
10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.
1 Corinthians 13:8–10
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:25
About Mankind
God directly and immediately created man in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God. We are marred by a sinful nature, which causes us to disobey God. This “sin-nature” separates people from God and causes many problems in life.
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27
3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4 What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5 Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6 You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet
Psalm 8:3–6
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way
Isaiah 53:6a
1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Isaiah 59:1–2
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23
About Salvation
Salvation is God’s free-gift to us, but we must accept it by faith alone in Jesus Christ as the One who died and rose again. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works (social or religious). Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from the penalty of sin. When we place our faith alone in Christ alone, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior by faith and is eternally secure in Christ. However, a Christian can, through sin, lose his fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward and incur the Father’s chastisement.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 3:23
2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?
Romans 6:2
27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21:27
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8–9
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:16
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:13
37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.”
John 6:37, 39
28 “ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.”
John 10:28
1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture
1 Corinthians 15:1–3
6 “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:6
About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through faith alone in Christ for our salvation. To be eternally separated from God is eternal condemnation in hell. To be eternally linked with God is an everlasting, glorious life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 3:36
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:16–18
7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
9 but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.
1 Corinthians 2:7–9
15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:15