The Bible- The Bible is the divinely inspired and preserved Word of God. As the very Word of God, it is complete and true. The Bible is an account of God’s dealing with mankind, and more specifically, God’s plan for man’s redemption. We only use the King James Version of the Bible as we believe it to be the only, perfectly inspired and preserved translation of the Bible for English speaking people today.
Who God is- God is the most high, supreme Being by whom all things both material and spiritual were created. There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is triune, in that while He is one, He is also 3 distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is eternal in the fact that He has no beginning or ending. God is holy in the fact that He is set apart and above all things in righteousness. God is omniscient (all knowing), omnipotent (all powerful), and omnipresent (is present everywhere at once). While history is constantly changing, God is immutable; He never changes. God has always been and will always be sovereign over all time and creation.
Who Christ is- Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, the second person of the Trinity. Jesus was both fully God and fully man at the same time. As God in flesh, Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, and laid down His life to pay for mankind’s sins by dying on a cross. Having resurrected from the dead, Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father and makes intercession for believers as our Great High Priest. Jesus will one day, come to earth again as a conquering king who will dispense justice by the word of His mouth at the great day of the Lord.
The Holy Spirit- The Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost is the third part of the Godhead. He is the part of God that literally indwells the believer- (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit acts as our Comforter- (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit teaches us in the ways of God and communicates truth- (1 John 2:20, John 16:13). The Holy Spirit sanctifies, that is, He works in us to transform us into the likeness of Christ- (2 Corinthians 3:18). The Holy Spirit also functions to guide us and lead us in our Christian life- (Galatians 5:16-18).
Salvation- To be saved, a person needs to first acknowledge that they are a sinner. (Romans 3:23.) As a sinner, that person needs to realize that there is a punishment for sin: eternal separation from God, also known as the second death, an eternity in the lake of fire- (Romans 6:23). A person must realize that the gift of heaven is freely given through grace and that there is no amount of good works or religious practices that anyone can do in order to earn their way to heaven- (Ephesians 2:8-9). A person must recognize and believe in their heart that Jesus Christ died on their behalf for their sins, was buried, and rose again and call on the name of the Lord in faith- (Romans 10:9). A person must repent of anything else that he puts his faith in to take him to heaven and turn to Jesus Christ alone. The only way to heaven is through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. It is genuine faith or belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ plus nothing and minus nothing- (John 14:6)
Eternal Security of the Believer- Once a person has accepted Christ’s free gift of salvation by faith, there is nothing that the believer can do to lose their salvation. They are sealed by the Holy Spirit. At salvation, the believer becomes one with Christ and Romans 8:38-39 states that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. While it is certainly true that a Christian can get to the point where his sin breaks his fellowship with God, he can never lose his relationship with God. Once saved, always saved.
Baptism- Baptism is a picture of, and identifies us with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is by immersion only and in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Baptism is only for the saved individual and not for unbelievers or infants. Baptism is simply a picture of the gospel and identifies us with other believers, but it is NOT necessary for salvation.
The Church- The church is a called out assembly of saved, baptized believers who assemble to edify each other, to worship the Lord, and to fulfill the Great Commission to go out into all the world and preach the gospel. While the church was empowered in Acts chapter 2, it was not started then. Jesus started the church during His earthly ministry and not at the day of Pentecost as described in Acts chapter 2.
Church Ordinances- There are only two church ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper (also known as communion). Both have nothing to do with salvation but serve as pictures or reminders of what the Lord has done for us. Baptism represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, of which the believer takes part in at salvation, and also identifies the believer with other believers. The Lord’s Supper shows us the Lord’s sacrifice on the cross. The two elements: the fruit of the vine (not alcohol) and the unleavened bread represent the pure blood of Christ and the spotless, broken body of Christ respectively. These elements serve as only pictures and do NOT literally become the body and blood of Christ. Additionally, the Lord’s Supper should only be taken by saved individuals who have a clear conscience before the Lord.
Creation- We believe that the Bible clearly describes the creation of the world by God in six literal 24-hour days as described in the first few chapters of the book of Genesis. Man, animals, and plant life do not share a common ancestor. Genesis describes how God created plant life, animals, and man distinct from each other. Man was created in the image and likeness of God and is therefore, distinct from animal life.
The Rapture of the Church- The rapture of the church is an end times event that is described in the books of Thessalonians in which the trumpet of God will sound and the bodies of the departed saints will be resurrected and caught up to heaven. It is then that the saved individuals which are alive and remain shall be caught up together to heaven and meet Jesus in the air. The rapture is the very next event on God’s calendar. There are no other prophetic events that need to occur in order for the rapture to take place. The rapture of the church is imminent, that is to say, it could happen at any moment.
The Tribulation- The Great Tribulation, or the day of Jacob’s trouble as described in Jeremiah 30:7, is a 7 year period of time, after the rapture, in which God’s wrath will be poured out on the earth. This is a period of wars, famine, pestilence and a one-world government led by the Antichrist. The Antichrist will make peace with Israel for a time and then betray them by leading the nations of the world against them in the battle of Armageddon. We believe that all believers will be raptured before the tribulation takes place. God will catch away His people before He pours out His wrath on the earth.
The Premillennial Return of Christ- The Bible very clearly teaches that Christ will rule and reign on the earth for 1,000 years as described in Isaiah 11, Daniel 2, and Revelation 20. The Bible clearly teaches that the rapture of the church will take place before the millennial reign in 2 Thessalonians. Furthermore, we believe that the rapture of the church will take place before the tribulation period as well. One could describe us as being both premillennial and pretribulational.