STATEMENT OF FAITH
THE SCRIPTURES. The canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as originally written were inspired by God, hence free from error in all that they affirm. They constitute the only infallible guide to faith and practice.
ONE GOD IN TRINITY. There is one God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinite in being and perfection. He exists eternally in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are of one substance and equal in power and glory.
THE HUMAN CONDITION. Human beings were created in the image of God and set as the crown of the created order to glorify God and enjoy fellowship with him forever. Through willful rebellion they fell from their sinless state at the suggestion of Satan. This fall plunged them into a state of sin and spiritual death, and brought upon the entire human race the sentence of eternal death and the experience of mortality. While still bearing the image of God, human beings are now sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God and under his wrath. From this condition we can be saved only by the grace of God, through faith, on the basis of the finished work of Christ, and by the agency of the Holy Spirit. As part of this primordial fall, all Creation became subject to frustration, awaiting God’s remedy in Christ.
JESUS CHRIST. The eternally preexistent Son became incarnate without human father, being born of the virgin Mary. Thus in the Lord Jesus Christ divine and human natures were forever united in one Person, both natures being whole, perfect, and distinct. He is the Messiah, and his earthly ministry – with its miracles, teaching, and self-sacrifice – inaugurated the promised Kingdom of God. To effect salvation, he lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the sinner’s substitute, voluntarily shedding his blood for the remission of sins. On the third day he rose from the dead imperishable in the body which had been laid in the tomb, thereby defeating the power of death and confirming his status as Savior and Redeemer. He ascended to the right hand of God the Father, where he has been given all authority in heaven and on earth, and from which he now rules and performs the ministry of intercession. Life in all its fullness is now proclaimed in his name. He shall come again in power, personally and visibly, to complete his saving work, to consummate the Kingdom of God, and to fulfill the eternal plan of God.
THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the triune God. He brings glory to Christ, and applies to human beings the work of Christ. By justification and adoption human beings are given a right-standing before God as a free gift; by regeneration, sanctification, and glorification a person’s nature is made new. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian believer, and offers help, encouragement, and power for fulfilling the directives of the Lord Jesus, and for living for his glory.
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Every Christian is called to a life of ever-increasing love for God and love for their neighbor. The believer, having turned to God in penitent faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is responsible before God to pursue a life separated from sin and characterized by the fruit of the Spirit. It is their responsibility to contribute by word and deed to the universal spread of the Gospel, and furthermore to the transformation of their society and culture to better reflect the goodness, justice, and love of God. All real progress and victory in the Christian life is dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit. No matter how mature the believer may become, the basis for fellowship with God is always and only the finished work of Christ as appropriated by faith alone.
THE CHURCH. The church is the body of Christ and has both universal and local existences. The church universal consists of all true believers everywhere throughout all time. In solidarity with the church universal we joyfully confess our adherence to the historic Apostles’ and Nicene creeds, and we embrace opportunities for interdenominational cooperation wherever that cooperation will reaffirm and express the truth of the Gospel. The church also exists, locally and visibly, in every community gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, communities in which the Word of God is proclaimed and the sacraments faithfully administered. There are two sacraments or ordinances that have been given to the church to be observed until the return of Christ, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The power of the sacraments consists in their tangible proclamation and confirmation of the Gospel. Imperfect though it may be in this age, the visible church remains the divinely ordained locus for corporate worship, life-giving fellowship, mutual encouragement, discipleship, and training in the Scriptures.
CHURCH AND STATE. Christians of every locality carry a dual citizenship. As citizens of their own state and country, they have a responsibility to pray for their earthly governors and to work for the genuine welfare of their state and fellow countrymen. As citizens of the Kingdom of God, their ultimate loyalty is to the Lord Jesus Christ. In a just society, the Christian church has the right to practice its historic faith – including speaking the truth publicly – free from government interference.
THE LAST THINGS. At the end of the age the Lord Jesus will return in great glory and the dead shall be raised. Sinners outside of Christ shall be condemned to eternal death, but the redeemed in Christ shall enter into full possession of eternal life in the presence of God. There will be a new heaven and a new earth, sin and sorrow shall be no more, and the earth will be filled with the glory of God.
