Tenets of Faith
The human phraseology employed in this statement is not inspired nor contended for,
but the truth set forth is held to be essential to a full Gospel ministry, accurately
representing the teachings of the Bible and, therefore, is binding upon all members. No
claim is made that it contains all the truth in the Bible, only that it covers orthodox
fundamental matters. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe.
All literature, whether print or electronic, used in the church shall be in complete
agreement with the Tenet of Faith.
I. The Holy Scriptures – We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God1.
The Scriptures are eternal2, wholly without error as originally given by God3, and are the final authority for faith and conduct4. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy5. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man6.
( 11 Thes. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17) (2Ps. 119:89; Isa. 40:8; Luke 21:33; 1 Peter 1:25) (32
Peter 1:20-21) (4Ps. 119:11, 105; Jer. 15:16; Acts. 17:11; Rom. 15:4) (5Ps. 18:30, 19:7-
9; John 17:17) (6Ex. 24:4; 2 Sam. 23:2; Luke 24:27, 44; Heb. 1:1-2, 4:12)
II. God – We believe there is one, and only one, living and true God1. He is an
intelligent, perfect, infinite, eternal, and personal Being; the Creator, Redeemer,
Preserver, and Ruler of the universe2. God is infinite in holiness and all other
perfections. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience3. The eternal
triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal
attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being4.
(1Deut. 6:4-5; Isa. 43:10-11; Jer. 10:10; Mark 12:29; Rom. 3:30; 1 Tim. 2:5) (2Job 19:25;
Ps. 19:1, 90:2, 103:19; Col. 1:16-17) (31 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 12:28; Rev. 4:8) (4Matt. 28:19;
John 10:30, 14:10; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 2:18)
A. God the Father – We believe in God, the Father, the first person of the Trinity1, who
is an infinite personal spirit2. He is perfect in holiness3, all powerful, all knowing, all
loving, and all wise4. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of
men, that He hears and answers prayer5, and that He saves from sin and death all who
come to Him through Jesus Christ6.
(1Isa. 64:8; Eph. 4:6; 1 Peter 1:17) (2John 4:24) (3Isa. 6:3; Mal. 3:6a; Matt. 5:48) (4Gen. 17:1; Ex. 34:6; Ps. 104:24, 147:5; Luke 1:37; Rom. 8:38-39; 1 John 4:10) (5Ps. 32:8;
Jer. 33:2-3; Phil. 4:6-7; Titus 3:5) (6John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9)
B. God the Son – We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity;
the eternal and only Son of God1. Jesus became man by the miracle of the virgin birth,
without ceasing to be God2. Thus, in the Lord Jesus Christ, divine and human natures were united in one Person, both natures being whole, perfect, and distinct3. To effect
salvation, He lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the sinner’s substitute,
shedding His blood for the remission of sins, then was laid in the tomb4; our justification
is made sure by His literal and physical resurrection from the dead5. He ascended into
heaven6, and is now exalted at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and
intercessor7. He will return in power and glory to judge the world, and to consummate
His redemptive mission8.
(1Isa. 9:6; John 1:14; Rom. 9:5; Heb. 2:9) (2Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; Gal. 4:4-5; Heb.
13:8) (3Col. 2:9; Heb. 2:10, 14) (4Isa. 53:5-6; Matt. 20:28, 27:59-60; Gal. 3:13; Col. 1:15-20; Heb. 4:15; 1 Peter 3:18) (5Luke 24:6, 36-43; John 20:25-28; 1 Cor. 6:14) (6Acts 1:9; 1 Tim. 3:16) (71 Tim. 2:5-6; 1 John 2:1-2) (8Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13)
C. God the Holy Spirit – We believe the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the third person
of the Trinity1, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment2; he is
the Supernatural Agent in the regeneration of those who believe, indwelling and sealing
them to the day of redemption3. We believe that He is the divine Teacher who
empowers, guides, and enlightens believers to understand the Scriptures, which he
inspired holy men of old to write4. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers,
and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church in worship,
evangelism and service5.
(1Matt. 28:19; John 15:26) (2John 16:8-11; 1 Thes. 1:5) (3John 14:16-18; Rom 8:11; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30; 1 Cor. 6:19) (4John 14:26, 16:13; 1 Cor. 2:4-5) (5Rom. 8:14; 1 Cor. 12:4-11)
iii. Creation – We accept the Genesis account of creation, that God spoke into being
the heavens and earth and all that is in them1, and that man and woman were created
perfect in the image of God2 by a special act of God, wholly apart from any process of
evolution3.
(1Gen. 1-2; Ps. 33:6-9; Col. 1:16) (2Gen. 1:27; Mark 10:6) (3Ex. 20:11; Heb. 11:3)
iv. Satan and The Lake of Fire – We believe in the existence of Satan, who originally
was created a holy being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God1.
He is the deceiver2, the open and declared enemy of God and man3, and will be
eternally punished in the lake of fire, along with the beast, the false prophet, and
whosoever is not found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life4.
(1Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2; Isa. 14:12-15; 1 John 3:8) (2Matt. 4:2-11; Eph. 6:11; 2 Cor. 11:14) (3 1 Peter 5:8; Rev. 12:10) (4Matt. 25:41; Rev. 19:20; 20:10-15)
v. Man – We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God 1 ; He
created them male and female 2 . The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of
God’s creation. In the beginning, man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his
Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice, man sinned against God, brought
sin into the human race, and became alienated from God 3 . Through the temptation of
Satan, man transgressed the command of God, fell from his original innocence, and
brought upon the entire race the sentence of eternal death 4 . Man is totally depraved,
and of himself is utterly unable to remedy his lost condition 5 . Only the grace of God can
bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God 6 .
At physical death, the spirit and soul of the believer pass instantly into the presence of
the Lord 7 . ( 1 Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7, 9:6) ( 2 Gen. 1:27, 2:22; Mark 10:6; 1 Tim. 2:13) ( 3 Gen.
2:16-17, 3:6) ( 4 Rom. 5:12,19a; 1 Tim. 2:14) ( 5 Rom. 3:10-18, 23, 8:7; Eph. 2:1-3, 4:17-
19; Titus 1:15) ( 6 Rom. 6:23) ( 7 Isa. 57:1-2, 2 Cor. 5:8, Phil. 1:23)
vi. Salvation – We believe that salvation is the free gift of God given to man by grace 1
and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His blood on Calvary
for the forgiveness of our sins 2 . We believe that everyone who receives the Lord Jesus
Christ as personal Savior is kept by God’s power and remains secure in Christ forever 3 .
He is sealed by the Holy Spirit, who is a guarantee of our inheritance 4 . It is the privilege
of every believer to rejoice in the assurance of his salvation through the testimony of
God’s Word 5 ; however, the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for careless living is
clearly forbidden by God 6 . ( 1 Rom. 6:23; Eph 2:8; Titus 2:11) ( 2 John 1:12, 6:29; Eph. 1:7;
1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:9) ( 3 John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; 1 Peter 1:4-5; Phil. 1:6) ( 4 2 Cor.
1:22; Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30) ( 5 Ps. 68:3, 97:12; Jer. 15:16; Rom 5:2; Phil. 3:1, 4:4; 1 Thes.
5:16) ( 6 Rom: 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:12; Heb. 10:26-31)
We believe salvation cannot be earned or secured in any part by any virtue or work of
man and there is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord 7 . In the
broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and
glorification. ( 7 John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:9; Titus 3:5)
a. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers
become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart, awakening a person
spiritually, wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner
responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance
and faith are essential attitudes to be found in anyone who rightly claims the blessing of
salvation. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the
acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord
and Savior.
b. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal of all sinners who repent and
believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a right relationship of peace and
favor with God, declaring him innocent and righteous, and freeing him from guilt or
blame.
c. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the
believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and
spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him.
Sanctification is the will of God for all believers and should be earnestly pursued by
walking in obedience to God’s Word.
d. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and
abiding state of the redeemed.
vii. The Church – We believe that the local church, which is the body and espoused
bride of Christ 1 , is composed solely of born-again believers united by covenant and
accountable to Christ as Lord 2 . God commissioned the local church to share the Good
News of Jesus Christ by word and holy living, seeking to extend the gospel to the ends
of the earth 3 .
( 1 Matt. 18: 20; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph 1:22-23, 5:25-27, 30; Col. 1:18) ( 2 Matt.
8:20; Acts 2:41-42, 47, 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 5:24a) ( 3 Matt. 28:19-20; Luke 24:46-47;
Acts 1:8; Eph. 3:10-11; Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9-12; Philemon 4:6)
a. Spiritual Gifts – We believe that the Holy Spirit has sovereignly bestowed at
least one spiritual gift upon every believer at the time of regeneration 1 . These gifts are
given for the purpose of serving the Body of Christ by building it up. Therefore, it is
imperative that each believer, as an integral part of the church, serve within the Body of
Christ 2 . ( 1 Rom. 12:6-8) ( 2 1 Cor. 12:7, 14:12; 1 Tim. 4:14; Heb. 13:16; 1 Peter 4:10)
b. Leadership – We believe that the New Testament entrusts the leadership of a
local church to elders 1 . While both men and women are gifted for service in the church,
the office of elder is limited to men as qualified by Scripture 2 .
( 1 Acts 14:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-4) ( 2 1 Tim. 2:11-14)
c. Giving – We believe that God is the source of all blessings, temporal and
spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. We believe that every Christian, as a
steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially
support his local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for
giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and
cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the
Gospel. We are also called to serve God with our time and talents 1 .
( 1 Gen. 14:20; Prov. 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-35; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 9:6-7; Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim.
5:17-18;1 John 3:17)
d. The Church Universal – We believe that the church, invisible and universal, is
composed of all the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, and tongue,
and people, and nation 1 . At the end of the age, all the redeemed, those whose names
are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, will be united in eternal bliss in the presence of
God 2 . ( 1 John 11:52; Acts 10:34-35) ( 2 Rev. 21:2-3, 27)
e. Religious Liberty – We believe in the independence and autonomy of the
local church free of any external authority or control. Church and state should be
separate 1 . Any affiliations, societies, organizations, associations, or agencies this
church affiliates with to further the objectives stated in the Purpose Statement are not
authoritative in matters of church practice or belief. The Church is responsible to follow
the pattern of the New Testament Church and is directly accountable to God.
( 1 Matthew 22:21; Acts 20:28)
N. Ordinances – We believe that the two Christian ordinances, Baptism, and the Lord’s
Supper (Communion), are outward rites appointed by Christ, not as a means of
salvation, but as visible signs and seals of the facts and realities of salvation 1 .
( 1 Matt. 28:19; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
a. Baptism – We believe Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a
believer(thereby excluding infants) in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried,
and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the
resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus 1 . It is prerequisite to the privilege
of church membership.
( 1 Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:36-38, 16:30-33; Rom. 6:1-4; Col. 2:12)
b. The Lord’s Supper – We believe that the Lord’s Supper is an act of obedience
by the Church to Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me” and symbolizes
the sacrificial death of Christ by partaking of the elements, bread and fruit of the vine,
regularly until He comes 1 . It is preceded by solemn self-examination and is open to all
who are in a right relationship one with another, and with the Lord 2 . ( 1 Matt. 26:26-30;
Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42; I Cor. 10:16, 21) ( 2 1 Cor. 11:27-29)
ix. The Family – We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational
institution of human society 1 . It is composed of persons related to one another by
marriage, blood, or adoption. ( 1 Gen. 2:24; Prov. 18:22; Heb. 13:4a)
a. Marriage – We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the uniting of one
man and one woman, as created by God, for a lifetime 2 . The husband and wife are
spiritually equal in position before God 3 , but God has ordained distinct and separate
spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church 4 . ( 2 Gen. 1:27, 2:22;
Mark 10:6; Rom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:10-11) ( 3 Gal. 3:26-29) ( 4 Ps. 128:1-4; Prov. 14:1,31:10-31;
1 Tim. 2:8-15, 3:1-12, 5:14; Titus 2:3-5)
We believe the marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A
husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given
responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family 5 . A wife is to submit herself
graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits
to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus
equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as
his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation 6 .
( 5 Joshua 24:15; Eph. 5:25-33; Col. 3:19; 1 Tim 5:8; 1 Peter 3:7) ( 6 Eph. 5:22-24, 33; Col.
3:18; 1 Peter 3:1-6)
b. Divorce – We believe that God disapproves of, and forbids, divorce and
intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is
regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication and desertion 1 .
( 1 Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31-32, 19:3-9, Mark 10:2-12; Rom. 7:2-3)
c. Sexuality – We believe that in marriage God provides for the man and woman
the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according
to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. We believe that
God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a
marriage between one man and one woman 1 . We believe that any form of
homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, incest, fornication, adultery, prostitution, and
pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God
disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance 2 .
( 1 Gen. 1:28a, 2:24; Ecc. 4:9-12) ( 2 Gen. 19:5, 13; Lev. 18:1-30; Deut. 22:5, 27:20-23;
Judges 19:22; Rom. 1:24, 26-27; 1 Cor. 5:1, 6:9, 15-18, 10:8; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; Col.
3:5; 1 Thes. 4:3-5; Heb. 13:4)
d. Children – We believe that children, from the moment of conception, are a
blessing and heritage from the Lord 1 . Therefore, we believe that an unborn child is a
living human being, and that abortion constitutes the unjustified taking of an innocent
human life. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage.
Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through
consistent lifestyle examples and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical
truth 2 . Children are to honor and obey their parents 3 .
( 1 Ps. 17:6, 127, 139:13-16) ( 2 Deut. 6:4-9; Ps. 78:1-8; Prov. 19:18, 22:6, 15, 23:13-14,
29:15, 17; Eph. 6:4) ( 3 Ex. 20:12; Prov. 1:8, 6:20-23; Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20)
X. Last Things – We believe that God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring
the world to its appropriate end 1 . According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return
personally and visibly in glory to the earth 2 ; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge
all men in righteousness 3 . The books will be opened and the unrighteous, those whose
name was not found written in the book of life, will be sent to everlasting punishment in
the lake of fire, which is the second death 4 . The righteous in their resurrected and
glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever with the Lord in a new
heaven and a new earth 5 .
( 1 Matt. 24:36, 44; Luke 12:40, 17:22-37; Acts 17:31; 1 Tim. 6:14) ( 2 Matt. 26:64; Mark
8:38; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:11; 1 Thes. 4:14-18) ( 3 Isa. 2:4; Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:28-29)
( 4 Matt. 18:8-9; 2 Thes. 1:7-9; 2 Peter 3:7; Jude 15; Rev. 20:11-15) ( 5 Matt. 16:27; Rev.
21:1-4)