About Doctrine and the Bible
• The Apostle’s Creed embodies fundamental facts of the Christian faith and endorses the historic doctrines of the church.
• The Bible is 100% the inspired, unalterable Word of God to us and, therefore, our primary source of authority on understanding God’s nature, Creation, his will for our lives, his wisdom for daily living, his perspective on nature, the arts and sciences, historical and societal changes, life after death, and his divine plan and purpose for those who believe in him.
About God
• There is only one true and living God, eternally existent in three divine Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: all of one substance, equal in power and glory.
• God the Father is our infinite, personal Creator, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men; hears and answers prayer; and saves from sin and death all who come to him through his Son, Jesus Christ.
• Jesus Christ is God the Son, co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. On earth, he was 100% God and 100% man. I believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teaching, his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
• I believe that in his first coming, Jesus launched the prophetic fulfillment of the Kingdom of God as King, but his kingdom will not be fully experienced or realized in all its glory until the return of Jesus Christ and his Millennial Reign. His kingdom is here now, it’s within every born-again believer. But there is more to be released, fulfilled, and experienced in the future when the glorious manifestation of the mature sons and daughters of God takes place, which the creation still groans and longs for (Romans 8:18-24).
• The person of the Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son, came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and is our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide.
About People and Salvation
• All people matter to God and therefore matter to us. We are created to exist forever and will either live eternally separated from God, because of our sins, or with God—in heavenly bliss—through faith in and acceptance of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.
• All people are sinners by nature and choice and are therefore under condemnation. The only means of being cleansed from our sins is through accepting the atoning sacrifice Christ made of his own life on the cross. His blood was shed so that our sins may be forgiven and washed away.
• Salvation does not result from good deeds but is a gift of God. Salvation requires repentance—i.e., turning away from one’s works to God’s atoning work of the cross. That salvation is a gift received through faith in Jesus Christ and his death, burial, and resurrection. Regeneration (rebirth–John 3:3-8) by the Holy Spirit is essential for personal salvation. True salvation will be manifested by a changed life, i.e., a life that demonstrates an effort to live in submission and obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ.
About Christian Ordinances
• The ordinance and practice of Water Baptism is the outward sign of an inward work (Matthew 3:11).
• The ordinance of The Lord’s Supper is a unique time of communion when the elements of bread and wine are taken in remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ; the wine symbolizes the blood of Christ (Luke 22:19-20).
About the Holy Spirit’s Activity in Us
• The baptism of the Holy Spirit is a subsequent gift from God to empower and endow the believer with the gifts of the Spirit to edify the church and the believer (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4, 38-39).
• Divine healing is the power of the Holy Spirit to heal the sick in answer to our prayer of faith.
• The Holy Spirit enables the believer to live a godly life demonstrated by the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16, 22-25).
About the Church
• The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is universal, the living spiritual body of which He is the Head, and all regenerated persons are members. The church is the manifested expression of God’s kingdom purposes on earth through his people.
About Our Walk as Christians
• God is most glorified through and in our lives when we are most satisfied in our intimacy with Him.
• Telling others about our salvation experience in Christ and his work in us is how we can help to deliver the lost soul from Satan’s deception and the judgment that awaits him.
• The experience and daily walk of the believer should never lead them into extremes of religious fanaticism. Balance in doctrine and life produces healthy relationships and a healthy testimony.
About Christ’s Return and Eternal Judgment
• There is a personal, visible return of Jesus Christ to earth, at which time there will be a bodily resurrection of Old and New Testament saints to meet the Lord in the air and live with Him forever in immortality (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
• There is a final judgment where God will judge everyone for his or her deeds done in this life, both good and bad. The righteous will receive a judgment of “rewards” determined by their righteous deeds after they became a Christian. The wicked will be judged for their unrighteous deeds and the rejection of Christ as Savior, condemning themselves to suffer in hell after death, and, ultimately, eternal torment in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8).
About the Holy Spirit’s Activity in Us
• The baptism