Fundamental Articles of Belief
(Revised February, 2010)

Article I: The Bible
Holy men of old were inspired of God to record Scripture. The Bible is wholly without error as initially given by God in the original manuscripts and has been faithfully preserved through the ages so that man can be assured the Bible he has today is the verbally inspired, written Word of God. It is infallible in all it teaches whether historical, scientific, geographical, doctrinal or the miraculous. The Bible is our only infallible authority of faith and practice. God’s Word is preserved in the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament and in no others. God has not and does not inspire other books in the same way He did the 66 books of the Bible.

Article II: God
There is but one true and living God, the creator and sustainer of all things. He is holy, sovereign, infinite, eternal, all-knowing, all-wise, almighty, good, just, omnipresent, loving, gracious, merciful, longsuffering and unchangeable. He is revealed to us in three persons as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is the head of the Godhead, and into His hands the Kingdom shall be delivered. The Son is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, who was born of the Virgin Mary; thus making Him the God-Man. He vicariously died on the cross to redeem man; afterwards, He rose from the dead to justify believers and then He ascended to the right hand of God where He presently intercedes for them. In the Father’s own time, Christ will return personally and visibly to the earth to overthrow sin and judge the world. The Holy Spirit is the one sent from God to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgment as well as regenerate and cleanse believers from sin. He is the resident guide, teacher, and strengthener of the believer.

Article III: Satan and Sinful Man
Man was created innocent. In the Garden of Eden, Satan tempted him whereby he transgressed the revealed will of God, thus plunging the world into sin. Consequently, all who have since been born, save the Lord Jesus Christ, are by nature the children of wrath. Satan is a personal devil who, with his angels, which are also known as demons, carries on the work of iniquity in this world. Sin is fundamentally rebellion against God, and the end of sin is eternal separation from God in a literal Hell.

Article IV: Salvation
Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin. On the cross He shed His blood to save sinners and rose from the dead for their justification. Apart from the finished work of Jesus Christ there is no salvation. All men are guilty before God because of their personal sins, as well as their inherent Adamic nature, and their only escape from deserved condemnation is solely through the imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ to them by grace through faith. The Holy Spirit regenerates those who are saved, which enables them to respond to the Gospel and then converts them to Christ once they believe. Those who are truly saved make a commitment of the totality of their lives to Jesus as Lord. The spiritual and eternal life imparted to those saved through Christ can never be lost.

Article V: Resurrection
There will be a final resurrection of all men, whether they are just or unjust. Those who commit their lives to Jesus Christ during this life will be raised to everlasting life, but those who are not committed to Jesus Christ in this life will be raised to everlasting condemnation.

Article VI: The Church
A New Testament church is a voluntary association of baptized believers in Christ who have covenanted together to follow the teachings of the New Testament in doctrine, worship, and practice. The only two church ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Only those who are committed to Jesus Christ as Lord are scriptural subjects for baptism. Immersion in water is the only proper mode of baptism and is the only sign of profession referred to in Scripture. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial to the death of Christ Jesus. The bread symbolizes His body, which was given for believers. The fruit of the vine symbolizes His blood, which was shed for His own. Neither of these elements imparts grace to the partaker. There are only two types of officers within the local church, elders and deacons. The role of elders is one of leadership while the role of deacons is one of service. The church has been commissioned by Christ to carry the Gospel into all the world, making and baptizing believers.

If you want to read a more complete statement of our beliefs, read THE COMPLETE
ARTICLES OF THE FAITH
.