We believe:
The scripture of the Old and New Testaments to be the Inspired Word of God, written by men divinely inspired by God, and is the only rule of faith and practice. It has God as its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its content. It is our final authority for living and practice.
In the one true God, Creator of all things that were made, and that there are three distinct persons in the Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Man was created by the special act of God, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator the freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence; whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin, and as soon as they are capable of moral action become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man back into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that Christ died for man; therefore every man possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
Salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The atoning work of salvation was done on the cross once and for all. Jesus was the last sacrifice ever needed for man to be reconciled to God.
That election is the eternal purpose of God according to which He graciously regenerates, sanctifies, and saves sinners; that being perfectly consistent with the free agency of man, it comprehends all the means in connection with the end, that it is a most glorious display of God's sovereign goodness, being infinitely free, wise, holy and unchangeable. Those, whom God had accepted in Christ and sanctified in Spirit, will never fall away from the state of grace.
In such a congregation members are equally responsible to one another, and the scriptural officers are the Pastor and Deacons.
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water 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. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership.
The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby Christians through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second comingThat the first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It commemorates the resurrection of Christ from the dead. It should be kept holy as a day of rest and worship.
The Kingdom of God is the realm of Salvation into which men enter by their commitment to Jesus Christ and includes both his general sovereignty over the universe and over men who acknowledge him as King. The full consummation of the kingdom awaits the return of Jesus Christ and the end of this age.
God in His own time and in His own way will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and all other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ.
The cause of education in the Kingdom of Christ is co-ordinate with the causes of missions and general benevolence, and should receive along with these the liberal support of the church. An adequate system of Christian schools is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ's people.
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtor ship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause on earth.
Members of New Testament churches should co-operate with one another in carrying forward the missionary, educational, and benevolent ministries for the extension of Christ's kingdom.
Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus. The Christian should oppose in the spirit of Christ every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. He should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. Every Christian should seek to bring industry, government and society as a whole under the principles of scripture. In order to promote these ends Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truly.
It is the duty of Christians to seek peace with all men on principles of righteousness. The true remedy for the war spirit is the gospel of our Lord. The supreme need of the world is the acceptance of His teachings in all the affairs of men and nations, and the practical application of His law of love.
God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained ni it. Church and State should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more that others. Civil government being ordained of God, it is the duty of Christians to render loyal obedience thereto in all things not contrary to the revealed will of God. The gospel of Christ contemplates spiritual means alone for the pursuit of its ends. The state has no right to impose penalties for religious opinions of any kind. The state has no right to impose taxes for the support of any form of religion. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal, and this implies the right of free and unhindered access to God on the part of all men, and the right to form and propagate opinions in the sphere of religion without interference by the civil power.