The Bible is the very Word of God, verbally given, fully inspired and completely without error in the original manuscripts. It has been Divinely preserved for us in our modern English translations. Scripture is the infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to humanity, and is essential to proclaiming the pure Gospel and leading souls to sincere faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is to be carefully and diligently studied by all true Christians, interpreted according to the context of each passage, and applied to its readers lives. Every theological system, doctrinal creed, or confession of faith must be put to the test by the truth of Scripture alone (Psalm 19:7; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

There is one God. He is eternal, all powerful, infinite, and perfect in His holiness, truth, and love. Though one, God exists in three Persons: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Ghost, and each Person within the Godhead performs varying roles in the salvation of sinners. God the Father is not Jesus. Jesus is not the Holy Spirit. Yet each member is truly Divine (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

By the word of God the Father, and for His pleasure and glory, He supernaturally created everything from nothing. All that we can see, touch, taste, and feel is a work of God, and He is constantly holding everything in place. He is sovereign, declaring the beginning of time to the end of time. He will accomplish all that pleases Him, and nothing or no one can stand against His power and prevail. In His incomprehensible grace He loving chose specific individuals to be the objects of His sovereign mercy, sending His Son, out of that Divine love, to redeem His elect people (Genesis 1:26; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).

Jesus Christ is God. With no beginning and no end, He has always been. Yet, in obedience to His Father, and out of love for His bride (those chosen by the Father), He emptied Himself, and became human, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of a virgin girl.  In His total humanity He did not cease to be completely Divine. He was – as a human – and is, perfect in nature, teaching, and obedience. He alone is the Savior from sin, having shed His blood and died a vicarious death, in the place of His people, on the cross. He has shown humanity the love of God, having taken our evil upon Himself, and gracing us with His perfect righteousness, thereby reconciling us to His Father. Having redeemed us from the power and the penalty of sin, Jesus, after three days in the tomb, rose from the dead, triumphing over sin, death, hell and Satan. For 40 days He walked this earth, appeared to over 500 witnesses, and gave many convincing proofs to His resurrection. He ascended into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of His Father. He is the Head of the church, the Lord over all, the Savior of the world, and should be adored, loved, served, and obeyed by His people (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24; 9:5; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 1:8; 4:15; 10:14; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 21-22; 2:24).

God the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel, convicts the world of sin, regenerates the heart, mind, and will of sinners, and persuades the elect of God to repent of all evil, and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. This same Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ, and lives within them, as Comforter and Sanctifier. He will lead the true church into a right understanding and rich application of the Word of God. He is to be loved, revered, and worshipped as God (John 16:8-11; Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 5:18).

God made humanity – male and female – in His likeness, to glorify Him by enjoying His presence and fellowship. Tempted by Satan, humanity – in Adam and Eve – rebelled against God, and spread the curse of sin to every person that would be born into this world. Separated from God by the wickedness that now reigns in each individual, humanity is under Divine wrath and completely incapable – apart from a work of the Spirit – of ever returning to God. This depravity is radical and pervasive, extending to the mind, will, and affections of all people. Fallen sinners, despite their character, morality, or merits, are lost and without hope, condemned to suffer in endless torment under God’s wrath, unless they are drawn to salvation in Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:10-18, 22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3).

The Gospel begins with God. He is perfect in purity, power, knowledge, goodness, and justice. Completely holy, He cannot tolerate evil. Humanity, totally ruined in sin, depraved in nature, and lifeless in spiritual will is therefore separate from God, and will eventually be punished for all crimes against the Divine in the lake of fire for all eternity. However, God, though just, is extremely rich in mercy. In love, God the Father chose to provide a way of escape. To reconcile the sinful with the Divine, He sent forth His eternal Son, Jesus Christ, who is also God. Jesus became human, lived a life of perfect holiness, and willingly went to the cross, laying down His life as a substitute for sinners. In His life, death, blood, burial, and bodily resurrection from the grave, He has appeased the wrath of His Father, taken the sin of God’s children upon Himself, and given those same individuals His righteousness. He has commissioned the Holy Ghost of God to, in kindness, awaken the hearts, minds, and wills of sinners through the power of regeneration.

God now commands of all humanity to repent of sin, and trust in the gracious gift of God in the Person and work of Christ. Once done, in legitimate faith, as given by the Spirit in regeneration, the individual becomes a child of God, and is guaranteed a permanent place in the kingdom of God by His Holy Spirit. (Luke 13:3-5; John 1:12-13; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 1:4-11; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

All the redeemed, once truly converted by the grace of God, through the Word of God, by faith alone, are kept by God’s power, secure in Christ forever. They can never fall from grace, for they are sealed for eternal life, not by their own merits, but by the blood of Christ Jesus. It is the privilege and pleasure of all Christians to take joy in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as a license to sin (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1; 29-30; 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5; Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; 3:5).

God, by His power and for His glory, creates the church, calling sinful men out of the whole of the human race into the community of Christ. By His Word, through His Spirit, He guides and preserves that new redeemed creature. The church is not a religious institution, denomination, or organization. Rather, the universal church is made up of all those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the Gospel by faith. The church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son, and Ghost, and to faithfully serve Him by accurately proclaiming and embracing His truth in the Gospel (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).

Upon conversion, newly redeemed individuals are added to a local church where they can devote themselves to Biblical teaching, corporate worship, intimate fellowship, and missional living. Every member of the church universal is to be a vital and committed part of a local church. As the local body of believers, they are commissioned to live as the people of God, demonstrating the reality of the kingdom of God. Within the context of the local church, God’s children receive pastoral care and leadership, as well as the opportunity to use their God-given gifts for the glory of Christ and the good of others. Each local church is to be taught, directed, and lead by Biblically qualified elders (Acts 14:27; 18:22; 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11).

God, in His providence, has ordained that His church be the representation of Himself to the world. The great commission, given from the mouth of Jesus, calls all believers, to proclaim the Gospel through their lives and their lips so that God will, through that message, call out to Himself, by faith and repentance, a remnant to redeem, from every tribe, language, people and nation. It is the responsibility and privilege of all the true church of God to live missionally for His glory and others good (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20).

Water baptism is only intended for the individual who has received the salvation of God through faith in the atoning work of Jesus. In obedience to God’s command, and as a witness to all people that they are now a new creature in Christ – dying to self and rising to life in God – a believer should be immersed in water in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a symbolic demonstration of a believer’s union to Jesus Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It does not add to nor guarantee the salvation which it represents (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41-42; 18:8).

As with baptism, the Lord’s Supper is to be taken only by those who have genuinely trusted in Christ. Communion symbolizes the crushing of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood as a substitute for His people. As Christians, with a spirit of faith, eat the bread and drink the wine of communion, they remember the atonement of Jesus, receive spiritual nourishment for the soul, and signify the unity of all true believers (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Consummation of all things includes the future, physical return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of believers and unbelievers, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and new earth. Satan, demons, and all unrepentant people are finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, damned to an eternity in the lake of fire, suffering under the furious wrath of the Divine. All those who are righteous in Jesus, however, will live and reign with Him forever (Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5).