Doctrinal Statement

Bibliology - The Doctrine of the Bible

I believe in the verbal, plenary, and inerrant inspiration of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit as He moved the human authors to write the very words of God.

I believe the Bible is comprised of sixty-six books, thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament. I believe the canon of Scripture is closed and that there is no new divine revelation being given today.

I believe the Bible is authoritative and as such is binding on all mankind. It alone is the source of all Spiritual truth and it alone gives us the only way back to a relationship with God.

I believe the Bible can be clearly understood using the Historical-Grammatical Hermeneutic.

I believe in the perspicuity of Scripture, that is, the Scripture can be clearly understood by those who seek its truth.

Theology Proper - The Trinity

I believe in the one God as defined in the Bible. I believe God is spirit, holy, self-existent, eternal, omnipotent, omniscience, omnipresent, sovereign, wise, loving, gracious, merciful, just, and good. He is the uncaused cause, the Creator and sustainer of all that exists.

I believe God created the world in six literal, twenty-four hour days, as recorded in Genesis 1-3. I reject any concept of a day-age, or framework, view of creation, any form of evolution, and any other attempt to merge creation and evolution.

I believe the one God exists eternally in three distinct and separate personalities, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three are of the same substance, homeousios, share all the attributes of deity, yet are distinct in their work, will, and personality.

I believe in the drama of Redemption each member of the Trinity plays a distinct role. It is the Father who elects those whom He chose to eternal life, it is the Son who gave Himself as the sacrifice for sins thus redeeming the elect, and it is the Holy Spirit who convicts, regenerates, and seals the elect thus assuring their certain, future glorification.

Christology - The Doctrine of Christ

I believe the second person of the Trinity, the Son, eternally existed face to face with the Father, sharing all attributes and qualities of deity.

I believe the Son became flesh in the incarnation, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life as a human being, and died on the cross as the perfect substitute for our sins. I believe He died, was buried, and rose bodily on the third day, and now sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven, there interceding for the believer.

I believe Christ was fully God and fully man, having a single will, purpose and personality.

Pneumatology - The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit

I believe the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, eternally existed in communion with both the Father and the Son and shares all the attributes of deity.

I believe it is the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin, regenerates the unbeliever, and seals the elect. 

I believe it is the Holy Spirit that distributes Spiritual Gifts as He sees fit, and empowers their use for the health and well-being of the Body of Christ.

Anthropology - The Doctrine of Man

I believe man was created in the image of God as recorded in the second chapter of Genesis.

I believe man exists with both a material and immaterial component (dichotomy).

I believe in the literal, physical, and future resurrection of all mankind. Those that are redeemed will receive a body fit for eternal glory, those that are lost will receive a body fit for eternal punishment and torment in the Lake of Fire.

Hamartiology - The Doctrine of Sin

I believe man was created without sin, innocent, and that it is was the deception of Eve by the serpent followed by the willful disobedience of Adam that plunged the entire human race into sin.

I believe man is radically depraved, that is, sin has infected and affected every area of his life such that man cannot believe unto salvation nor can he understand spiritual truth apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

Soteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation

I believe salvation is founded in the grace of God, appropriated by faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and is irrevocable in nature.

I believe salvation is by grace alone, appropriated by faith alone in Christ alone.

I believe there is no salvation in any other name than that of Jesus Christ. He is the one and only way back to God.

I believe salvation is only made possible by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross for our sins. He took our place, and our punishment, and by placing our faith and complete trust in His finished work alone, we are eternally and immediately justified before God.

I believe in sovereign election. That is, God chose those whom He would save before the foundation of the world to be glorified in eternity future. This was done solely on the basis of His sovereign will and purpose and not by anything the elect would do, or could do. Salvation is all of God - our contribution is the sin that required the death of Christ to wash away.

I believe that even though the elect were chosen by God, they had to make a choice to believe. This belief was made possible by the gift of faith that God granted to the elect by grace. Thus the faith the elect exercised was not their faith, but God’s, and even though it looked like they chose God, in reality God chose them.

I believe salvation is eternal. The elect were not chosen to be justified, but glorified. Nothing an elect person can do will forfeit their salvation - they are forever secure because God did not ordain the beginning of their salvation, but the end.

I believe those who are truly justified will live a sanctified life. They will be convicted of their sin by the Holy Spirit and will strive to live a godly life even though they may still commit individual acts of sin. The direction of their life will be towards that of holiness, and where there is no desire for holiness there is every reason to doubt their salvation in the first place.

Angelology, Demonology, Satanology

The Doctrine of Angels, Demons and Satan

I believe God created an innumerable company of angels. One-third joined the greatest angel, Lucifier, in a rebellion against God and became demons. The other “elect” angels serve God and the elect, as it is their greatest joy to do God’s bidding.

I believe in a personal Devil, Satan, who opposes and hates all that God loves. I believe His main activity is that of deception, as it is his desire to damn as many people to eternal death as possible. He is aided in this endeavor by his host of demons who seek to do all they can to thwart the will of God and bring sadness to His heart.

I believe Satan was originally created perfect, the most glorious and majestic of all angels, but through pride he forfeited his place and became the enemy of God.

I believe Satan, his demons, and all of unredeemed humanity will spend an eternity in conscious torment in the Lake of Fire, forever separated from the presence of God and all that is good.

Ecclesiology - The Doctrine of the Church

I believe the Church is a divinely ordained institution of God and exists for the sole purpose of being an extension of Christ on this earth.

I believe in the Universal Church and the Local Church. The Universal Church is made up of all believers of all ages since Pentecost to the Rapture. The Local Church is made up of believers in fellowship within a local congregation led by a plurality of Godly men.

I believe the three marks of all true local churches are 1) the proclamation of the Gospel and the clear teaching of the Word of God, 2) the practice of the two ordinances of the church, communion and baptism, and 3) the exercise of church discipline whereby sinning members are called to accountability and even removed from fellowship where no repentance exists.

I believe there are two ordinances - communion and baptism. Communion was instituted by Christ at the last supper to be a commemoration of his sacrificial death on the cross and is to be observed regularly till He comes again. Baptism was instituted as a symbol of identification with the message of the Gospel whereby a believer visibly and publicly affirms his prior faith in Christ and identification with the Church Universal.

Eschatology - The Doctrine of Future Events

I believe in the Premillennial and Pretribulational return of Christ.

I believe that all of the promises given to Israel in the Old Testament regarding a land and a King will be fulfilled literally by Christ in the 1,000 year Millennium.

I believe that at the end of the Millennium there will be a final rebellion, after which God will judge all of the unredeemed of all the ages.

I believe the redeemed will spend eternity in Heaven in unbroken fellowship with God. 

I believe the unredeemed will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, originally prepared for the Devil and his angels, in conscious, physical torment forever.