I. The Holy Bible
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God's revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
II. God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
a. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
b. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.
c. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with 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. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
IV. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
V. The Church
The foundation and Head of the Church is Jesus Christ Himself (Eph 5:23; Col 1:18; Rom 12:4; Matt 16:15–18). We believe the Church is the fellowship of believers who, through the price Jesus Christ paid on the cross for the salvation of mankind, have been washed from their sins and set apart from the corruption of the world, called to worship and serve Him (1 Pet 2:9).
The Church is revealed in two ways: the Universal Church, which is unseen (Matt 16:18; Eph 1:22–23; Col 1:18), and the Local Church, which is visible (Phil 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 1 Cor 1:2; Col 1:2; 3:15).
The purpose and work of the Church are:
- To fulfill the mission of the Gospel (Acts 1:8; Matt 28:19–20)
- To make disciples (Matt 28:19–20; Eph 4:11–16)
- To worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24; Rom 12:1)
- To have fellowship with the saints (Ps 133:1–3; Heb 10:24–25)
VI. The End of the Age & the Resurrection of the Dead
We believe:
- That God, in His own way and at the time He has appointed, will bring the world to its end (Rev 20:11; 21:1)
- That according to His promise, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear in glory and come again to this world (Matt 16:27; 25:31–46)
- That Christ will judge all people in righteousness (John 5:27–29)
- That all the dead will rise (Rev 20:12–13), and those who are alive will be changed with resurrection bodies and will meet Christ in the clouds (1 Cor 15:51–52; 1 Thess 4:13–18)
- That the condemned will be cast into the place of eternal fire (Rev 20:15; Matt 25:31–46)
- That the righteous, in glorified resurrection bodies, will live forever with the Lord Jesus in His kingdom (Matt 25:46)