The Bible
The Bible is the word of God set down in writing. God supernaturally inspired the words of Scripture by His Spirit through His holy prophets and apostles. It is infallible in all that it teaches and without error. God has, by His singular care and providence, preserved it throughout the ages. The Bible is our only authority and rule for faith and life. God has given it to us to direct us how to glorify and enjoy Him forever.
God
There is but one true and living God, existing eternally in three Persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. God is the Creator of all things and is holy and sovereign over all. He is to be worshiped and glorified.
Man
God created all things out of nothing by His word in six ordinary days. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, did not evolve any more than anything else did. God created man male and female, morally upright, and in His image. When Adam sinned, all mankind lost communion with God, fell from his upright condition, marred the image of God in him, and came under God’s just wrath and curse.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who, in the fullness of time, took to Himself a true human nature and was born of a virgin. Fully God and fully man, on behalf of the people whom God gave Him to save, He lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to God’s law, and offered Himself as a sacrifice on Calvary’s cross to make full atonement for their sins by His death. On the third day, He rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven where He is now at the right hand of the Father interceding for His people and ruling over all. He will return to judge the living and the dead on the last day.
Salvation
Salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. All those who sincerely receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone as Savior and Lord are justified (declared by God to be pardoned of sin and acceptable in His sight by His crediting of Christ’s righteousness to their account), adopted, sanctified, and will be glorified.
We believe in the doctrines of grace, the so-called Five Points of Calvinism. They are represented by the acronym, TULIP.
1). [T]otal Depravity. Man, fallen in sin, is dead in trespasses and sins, enslaved and dominated by sin, and unable to save himself.
2). [U]nconditional Election. God, having foreordained the fall of man into sin as part of His plan to glorify Himself, from eternity predestined those whom He would save by choosing them before the foundation of the world for salvation.
3). [L]imited Atonement (Definite Redemption). Jesus Christ made atonement by His sinless life and sacrificial death for the sins of those whom God chose and gave to Him to be His spiritual seed. By doing so, He definitely redeemed them, so that their salvation is accomplished and irreversibly assured. Christ’s atonement is not limited in power or effectiveness, but limited to those whom God chose.
4). [I]rresistible Grace. In God’s due time, the Holy Spirit uses the preached word of God to call those whom God chose and Christ redeemed by bringing them to spiritual life out of their dead condition in sin; this is called regeneration, or the new birth. In their new heart, He instills saving faith in Jesus Christ, making them willing and able to believe.
5). [P]erseverance of the Saints. God so preserves the faith of His people that they will persevere in it until death, no matter what trials or temptations they face. As such, God ensures that His people cannot lose their salvation.
The Church
Scripture sometimes presents the church as God sees it: all those from throughout the ages whom the Father chose, the Son redeemed, and the Spirit calls and seals in Christ. This is the invisible church. Scripture often presents the church as we see it: the visible manifestation of the body of Christ on earth, the visible congregation, the membership of which are all those who credibly profess faith in Jesus Christ and their children. All of this makes the church the society of the redeemed, the body and bride of Christ, the family and household of God, the kingdom of God on earth. She is to be the light of the world, the salt of the earth, a city set on a hill, calling sinners to be reconciled to God, showing the love of Christ to all, discipling God’s people, and caring spiritually for them.
Our Full Statement of Faith
We believe that the Westminster Confession of Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms are a faithful summary of what the Bible teaches. While church members are not required to subscribe to these documents, they provide a basis for unity, transparency, and accountability for our teaching and ruling elders and deacons.