We
affirm our belief in one God, infinite Spirit, creator, and sustainer of all
things, who exists eternally in three persons, God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Spirit. These three are one in essence but distinct in person and
function.
We
affirm that the Father is the first person of the trinity and the source of all
that God is and does. From Him the Son is eternally generated and from Them the
Spirit eternally proceeds. He is the designer of creation, the speaker of revelation,
the author of redemption, and the sovereign of history.
We
affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the second person of the trinity,
eternally begotten from the Father. He is God. He was conceived by the virgin
Mary through a miracle of the Holy Spirit. He lives forever as perfect God and
perfect man: two distinct natures inseparably united in one person.
We
affirm that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, proceeding from
the Father and the Son and equal in deity. He is the giver of all life, active
in the creating and ordering of the universe; He is the agent of inspiration
and the new birth; He restrains sin and Satan; and He indwells and sanctifies
all believers.
We
affirm that all things were created by God. Angels were created as ministering
agents, though some, under the leadership of Satan, fell from their sinless
state to become agents of evil. The universe was created in six historical days
and is continuously sustained by God; thus it both reflects His glory and
reveals His truth. Human beings were directly created, not evolved, in the very
image of God. As reasoning moral agents, they are responsible under God for
understanding and governing themselves and the world.
We
affirm that the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, though written by men, was
supernaturally inspired by God so that all its words are the written true
revelation of God; it is therefore inerrant in the originals and authoritative
in all matters. It is to be understood by all through the illumination of the
Holy Spirit, its meaning determined by the historical, grammatical, and
literary use of the author’s language, comparing Scripture with Scripture.
We affirm that Adam, the first man, willfully disobeyed God, bringing
sin and death into the world. As a result, all persons are sinners from
conception, which is evidenced in their willful acts of sin; and they are
therefore subject to eternal punishment, under the just condemnation of a holy
God.
We affirm that Jesus Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice by the
appointment of the Father. He fulfilled the demands of God by His obedient
life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all,
was buried, and on the third day He arose physically and bodily from the dead.
He ascended into heaven where He now intercedes for all believers.
We affirm that each person can be saved only through the work of Jesus
Christ, through repentance of sin and by faith alone in Him as Savior. The
believer is declared righteous, born again by the Holy Spirit, turned from sin,
and assured of heaven.
We affirm that the Holy Spirit indwells all who are born again,
conforming them to the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is a process completed
only in Heaven. Every believer is responsible to live in obedience to the Word
of God in separation from sin.
We affirm that a church is a local assembly of baptized believers,
under the discipline of the Word of God and the lordship of Christ, organized
to carry out the commission to evangelize, to teach, and to administer the
ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s table. Its offices are pastors
and deacons, and it is self-governing. It functions through the ministry of
gifts given by the Holy Spirit to each believer.
We affirm that the return of Christ for all believers is imminent. It
will be followed by seven years of great tribulation, and then the coming of
Christ to establish His earthly kingdom for a thousand years. The unsaved will
then be raised and judged according to their works and separated forever from
God in hell. The saved, having been raised, will live forever in heaven in
fellowship with God.