WHO IS JESUS?
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD.
GOD IS THE CREATOR AND RULER OF THE UNIVERSE.
He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit.
These three are co-equal and are one God.
THE FATHER
He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. He reigns with care over the universe and human history goes according to His purposes and plan.
THE SON (JESUS)
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus has eternally existed and became man at His incarnation. He lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He bodily arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
He is the third person of the Trinity. He guides men into all truth, exalts Christ, convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment, cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, bestows spiritual gifts by which believers serve God and seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the lives of believers is the assurance of God to bring us into the fullness of the stature of Christ.
SALVATION
GOD’S FREE GIFT TO US, BUT WE MUST ACCEPT IT.
We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one received Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” your salvation. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.
THE ORDINANCES
BAPTISM BY IMMERSION– We believe that scriptural baptism must be:
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By being completely immersed under the water and after salvation.
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Jesus was immersed and all baptisms in the New Testament were by immersion.
These two facts sets the standard for baptism today. Baptism has no saving power but
is the first act of obedience symbolizing:
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The believer’s faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
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The believer’s death to sin and resurrection to walk anew in Christ
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The Christian’s belief that he will die, be buried, and that Jesus will resurrect him from the dead.
THE LORD'S SUPPER– is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers remember the death of the Lord Jesus and anticipate His second coming. The bread is symbolic of His body and the juice represents his blood.