Our faith is built on the foundation of Scripture and historic Christian doctrine
All of the following statements are based upon the traditional 66-book Protestant canon.
The Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the foundational means by which believers can claim special revelation of God. Though God has revealed Himself to mankind through His creation, He saw fit to communicate to humans through the Scriptures. The Bible thus serves as the foundational authority for special knowledge of God including: (a) God's work in salvation, (b) God's plans for His Creation, (c) All practical matters of Christian living. In all matters of spiritual knowledge and right living, Scripture has the final word. Thus, the Christian life must be thoroughly Scripture-oriented and built upon its promises. (2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Pet. 1:19-21, Ps. 19:7-10, Is. 40:8, Matt. 5:17, John 5:39, Romans 15:4, Romans 16:25-26, Hebrews 1:1-2)
While Scripture is God-breathed, humans have also been entrusted to write under the inspiration of the Spirit. Thus, the divine was entrusted to the natural and subjugated to human realities. For this reason, the Scripture emulates the human experience in being conveyed in numerous genres, contextual settings, and occasions over a vast distance of time and space. These realities necessitate the careful consideration of contexts and authorial intent in discerning the meaning of the Scriptures.
The Scripture serves as the basis for faith as well for fundamental change. The Scripture attests to its own ability and power to bring about faith and sanctification. Thus, it is vital to receive the Scripture as God's word in both message and writing. (Rom. 10:17, Heb. 4:12)
Just as the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Scriptures, He also works in the hearts and minds of people who read and hear God's Word and carefully consider the testimony of the Bible. The Holy Spirit is able to convict hearts, renew minds, and work in power to change the lives of individuals irrespective of their language, origin, or any other human factor. Thus, while translation and manuscript work are important within Christian study, it is understood that the Holy Spirit can utilize any translation (modern or extant) to lead a person to saving knowledge of the truth found in Jesus. (Romans 10:17, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 1:18-19, Col. 3:16, Heb. 4:12)
The Scripture is God's special revelation to mankind and is pure, powerful, and effective for the salvation of the human soul. The Scripture is the final authority for living and spiritual belief in the life of the Christian. The Scripture is to be received as a God-given reality which impresses on our hearts wherein the Holy Spirit can move in power.
God is a triune being; while God is unified in Himself, He is known through three distinct persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Being wholly unified, all persons of the Trinity are coeternal and share in the same divine essence. There is not chronological priority of any one of the persons of the Trinity - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are coeternal. Yet, each person of the Trinity may be known through their distinct roles. Only the Father sent His Son into the World; only the Son took on flesh and died as a ransom for humanity to be raised to new life; only the Spirit of God convicts the hearts of men and sanctifies believers. (Gen. 1:26-28, Luke 3:21-22, Matt. 28:18-20, John 3:16, 2 Co. 5:17-21, John 16:8, 1 Co. 6:11)
The Father is the Creator of the world, is sovereign over all parts of His creation, and works providentially for His people in all times and places. God's desire for the salvation of mankind is evident in the sending of His Son to be sacrificed on behalf of sinful humans. (Is. 40:28, Is. 46:10, Job 42:2, Jer. 10:10, Ps. 33:11, Ps. 90:2, Prov. 16:9, Rom. 8:28, 1 Tim. 1:17, 1 Tim. 2:3-4, 2 Pet. 3:9)
No thing in Creation was created apart from the Son (or the Word); furthermore, the son holds all of creation together. Though having full equality with God, the Son took on human flesh in His incarnation, and became fully man having been born of the virgin Mary. Being fully God and fully man, the Son lived a sinless life of active obedience to the Father, and submitted Himself to death by crucifixion in order to save those who, by faith, receive His sacrifice as a substitution for the death they deserve. The Son, in his resurrection, demonstrated His power and authority over the grave. In His ascension, the Son has been seated at the right hand of God and intercedes for the saints who place faith in Him. The Son will return to earth again in His second coming, and consummate a New Creation accompanied by the resurrection of the dead. (John 1:1-5, Philippians 2:5-11, Matt. 1:18-2:1, Gal. 4:4, 2 Co. 5:17-21, 1 Co. 15:3-4, Col. 3:1, Heb. 7:25, Acts 1:11, 1 Co. 15:52)
The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son and from the Father to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit regenerates the hearts of those who are believers; He dwells within believers and testifies on behalf of believers who do not know how to pray. In addition to the roles above, the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers and draws those who have been reborn into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the seal of believers and is guarantee of redemption. The Holy Spirit equips believers for service within the Kingdom of God and gives gifts according to needs and His good pleasure. (John 16:8, Titus 3:5, 1 Co. 6:19-20, Rom. 8:26, 2 Co. 3:18, Eph. 1:13-14, 1 Co. 12)
God is the uncaused cause of all things. God is unchanging through the ages. He is perfect in power, holiness, righteousness, justice, and goodness. God is the basis for all moral law and every good thing. God is described by Scripture as love and light. Human experiences of love, light, and what is fundamentally good all find their foundation in Him. God does not sin, lie, or act against any part of His own nature. God is undivided in Himself. God is higher than all other things including evil powers and rulers who are merely created beings. God is all powerful, knowledgeable, and present. God is the only One who is worthy of glory, honor, praise, and worship. (Gen. 1:1, Mal. 3:6, 1 John 1:5, 1 John 4:16, Heb. 6:18)
It is evident in the Scriptures that mankind - male and female alike - bears the image of God. Being an image bearer marks all humans as being inherently valuable to God and thus worthy of love, protection, etc. Law and government are both ordained by God to provide security for man, but also hold him accountable for wrongdoing. God made man upright, and created humans to be morally responsible agents. Nevertheless, Adam failed to obey God's commands which were designed for life which led to the spread of sin and death to all of his progeny. Therefore, all humans after the fall have been born into sin and are sinners by nature and by choice. Because God is completely righteous and holy, He is bound to judge sin and sinners; humanity's dire situation is thus that they have been separated from God and will be judged in wrath by God if no provision for sin is made. Humans are incapable of attaining salvation according to their own works or merits and must rely upon the grace of God for salvation through faith. Therefore, humans who are bound to be judged by God must look to the same God for provisions of mercy and grace. (Gen. 1:26-27, Gen. 9:6, Eccl. 7:29, Rom. 1:18-32, Rom. 3:23, Rom. 6:23, Rom. 7:10, Col. 1:21-22, Eph. 2:1-22)
Salvation in the Scriptures is something that is afforded to believers through Jesus alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, for the glory of God alone. Salvation as described in the Scriptures also takes on three conventional facets: justification, sanctification, and glorification. For any person who repents of sin, acknowledges Christ as Lord, and believes in His heart that Jesus was raised from the dead, such a person will be saved. Upon believing, God declares the believer justified or legally absolved of his sin debt. Yet, God also promises restoration of the individual through sanctification or being made Holy. This sanctification begins with fundamental heart change (i.e. regeneration) which is complete, and accompanied by restoration of the believer in his mind, attitudes, and actions. The final promise for salvation which is given to all believers is that of glorification. This glorification is the promise that the believer will, just as Jesus, be raised to new life in the New Heavens and New Earth, be unified with Christ to enjoy him forever, and be given a form that is free of all sin, death, sickness, and baggage. (Rom. 8:1-18, Rom. 8:29-39, Rom. 10:9-10, Rom. 10:17, 2 Co. 5:17-21, Gal. 2:20, Gal. 3:13, Eph. 1:7, Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 2:11-14, Titus 3:5)
The Scripture is clear that all who do not profess faith will be subject to Hell, torment, and destruction in the age to come. This final judgment will be completely just and proportional to the gravity of sin in the life of the individual. (Matt. 25:31-46, Mark 9:43-48, 1 Co. 15:24-28, 2 Co. 5:10, 2 Thess. 1:5-12, 2 Tim. 4:1)
The church in its essence is the representative body of all believers in Jesus in all times and all places. Believers are commanded to meet together for mutual edification, teaching, preaching, taking of the sacraments, worship, and prayer. The church is the Body of Christ and is diverse in its members who represent different gifts. As the Body of Christ, the church is commissioned to participate in the evangelization and discipleship of the world. Furthermore, the church is to model the things which are biblically prescribed in church leadership concerning church authority. Though the Scripture is clear that men and women are equally gifted, competent, and capable in the Lord, the church models obedience to the Lord by emulating the leadership patterns prescribed by God for the home. (1 Co. 12:12-27, Eph. 1:22-23, Eph. 2:19-22, Eph. 5:22-32, Col. 1:18, 1 Tim. 2, 1 Tim. 3:1-15)
Water baptism is the obedient response of believers who desire to follow Christ and give their life to Him. Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize new believers in the Great Commission. Scripture indicates that baptism is performed through immersion. In the gospels and Acts, baptism was conjoined to the act of confession and repentance: confessing and repenting of sin, but also confessing belief in Christ for salvation. Paul describes baptism as the reality of being so unified with Christ that one dies with Christ, is buried with Christ, and is given new life in Him. Across the wider canon, baptism is also associated with a judgment against sin and the embrace of new creation and deliverance. For these reasons, the Scripture ascribes a distinct power and importance to baptism which is not grounded in the substance of the water but in the power of God to raise a person to new life. This statement is not seen as being in conflict with the previous section on salvation which is afforded by grace through faith. (Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 8:34-40, Acts 2:37-40, Rom. 6:1-14, 1 Pet. 3:18-22, 1 Co. 10:1-4)
The Lord's Supper is the special meal of the New Covenant to be enjoyed by believers as commemoration, communion, and promise. In taking the Lord's Supper, Christians receive the elements and remember the sacrificial work of Christ on the cross. Christians are nourished by the fact that God provides physical food. Yet, even more, Christians are nourished spiritually by the fact that Christ died for them. Christians are to acknowledge the presence of the Lord in communion as well. Christians are mindful of the fact that in Christ's Great Commission and sending of the Holy Spirit, He is indeed with believers as they take the Lord's Supper. Therefore, the elements serve as the present reminder of the real communion believers share with the Lord. Such is why believers are told to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord and are warned against taking the elements in an unworthy manner. Finally, the Lord's Supper is to be taken as a proclamation of the Lord's death until He comes. This is to say that the Lord's Supper postures believers towards an eager anticipation of Christ's second coming. (Luke 22:19-20, 1 Co. 11:17-33, Matt. 6:25-33, Matt. 28:18-20, Gal. 2:20, Rom. 8:9-11, Eph. 3:16-17, Eph. 4:1-3, John 6:35, Col. 1:10, Phil. 1:27)
The biblical model for any romantic relationships is set in the context of marriage. Marriage and family are founded on the union of one man and one woman who are joined covenantally to one another. This pattern of covenant as prescribed for marriage, by its very nature, commends both man and woman to adopt a Christ-like attitude of sacrifice and care for one another that is rooted in a humble submission to God. The marriage of man and woman is thus designed to reflect Christ's relationship to the church and serve as a beautiful testimony to the world.
Though not all marriages are bound to produce children, it is equally affirmed that all children are a gift from the Lord. Children are received as gifts to be stewarded, nurtured, and provided for. As such, parents are to train their children up in the Lord. (Gen. 2:24, Mal. 2:14-16, Eph. 5:22-32, Ps. 127:3-5, Prov. 22:6, Deut. 6:6-7)
The Scripture does not view singleness as a sin, but rather as an opportunity for uniquely missional and holy living. The role of the church and the family is to provide the necessary love and support for single individuals who are in equal need of Christian community. (1 Co. 7)
The doctrinal beliefs elicited above are those which the church has found essential in its major creeds and confessions for much of church history. Though not without minor differences, the confessional document here has been designed to affirm what is Scriptural and what has been historically affirmed by the church. It is believed that a robust view of the Scriptures along with historic sensitivity will provide the life and guidance needed for the church community.
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