The Bible

We believe that scripture is ‘God-breathed’ or divinely inspired (2 Tim 3:16). By the same Spirit, the writers of both the Old and New Testaments recorded the word of God, which they have been given. The Old Testament is true and authoritative because Jesus Christ confirms his life, death, and resurrection as the fulfillment of all that has been written (Matt 5:17), and the New Testament is true and authoritative because of its apostolic origin and gospel witness (Mark 3:14). Scripture is the final authority for a life marked by faith, the sure medium in which God speaks to the church. It is true in all it says, and is without error or contradiction. It is through faith in Jesus Christ that scripture holds validity and power.

God

We believe in one God who is Father, Son, and Spirit. We deny any notion that would collapse the three distinct persons in on each other while denying any notion that would erroneously separate them apart from one another. Affirming the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we profess that the Father eternally begets the Son from which proceeds the Spirt, and are together worshipped and glorified.

Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In his divine fullness, the Word emptied himself by taking on a human body. He is fully divine and fully human, and he became like us in every respect except for sin. Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, Christ overturns the effects of sin by way of the incarnation; destroys death by his own death; and offers sinners the hope of assurance in the resurrection.

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, sent out to illuminate natural minds, break obstinate wills, and make room in sinners’ hearts for saving knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit dwells within believers, transforming them into the image of the Son. And by the Spirit, Christ joins believers to himself to receive divine benefits and new life.

Humanity

We believe God created Adam and Eve in his image for the sake of communion with him. However, Adam and Eve fell into sin when they willed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As a result, human nature became corrupted, and relationship with God was broken. Because of sin, human beings deserve God’s wrath and judgment, but Christ freely offers salvation to sinful beings because of his atoning work on the cross.

Salvation

We believe Jesus Christ is the propitiation for our sins. He diverts God’s wrath away from us, and takes it upon himself. He bore the sins of humanity so that in his life, death, and resurrection we may be forgiven and deemed justified before the Father. Salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone (Rom 5:1-2; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8). In Christ, we are blameless before God, and are given the gift of eternal life.

The Church

We believe the church is comprised of sinners who, by faith, profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The church is one body and one spirit united in Jesus Christ, a community set apart by virtue of its distinct mission of gospel proclamation.

The Second Coming of Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ will come again, and will bring to completion the work he began in us, that is, the church.