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My Soul Thirsts For You, O God

The Bible

We believe that the Holy Bible or the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired Word of God, written by men under the control of the Holy Spirit, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts or autographs and the final authority in the faith and life. They are accurate, reliable, and faithful in everything they address. We believe the Bible is our absolute authority in all to which it speaks. We understand the Bible literally and accept the historical record of the Bible as accurate. Therefore, we employ a literal, grammatical-historical approach to interpreting the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Matthew 5:18).

The one and only God

We believe in one God  (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29; James 2:19). We also believe that God is eternally existing in three persons: the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit, who are identical in essence, substance, equal in power and glory, equal and perfect in every divine attribute. (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 45:7; Isaiah 6:3;  48:16; Zechariah 2:8-9; Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 5:3-4).

The Father

We teach that God the Father is the Creator and master planner of all things (Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9). He is the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe (Isaiah 43:10; 44:6, 8; 45:5, 21; 46: 9; 48:12, 16; Daniel 4:17). He is neither the author nor approver of sin (Habakkuk 1:13; John 8:38-47).

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is completely God and completely man in every sense (Romans 1:2-3; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-7; 1 John 4:1-3). He existed prior to being conceived in the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit (Micah 5:2-4; Matthew 2:1-6; compare John 1:15 and Luke 1:57-59 with Luke 2:6-7). He became man without ceasing to be God (Hebrews 1:1-9; 2:9,14-18). He was virgin born so that He could as the perfect Lamb of God vicariously die for our sins (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:22-25; John 1:29; Hebrews 2:17). He lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15; ). The scriptures accurately describe His life, His death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He is now our Savior, Lord, High Priest and Advocate (Acts 7:56; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 2:17; 2 Peter 1:11; 1 John 2:1-2).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is completely and fully God. He is not a force but a person who possesses intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), emotions (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11). We teach that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 15:26), and during this age, to convict men of sin (John 16:7-11), to regenerate the believing sinner (Titus 3:5), and to guide, to instruct and to empower the believer for godly living and service (1 Corinthians 2:11-14; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 3:16; 5:18). The Holy Spirit places all believers into the one true Church which is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). He indwells them permanently (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Galatians 4:6), seals them unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13), bestows spiritual gifts upon them (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31),  helps us to pray (Romans 8:26). He fills believers (Galatians 5:16-23; Ephesians 5:17-6:9) and leads them (Romans 8:12-15).

Man and Sin

We believe that humanity, male and female, was created in the image of God but sinned by disobeying God (Genesis 1:26; 2:22-25; 3:1-21; Romans 5:12-19). When Adam sinned, the human race fell, inherited the consequence and guilt of his sin, received a sinful nature, became spiritually dead and alienated from God so that man is a sinner both by nature and by personal choice (Romans 3:23; 5:12-19; 6:23). Man, of himself, is incapable of remedying his lost and depraved condition because he cannot do any good that will gain him favor with God (Luke 18:19; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-10). Not only is every person a sinner, but also every person’s sins prove that they are sinners (Romans 3:23; 5:12; Galatians 3:22-23; James 1:12-15). Therefore, they are completely lost, being totally spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-2; James 2:10). Only through faith in Jesus Christ can a person be forgiven of his or her sins (John 3:16; Col. 1:13-14).

Salvation

We believe that only those men and women who believe that Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1-3; 5:18; 8:24, 58; 10:30-33; 20:28; 1 John 4:1-3), died for the forgiveness of our sins, rose the third day and ascended back to heaven are born of the Holy Spirit and are children of God (John 1:12, 3:5; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Salvation is a gift, freely given by God’s grace through the gift of faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:16; Ephesians 1:3-7; 2:8-9). A person is saved only once (John 6:37; Hebrews 6:4-6; 1 Peter 1:5). Jesus Christ is the only means of salvation (Acts 4:12). There is no other way to heaven, except through Jesus Christ because He is the only One who did everything that is necessary for our salvation. The evidence a person is saved is through obedience to Christ.

This salvation is the result of God choosing men and women before the foundation of the world to believe in Jesus. Consequently, to those whom He lovingly chose in Christ, He gives the gift of saving faith (Acts 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Peter 1:1). At the moment of saving faith, the believer is justified or forgiven of their sins, regenerated, and made a new creature in Christ (Romans 5:1; 8:28-30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 1:1-2; 2 Peter 1:10). This salvation cannot be gained by doing good works because it is a free gift for all who put their trust in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross.  All who trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are forgiven their sins and declared to be as righteous as Christ.  (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 7:10; Isaiah 55:6-7). Since Christ promised that every believer would have eternal life at the moment of saving faith and be raised up on the last day  (John 3:16; 6:37, 39, 40, 44, 47, 54; 1 Peter 1:3-8), every believer is eternally secure in Christ since He did all the work for our salvation (John 19:30; Romans 3:23-25; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18). God the Father has promised to transform every believer who truly belongs to Him until their physical death. Then he or she will go to heaven  (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:1-2, 9).

The Church

We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who believe in Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:13) We teach that Jesus Christ is the Lord and Head of the Church and that every local church has the right to govern its own affairs (Ephesians 5:23-24). We teach that church leadership should be a plurality of spiritually qualified males called elders, who are supported by deacons and deaconesses (Acts 6:1-6; Romans 16:1-2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy. 3:1-12). We teach that all believers in a local church are also subject to the elders in spiritual matters (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:7, 17; 1 Peter 5:1-6). The ordinances of the local church are believers’ baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:3; 1 Corinthians 11:23-30). The primary purpose of the church is evangelism and making disciples. Disciples are made by a strong in-depth teaching of Scripture and fellowship of the saints.

The Future

We believe God’s plan for the future is both pretribulational and premillennial. Therefore, we believe the next major event in God’s prophetic timeline is the rapture of  the body of Christ, the church (John 14:2-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:9). We believe that after the rapture of the church, a terrible period of time will occur upon the earth called the Tribulation (Daniel 7:1-8, 15-28; 9:27; Zechariah 12:1-14; 14:1-7; Matthew 24:15-28; Revelation 6:1-19:21). At the end of the seven-year tribulation, the battle of Armageddon will occur.

Timeline of The Future

The second coming of the Lord Jesus will occur at the close of the tribulation period (Daniel 7:13, 26; Joel 3:1-17; Zechariah 14:1-7; Matthew 24:29-31; 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13; 4:15; 5:23;  2 Thessalonians 2:1-2; James 5:8; 2 Peter 1:16; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 19:11-21; 22:20). When Christ appears, He defeats the armies of the world and rescues Israel from defeat and destruction (Zechariah 12:6-11; 14:1-7; Revelation 19:11-21). Then the Judgment of the Nations (Sheep and Goat Judgment) occurs next before the millennial kingdom begins (Mathew 25:31-46). After the second coming, the literal, earthly 1,000 year kingdom is established (Daniel 2:44-45; 7:14, 27; Joel 3:18-21; Zechariah 14:9-21; Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:6-7, 11; Revelation 20:4-6). We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead (Daniel 12:2-3; Revelation 20:4-5, 11-15). The believer in Jesus Christ will go to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord in a new heaven and new earth (Matthew 25:46; Jude 21; Revelation 21:1-2). Satan, the fallen angels, and unbelievers will be judged and sent to an everlasting, literal punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:11-15).