About
Our Beliefs
I. The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. Christ is Himself the focus of divine revelation.
II. God
There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.
A. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
B. God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God and identified Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. In His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever- present Lord.
C. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin and effects regeneration. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image, created male and female as the crowning work of His creation. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Man, thus, fell from his original innocence, whereby his posterity inherits a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. Every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
IV. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. A. Regeneration is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Sanctification is the progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer. Glorification is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
V. Education
An adequate system of Christian education is necessary to a complete spiritual program for Christ’s people. In Christian education there should be a proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility. The freedom of a teacher in a Christian school is limited by the pre-eminence of Jesus Christ, the authoritative nature of the Scriptures and by the distinct purpose for which the school exists.
VI. The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
