Statement of Faith Continued

We believe that Satan is a person, the author of sin, the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished and the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6 -7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11; 25:41; Revelation 20:10) 

We believe that the Genesis account of creation is neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of God’s creation of the universe in six literal, 24-hour periods. We reject evolution, the Gap Theory, the Day-Age Theory, and Theistic Evolution as unscriptural theories of origin. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11) 

We believe that God has ordained and created all Authority consisting of three basic institutions: 1) the home, 2) the church, and 3) the state.  Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific Biblical responsibilities and balance those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other.  The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God. (Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 5:22-24; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-14) 

1.  We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempts to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5,13; Genesis 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)

2.  We believe that the only Scriptural marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23) 

1.  We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and trustees) of the church. Accordingly, all men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; 1 Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4-5, 12)

2.  We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as a church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their
children spiritual and moral values through consistent lifestyle example, appropriate discipline, including scriptural corporal correction. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10: 6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3: 1-7) 

We believe that God disapproves of and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they may not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; 1 Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6) 

We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well-being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 41:24; 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44) 

We believe that the direct taking of an innocent life is morally evil, regardless of the intention. Life is a gift of God and must be respected from conception until natural death. Thus we believe that an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering, constitutes a murder contrary to the will of God. Discontinuing medical procedures that are extraordinary or is disproportionate to the expected outcome can be a legitimate refusal of over-zealous treatment. (Exodus 20:13, 23:7; Matthew 5: 21; Acts 17:28) 

We believe that we should demonstrate love for others, not only toward fellow believers, but also towards those who are not believers, those who oppose us and those who engage in simple actions. We are to deal with those who oppose us graciously, gently, patiently and humbly. Got forbids the stirring of strife, the taking of revenge or the threat or use of violence as a means of resolving personal conflict or obtaining personal justice. Although God commands us to abhor sinful actions, we are to love and pray for any person who engages in such sinful actions. (Leviticus 9:18; Matthew 5:44-48; Luke 6:31; John 13: 34-35; Romans 12:9-10, 17-21; 13:8-10; Philippians 2:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Titus 3:2; 1 John 3:17-18) 

We believe that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe that church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members. We do believe, however, that a Christian may seek compensation for injuries from another Christian insurance company as long as the claim is pursued without malice or slander. (1 Corinthians 6:1-8; Ephesians 4:31-32; Philippians 2:3-4) 

We believe that God has given the church a great commission to proclaim the Gospel to all nations so that there might be a great multitude from every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As ambassadors of Christ, we must use all available means to go to the foreign nations, planting churches at home, and not wait for them to come to us. We should be actively pursuing souls by preaching, witnessing and any ethical way to win the lost. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20) 

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to financially support his local church. We believe that every Christian should be giving their tithes and offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need and the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of his offering once the gift has been made. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-
10; Acts 4:34-37; 1 Corinthians 16: 2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Ephesians 4:28; 1 Timothy 5:17-18; 1 John 3:17; Malachi 3:8-12)