God. There is one living and true God. God is the sovereign Creator, Redeemer, and Preserver of the universe. God is infinitely perfect. God is personal with His creation. The eternal triune God reveals Himself as three distinct persons, without division of nature, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God the Father. God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth, reigning over it with providential care. God is transcendent of His creation and is not contained by time or space. He created all things from nothing, for His glory. God the Father is all-powerful, all-knowing, full of grace and mercy. He passionately pursues His creation as their loving Father.
God the Son. Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Word made flesh. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born by the Virgin Mary, He is fully God and fully man. He revealed the will of God by living a sinless life. Jesus Christ died as a substitutionary atonement to redeem mankind from sin. He was raised to life on the third day, appeared to His disciples, and is now exalted to God’s right hand where He intercedes for His people. He is Lord of all and will return to judge the world.
God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is fully divine. He is the seal of salvation for Christians, guaranteeing their salvation from the moment of regeneration. He convicts mankind of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He enables man to understand the truth and calls them to salvation. He regenerates the believer and cultivates Christian character, empowering them for worship, evangelism, and service.
Gen. 1:1-2, 2:7; Ex. 15:11-27, 20:1-26; Deut. 6:4, 32:6, Jdg. 14:6; 1 Chron. 29:10; Job 26:13; Ps. 2:7-12, 51:11, 110:1-7, 139:7-24; Is. 7:14, 43:15, 53:1-12, 61:1-3, 64:8; Jer. 10:10; Joel 2:28-32; Matt. 1:18-23, 3:16-17, 4:1, 6:9-34, 7:11, 8:29, 11:27, 12:28-32, 14:33, 16:16, 17:5, 23:9, 28:19; Mk. 1:1, 1:9-11; Lk. 1:35, 4:1, 4:18-19, 4:41, 11:13, 12:12, 22:70, 24:46, 24:49; Jn. 1:1-18, 1:29, 4:24, 5:26, 10:30, 10:38, 11:25-27, 12:44-50, 14:6-13, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:7-16, 16:28, 17:1-8, 17:21-22, 20:1-20, ; Acts 1:8-9, 2:1-4, 2:22-24, 2:38, 4:31, 5:3, 6:3, 7:55-56, 8:17, 8:39, 9:4-5, 9:20, 10:44, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6, 19:1-6; Rom. 1:3-4, 3:23-26, 5:6-21, 8:1-3, 8:9-11, 8:14-15, 8:34, 10:4, ; 1 Cor. 1:30, 2:10-14, 3:16, 12:3-11, 8:6, 15:24-28; 2 Cor. 1:22, 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-6; Eph. 1:13-14, 1:20, 3:11, 4:6, 4:20; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:13-22, 2:9; 1Th. 4:14-18; 1 Tim. 1:17, 2:5-6, 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:14; Ti. 2:13-14; Heb. 1:1-3, 4:14-15, 9:8, 12:2, 12:9, 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:17, 3:22; 1 Jn. 4:13, 5:7; Rev. 19:16, 22:17.
The Scriptures. The Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. Its 66 books are God’s complete revelation to mankind. It is free of error and completely trustworthy. Scripture alone stands as the guide for Christian doctrine. The Scriptures lead humanity to faith in Jesus Christ and will serve as a perfect standard of judgement.
Ex. 24:4; Deut. 4:1-2, 17:19, Ps. 19:7-10, 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Is. 34:16, 40:8; Jer. 36:1-32; Matt. 5:17-18, 22:29; Lk. 21:33, 24:44-46; Jn. 5:39, 16:13-15, 17:17; Acts 17:11; Rom. 15:4, 16:25-26; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 1:1-2, 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:19-21.
Man. God formed male and female with His hands, to bear His image. God invited humanity into intimate relationship with Himself for God’s glory. Man was tempted by Satan, chose to rebel against God, and is deserving of punishment. All men have inherited a sin nature and are born sinners. Under his own power, man is incapable of returning to God. Salvation for mankind and right standing with God is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ alone.
Gen. 1:26-30, 2:7, 2:18-22, 9:6; Ps. 1, 8:3-6, 32:1-6, 51:5; Is. 6:5; Jer. 17:5; Matt. 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Rom. 1:19-32; 3:10-18, 3:23, 5:6, 5:12, 5:19, 6:6, 7:14-25, 8:14-18; 1 Cor. 1:21-31, 15:19-22; Eph. 2:1-22; Col. 1:21-22, 3:9-11.
Salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God. God extends the offer of redemption for man by grace, through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This good news is centered upon the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. True and saving faith calls man to repent of his sins, acknowledge his need for a Savior, and surrender his life to Jesus as Lord. Christ’s death is the only acceptable atoning sacrifice for the sin of humanity. Salvation regenerates the believer into new life, justifies the believer into peace with God, sanctifies the believer through the power of the Holy Spirit, and glorifies the believer in their future and final state with God.
Gen. 3:15; Ex. 3:14-17, 6:2-8; Matt. 1:21, 4:17, 16:21-26, 27:22-28:6; Lk. 1:68-69, 2:28-32, Jn. 1:11-14, 1:29, 3:3-21, 3:36, 5:24, 10:9, 10:28-29, 15:1-16; Acts 2:21, 4:12, 15:11, 16:30-31, 17:30-31; Rom. 1:16-18, 2:4, 3:23-25, 4: 3-25, 5:8-10, 6:1-23, 8:1-18, 8:29-30, 10:9-10, 10:13, 13:11-14; 1 Cor. 1:18, 1:30, 6:19-20, 15:10; 3:13, 6:15; Eph. 1:7, 2:8-22, 4:11-16; 2 Tim. 1:12; Ti. 2:11-14; Heb. 2:1-3, 5:8-9, 9:24-28, 11:1-12:8; Jas. 2:14-26; 1 Pet. 1:2-23; Rev. 3:20, 21:1-22:5.
Sanctification. All true believers endure until the end and can have confidence that God will preserve His people. All who are called to grace through Christ will persevere and never fall away. They are progressively sanctified, set apart to be conformed to the image of Christ through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit; believers produce fruit and grow in knowledge of the Lord, thereby strengthening the Church for the work of witness and service to which they have been called.
Jn. 17:17; Acts 20:32; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:17-20; Gal. 2:20, 5:22-25; Phil. 2:12-13; Col. 1:9-22, 3:1-25; 1 Th. 5:23-24; Ti. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:6-2:11.
The Church. The Church is comprised of those who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as their Lord and Savior. The Church Universal is comprised of all regenerate believers throughout history and presently works on a global level to make the Gospel known to as many people as possible. The Local Church is a specific group of believers in a specific location; the Local Church equips its members for works or service and fosters their growth in spiritual maturity. All members of the Church, both Global and Local, play an important role in contributing to its ultimate purpose, the worship and glorification of God. The Church worships and glorifies by preaching the Gospel and making disciples of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The Church is called to remember the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross through communion and to affirm His salvation of new believers through water baptism.
Matt. 9: 37-38, 16:15-19; Lk. 10:1-18, 24:46-53; Acts 2:41-42, 2:47; 5:11-14, 6:3-6, 13:1-3, 14:23, 14:27, 15:1-30, 16:5, 20:28; 1 Cor. 1:2, 3:16, 5:4-5, 7:17, 9:13-14; Eph. 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 3:21, 5:22-32; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:18; 2 Tim. 4:5; Rev. 2-3.
Last Things. Jesus Christ will return, personally and visibly, in power and glory, to consummate His salvation. The dead will arise, and all will stand before the judgment of Christ. The unrighteous will be sent into everlasting punishment and separation from God. The righteous will be given glorified bodies and will dwell forever in the presence of the Lord in the new heavens and new earth, forever giving God praise and glory.
Is. 2:4; Matt. 16:27, 18:8-9, 19:28, 24:27, 24:30, 24:36, 24:44, 25:31-46, 26:64; Mk. 8:38, 9:43-48; Lk. 12:40, 16:19-26, 17:22-37, 21:27-28; Jn. 14:1-3; Acts 1:11, 17:31; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 4:5, 15:24-28, 15:35-38; 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil. 3:20-21; Col. 1:5, 3:4; 1 Th. 4:14-18, 5:1-28; 2 Th. 1:7-12; 1 Tim. 6:14; 2 Tim. 4:1; Ti. 2:13; Heb. 9:27-28; Jas. 5:8; 2 Pet. 3:7-18; 1 Jn. 2:28, 3:2; Jude 14; Rev. 1:18, 3:11, 20:1-22:13.