The Bible

The Bible is the authoritative and infallible word of God, written by human authors whose words were inspired by God.  The Bible contains timeless truths applicable to all people, all cultures, and all time.  The Bible is the final authority in all matters of God’s truth, spirituality, and the redemption of humanity from sin through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

God
There is one eternal God, existing as three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  God is the creator and sustainer of the universe and all that is in it.  God is holy and just, as well as merciful and full of grace.  God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and unchanging.

Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of humanity, and the Messiah prophesied by the Old Testament Scriptures.  Jesus was born of a virgin and was both fully human and fully God.  Christ’s life, death, and resurrection are the means by which Christ conquered sin and death, and through which He offers salvation to those who will believe in Him. 

Humanity
Humanity was created by God, in the image of God, and for fellowship with God.  Through the sin of Adam (Gen. 3), humanity was cursed and took on a fallen, sinful nature.  Sin is contradictory to the nature of God and is the reason for the evil that exists in the world today.  In his mercy, God sent Jesus Christ to redeem humanity from sin.  Christ did this by coming to earth in human flesh and taking upon himself humanity’s sin through his death on the cross.  By God’s grace, and through faith in the finished work of Christ, the individual believer is redeemed from their sin and restored to fellowship with God.

Salvation
Every individual human inherits the sinful nature of mankind and is subsequently in need of salvation.  Faith in Christ, based on his substitutionary life, death, and resurrection, is the sole means by which human sin can be forgiven and individuals can be restored to fellowship with God.

The Church
The church is universal and apostolic and is the primary tangible representation of the kingdom of God on earth.   The church is called to fellowship with God, as well as to fellowship with itself through interpersonal relationships and local congregational bodies.  It is the responsibility of the church to help bring the lost into relationship with God by faithfully proclaiming God’s truth and by living lives that bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Truth
God is the creator and source of all truth.  Accordingly, there is real, knowable truth in the world that God has revealed to humanity.  This truth includes spiritual truth, as well as truth about the physical world in which we live.  God has revealed this truth through His Word, and through the discoveries of humanity in accordance with His Word.

Culture
Culture is the political, religious, social, economic, philosophical, and artistic context in which every human being lives, relative to the time and geographic location of their existence.  Culture largely determines the way in which people view and interpret the world in which they live.  God’s Word and the gospel of Jesus Christ transcend culture, and are applicable to all people, in all cultures, and for all times.  It is the responsibility of the church to engage its cultural context, and to speak God’s truth into all cultures in order to bring the lost into relationship with God.