A. The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Bible is the verbal and plenary inspired Word of God in the original writings. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God- breathed; therefore they are the final authority for faith and daily living. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. The King James Version is the text of Scripture used in our public worship and in all our teaching.(II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21)
B. The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe they are co-eternal in being, in nature, and in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections.
(Genesis 1:1; John 10:30; John 4:24; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26)
C. The Person and Work of God the Father
1. We believe in God the Father, who is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin all who come to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 6:9-13; 7:7-11; 5:48; Romans 1:20; 8:15; John 3:16; 4:24; Galatians 4:6; Isaiah 6:3; I John 4:8-9)
2. We believe God’s knowledge is limitless and independent of human decisions and actions, and that He knows the past, present and future.
(Mark 14:12-16; Romans 16:27; James 1:5, 17)
3. We further believe that the Father does everything in accordance with His perfect will. Through His sovereignty, He neither eliminates nor minimizes our personal responsibility.
(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 8:28-29; 9:17-18; Galatians 1:6)
D. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. This was done to reveal God and to redeem sinful men.
(Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; Philippians 2:5-8, I Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Colossians 2:9)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 2:22-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; Ephesians 1:17)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God. There, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, Advocate, and Deliverer.
(Acts 1: 9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2; Galatians 1:4; II Peter 2:9)
E. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ. He indwells them, and He seals them unto the day of redemption. By His indwelling, Christians are enabled to live a godly life.
(John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-13; 3:16; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures. It is the privilege and responsibility of all born-again believers to be filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit.
(Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses pastors to equip believers in the assembly to enable them to do the work of the ministry.
(Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit (such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and the gift of healing) were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit; and the ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection. God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing.
(I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
F. Creation
We believe that the Genesis account of creation is to be considered literal and not allegorically or figuratively. We also believe that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness. We reject any theory of evolution or evolutionary change of species which depicts the development of man through aeons of time, from lower to higher forms. We also believe that all plant, animal, and human life was created by God. We further believe that God's established law was to bring forth only “after their kind.”
(Genesis 1:1, 11, 24; 2:21-23; John 1:3, Acts 4:24; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17)
G. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God, brought to man by grace. It is received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
(John 1:12-13; Acts 13:38-39; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19; I John 1:9)
H. Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
(John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)
2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, the Bible clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
I. The Church
1. Born-again Members - We believe that a New Testament Church is one whose members have been born again. It is an organized body of baptized believers who practice scriptural ordinances, and who are actively engaged in fulfilling the great commission.
(I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1;22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; Acts 2:41-42, 47)
2. Continuance - We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
(Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
3. Autonomy - We believe that the local church is an autonomous organization – self-governing, self-supporting and independent from any ecclesiastical denomination or association.
(Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
4. Scriptural Ordinances - We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 8:38-39; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
5. Scriptural Offices and Church Government - We recognize that the Scriptural offices of the local church are those of pastor and deacons, and that the pastor has Scriptural authority as the overseer. We also recognize that the church has the right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit, and that it is answerable only to Christ. In all manners of membership, policy, discipline, and giving, the will of the local church is final.
(I Timothy 3:1–13; I Corinthians 6:1–3; Colossians 1:18; I Peter 5:1-4)
6. Missions - We believe that God has given the church “The Great Commission” to proclaim the gospel, beginning in Belvidere and spreading throughout the world. Obedience to this commission brings the opportunity of salvation to people of every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group if they will hear and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)
7. Giving – We believe that every Christian is to be a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, and that he is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving; but additional offerings should be given sacrificially and cheerfully for ministries in the church, for relief of those in need, and for the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe and offering once the gift is given.
(Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
J. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. Christians should also refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances.
(Romans 12:1-2; II John 9-11; I Corinthians 6:19-20; II Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1)
K. The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in the personal, imminent return of Christ who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic kingdom and millennial reign, which were promised to the nation of Israel.
(Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
L. The Eternal State
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men – the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
(Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord. They await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:42; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection. Then with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment; and they shall all be cast into the lake of fire. There they will not to be annihilated, but will suffer everlasting conscious torment and punishment.
(Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
We believe the Bible is the verbal and plenary inspired Word of God in the original writings. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God- breathed; therefore they are the final authority for faith and daily living. The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the complete and divine revelation of God to man. The King James Version is the text of Scripture used in our public worship and in all our teaching.(II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:20-21)
B. The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe they are co-eternal in being, in nature, and in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections.
(Genesis 1:1; John 10:30; John 4:24; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10, 26)
C. The Person and Work of God the Father
1. We believe in God the Father, who is an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin all who come to Him through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 6:9-13; 7:7-11; 5:48; Romans 1:20; 8:15; John 3:16; 4:24; Galatians 4:6; Isaiah 6:3; I John 4:8-9)
2. We believe God’s knowledge is limitless and independent of human decisions and actions, and that He knows the past, present and future.
(Mark 14:12-16; Romans 16:27; James 1:5, 17)
3. We further believe that the Father does everything in accordance with His perfect will. Through His sovereignty, He neither eliminates nor minimizes our personal responsibility.
(Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 32:4; Romans 8:28-29; 9:17-18; Galatians 1:6)
D. The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. This was done to reveal God and to redeem sinful men.
(Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; Philippians 2:5-8, I Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Colossians 2:9)
2. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
(Acts 2:22-36; Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; Ephesians 1:17)
3. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God. There, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, Advocate, and Deliverer.
(Acts 1: 9-10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2; Galatians 1:4; II Peter 2:9)
E. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ. He indwells them, and He seals them unto the day of redemption. By His indwelling, Christians are enabled to live a godly life.
(John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12-13; 3:16; II Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14)
2. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assists believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures. It is the privilege and responsibility of all born-again believers to be filled with (controlled by) the Holy Spirit.
(Ephesians 1:17-18; 5:18; I John 2:20, 27)
3. We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer. God uniquely uses pastors to equip believers in the assembly to enable them to do the work of the ministry.
(Romans 12:3-8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 28; Ephesians 4:7-12)
4. We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit (such as speaking in tongues, prophecy, and the gift of healing) were temporary. Speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit; and the ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection. God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing.
(I Corinthians 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22)
F. Creation
We believe that the Genesis account of creation is to be considered literal and not allegorically or figuratively. We also believe that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness. We reject any theory of evolution or evolutionary change of species which depicts the development of man through aeons of time, from lower to higher forms. We also believe that all plant, animal, and human life was created by God. We further believe that God's established law was to bring forth only “after their kind.”
(Genesis 1:1, 11, 24; 2:21-23; John 1:3, Acts 4:24; Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:16-17)
G. Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God, brought to man by grace. It is received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
(John 1:12-13; Acts 13:38-39; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18-19; I John 1:9)
H. Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers
1. We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
(John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians 1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5)
2. We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word. However, the Bible clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh.
(Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15)
I. The Church
1. Born-again Members - We believe that a New Testament Church is one whose members have been born again. It is an organized body of baptized believers who practice scriptural ordinances, and who are actively engaged in fulfilling the great commission.
(I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1;22-23; Ephesians 5:25-27; Acts 2:41-42, 47)
2. Continuance - We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures.
(Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
3. Autonomy - We believe that the local church is an autonomous organization – self-governing, self-supporting and independent from any ecclesiastical denomination or association.
(Acts 13:1-4; 15:19-31; 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9, 16; 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4)
4. Scriptural Ordinances - We recognize water baptism and the Lord's Supper as the Scriptural ordinances of obedience for the church in this age.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 8:38-39; I Corinthians 11:23-26)
5. Scriptural Offices and Church Government - We recognize that the Scriptural offices of the local church are those of pastor and deacons, and that the pastor has Scriptural authority as the overseer. We also recognize that the church has the right of self-government directed by the Holy Spirit, and that it is answerable only to Christ. In all manners of membership, policy, discipline, and giving, the will of the local church is final.
(I Timothy 3:1–13; I Corinthians 6:1–3; Colossians 1:18; I Peter 5:1-4)
6. Missions - We believe that God has given the church “The Great Commission” to proclaim the gospel, beginning in Belvidere and spreading throughout the world. Obedience to this commission brings the opportunity of salvation to people of every nation, tribe, ethnic group, and language group if they will hear and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20)
7. Giving – We believe that every Christian is to be a steward of that portion of God's wealth entrusted to him, and that he is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving; but additional offerings should be given sacrificially and cheerfully for ministries in the church, for relief of those in need, and for the spread of the gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all rights to direct the use of the tithe and offering once the gift is given.
(Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)
J. Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Savior and Lord. God commands His people to separate from all religious apostasy, all worldly and sinful pleasures, practices, and associations. Christians should also refrain from all immodest and immoderate appearances.
(Romans 12:1-2; II John 9-11; I Corinthians 6:19-20; II Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1)
K. The Second Advent of Christ
We believe in the personal, imminent return of Christ who will rapture His church prior to the seven-year tribulation period. At the end of the tribulation, Christ will personally and visibly return with His saints to establish His earthly Messianic kingdom and millennial reign, which were promised to the nation of Israel.
(Daniel 2:31-45; Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11-16; 20:1-6)
L. The Eternal State
1. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men – the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
(Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13)
2. We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord. They await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord.
(Luke 23:42; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:20-21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6)
3. We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the second resurrection. Then with soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment; and they shall all be cast into the lake of fire. There they will not to be annihilated, but will suffer everlasting conscious torment and punishment.
(Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)
