3. The Virgin Birth of Jesus
We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ is not an independent doctrine which we can receive or reject without affecting our Christianity. It is one of the foundation stones of Christianity; our faith will crumble if it is removed. This doctrine is tied to inerrancy, Christ's sinless nature, the atonement and other key documents of the Bible. If Jesus was not born of a virgin, He would be unable to save Himself, because He would not be a sinless Savior.
At least seven biblical authors wrote of the virgin birth of Christ. Together these seven men wrote 29 or 30 books of the Bible. If we choose to deny this doctrine, we would raise the issue of credibility of some of the most prominent and prolific Bible writers. Three of these seven authors spoke prophetically of the virgin birth, the others wrote after the fact:
1. Moses - Gen.3:15.
2. Isaiah - Is. 7:14.
3. Jeremiah - Jer. 31:22
4. Matthew - Mt. 1:18,20; 1:22-23; 1:25.
5. Luke - Lk. 1:27; 1:32; 1:34-35.
6. John - Jn. 8:38; 8:41.
7. Paul - Gal. 4:4.
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4. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
We believe that our Lord offered Himself as a sacrifice as directed by the Father. He fulfilled the will of God by His obedient life, died on the cross in full substitution and payment for the sins of all (vicarious substitutionary atonement), was buried, descended into hell, and on the third day He arose bodily from the dead. He appeared to many for 40 days before He ascended to Heaven. He sits at the right hand of God the Father, ever making intercession for us.
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5. You Must Be Born Again
The Bible teaches that Christians must be born again. In John 3:3 Jesus said to Nicodemus, ". . . except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were declared righteous, born again by the Holy Spirit, turned from our sin, and assured of Heaven as our eternal home. We believe that people can be saved only by the blood of Jesus the Christ, through repentance of sins and by faith in Him alone as their Savior.
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6. Existence of Hell
No one really wants to talk about Hell, but it exists as a definite part of the eternal plan of God. Hell is not the devil's playground, nor is it someone's punishment on earth. God created Hell, a real place where real people will suffer real punishment for a real eternity. One of the primary dangers of some religions is their denial of this place. They tend to define it merely as an ancient superstition, yet its existence is so well documented in the Word of God that to deny Hell is to deny the authority of the Bible. Hell has rightfully been called the most sobering doctrine in all scripture.
In the Bible, God is not revealed as one who wants or causes good people to suffer in Hell; but He is revealed as one who at infinite cost has established forever, that sinners, believing in Jesus Christ, may not perish, but have everlasting life (2 Peter 3:9).
No Christian pastors or teachers should engage in the “soft peddling of Hell.” Hell is the destiny for those who reject the salvation offered through Jesus Christ. To proclaim universal salvation for all, is simply wrong and has dire eternal implications. Universalism, the salvation of all, is not taught in the Bible and is a doctrine from Satan himself. If we fail to lovingly warn people of the consequences of their sin, and they die and go to hell, we will have to explain to God why we did not have enough love for them to tell then the truth and introduce them to Jesus. John 3:16 tells us that: God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. If you have any doubt about your salvation, please feel free to call us. God loves you and so do we.
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7. Water Baptism
We believe in water baptism, by immersion, of all professing believers. Baptism is more than an initiatory rite in a local church; it is a symbol portraying the ultimate meaning of the Lord's death. Through baptism, believers publicly identify themselves with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:4-6).
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8. Baptism of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the agent of inspiration and the new birth; He restrains sin and Satan and He sanctifies all believers. We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is an “empowering for service” that takes place after the experience of salvation. It enables a believer to witness to the Lord's salvation and to demonstrate one or more of the gifts (or manifestations) of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 19:1-6; Acts 8:15-17).
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9. Gifts of the Holy Spirit
We believe in all of the spiritual gifts mentioned in the Holy Bible. A spiritual gift is the Holy Spirit's endowment of power, revelation, or utterance. It is a divine empowering whereby a believer may speak and/or minister with power, wisdom, or knowledge beyond his own abilities.
Before Jesus returned to the Father, He commissioned His followers to carry on His ministry in a similar manner and power as He had. "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12). "Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me in both Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth" (Acts 1:8). "And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought among the people" (Acts 5:12). "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover" (Mark 16:17-18).
The Gifts are given by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministry and personal edification (Jude 20). "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (1 Cor. 12:7). Spiritual Gifts are described in: Romans 12:3-8; Corinthians 12:1-31; and Ephesians 4:7-11.
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10. Holy Communion
Like water baptism, Holy Communion (or the Lord's Supper) is an ordinance of the Church. It was instituted by Jesus Christ, (Matthew 26:26-28 and Mark 14:22-24). The purpose of the Lord's Supper is explained in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, "For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till He comes." See also Luke 22:14-20.
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11. Tithing
Christians must be obedient to God in giving their tithe. Scripture tells us to "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse . . . and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it . . ." (Mal. 3:10-11). God’s Word also tells us to "Honor the Lord with the substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase so shall your barns be filled with plenty" (Proverbs 3:9). We use this passage when someone asks if they should tithe on their before taxes or after taxes income. God wants our first fruits, and He loves a cheerful giver.
In the New Testament the words tithe and tithing appear in (Matt, 23:23; Luke 11:42; 18:12; Hebrews 7:5-6, 8-9). All these references refer to the Old Testament. In the New Testament, believers are encouraged to be generous in sharing our material possessions with the poor and for the support of the Church. The Apostle Paul says "He which soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:8). These verses do not apply only to money but to talents, time and other things we value.
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12. Pastor’s Responsibility
We believe that every minister is responsible to Jesus as the Chief Shepherd, and will ultimately answer to Him for how they have conducted their ministry.
It is essential that a pastor loves and respects others and rejoices with those that rejoice, and weeps with those who weep. As with the Apostle Paul, we do not feel that we have apprehended that for which we were apprehended, neither are we perfect, but this is what we seek to do. Forgetting those things which are behind and reaching for those things that are before, we press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
We hold to the supremacy of Jesus as the head of the body (His church), and we look to the Holy Spirit to guide and direct each decision in the building up of the Body of Christ. Having begun in the Spirit, we do not seek to be made perfect in the flesh, but seek to continue to be led by the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and is infallible and the final authority for our faith and practice.
We believe that God established the model for the church in the book of Acts, and we seek to follow that model as much as is possible. We feel that church history is for the most part a sad commentary of the failure of men who sought by human genius and resources to perfect that which was begun in the Holy Spirit. (See Hebrews 12:1-3).
The messages of Jesus to the churches in Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 show how early in the history of the church, problems developed for which they needed to repent. Their documented mistakes are something that we must not disregard. We need to realize that the church’s mistakes show us how Satan has, and will continue his attacks upon the church and upon our individual ministries. Our heart grieves for the many Christians who have started the race (Hebrews 12:1-3) but have failed to complete it.
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13. Hell
No Christian pastors or teachers should engage in the “soft peddling of Hell.” Hell is the destiny of those who reject the salvation offered through Jesus Christ. To proclaim universal salvation for all is simply wrong and has dire eternal implications. Universalism, the salvation of all, is not taught in the Bible and is a doctrine from Satan himself. If we fail to lovingly warn people of the consequences of their sin and they die and go to hell, we will have to explain to God why we did not have enough love for them to tell then the truth and introduce them to Jesus. John 3:16 tells us that: God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If you have any doubts about your salvation, please feel free to call us. God loves you and so do we.
In essentials unity - In nonessentials liberty - In all things love
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