We Believe …

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• in one God who has existed eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
  We call this the doctrine of the Trinity. The term “person” does not mean a distinction in essence. It simply indicates a difference within the scope of being, not a separate being or essence. The Father initiates creation and redemption; the Son redeems the creation; and the Holy Spirit regenerates and sanctifies, applying redemption to believers.
   

• the Bible is the word of God written, a collection of books consisting of the Old and New Testaments. It is inspired, inerrant, infallible and authoritative.
  Although Scripture comes to us from the pens of human authors, the “ultimate” source of Scripture is God. The Holy Spirit guided the human authors so that their words would be nothing less than the word of God. Because God is incapable of inspiring falsehood, His word is true and trustworthy. This does not mean that the Bible translations we have today are without error, but that the original manuscripts were absolutely correct.
   

• Jesus Christ is fully divine and fully human.
  Although Christ is equal to the Father in terms of His divine nature, He is subordinate to the Father in His role in redemption. His perfect obedience enabled Him to be the sin bearer for His chosen people and earned the rewards of heaven promised to the redeemed. His full human nature is the basis of His identification with us. Jesus took our sins upon Himself so that His righteousness would be imparted to us. His human nature had the limitations of normal humanity, except that He was without sin. We are justified by faith in Christ, meaning that God declares unjust sinners to be just after He has imputed to them the righteousness of Christ. No one can earn this justification by good works. It is by faith that one receives this imputation of Christ’s merits. Justification requires a living and real faith, not a mere profession of faith.
   

• the Bible clearly teaches the distinct personality of the Holy Spirit.
  He applies the work of Christ on the cross to the hearts of those who would believe, through a supernatural transformation. It produces within us a new desire for God and a decision to live a life of holiness as the Holy Spirit works within us. He takes personal actions, such as comforting and convicting. He has a mission that is distinct from the Father’s and the Son’s. His rank and power are equal to those of the Father and the Son. The sin against the Holy Spirit described in Matthew 12: 31-32 implies offense against a personality. And in I Corinthians 12:11, after having enumerated the gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, the discerning of spirits, tongues and the interpretation of tongues, Paul writes, “All these are inspired by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.” The gifts of the Holy Spirit are distinguished from the Spirit Himself, indicating that He is no mere force behind these remarkable displays.
   

• there are two sacraments – Baptism and Communion.
  These are “sacred” acts because they were instituted by Christ, signs which are means of grace presented to believers. In receiving these sacraments we respond to God’s grace and affirm our faith and commitment to Him. According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the sacraments “put a visible difference between those that belong unto the Christ and the rest of the world,” and they solemnly “engage (Christians) to the service of God in Christ, according to His Word.”

  • Baptism is the sign of the New Covenant. It was instituted by Christ and is a sign by which God seals His pledge to the elect that they are included in the covenant of grace. It is to be administered with water, either by immersion, sprinkling, or dipping in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism does not automatically convey rebirth. And, since the validity of baptism rests upon the integrity of God’s promise, it should only be administered to a person once.

  • Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is a ritual meal and an act of worship in which believers share bread and wine (or grape juice) to remember Christ’s death on the cross and celebrate the new covenantal relationship they have now with God. We affirm the Reformed view of communion put forth by John Calvin which believes that the bread and wine don’t change into the real body and blood of Christ, but the believer enjoys the spiritual presence of Christ by faith. This sacrament binds us not only to Christ but to each other.
     

• the 'Church' refers to all people who belong to the Lord, those who have been purchased by the blood of Christ on the cross.
  It is the duty and privilege of every Christian to be united to the church of Christ. It is our responsibility not to neglect meeting together for worship, to be under the nurture and discipline of the church, and to be actively involved as witnesses in the mission of the church.