What We Believe
The following are my basic beliefs and are certainly not all inclusive:
1. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who became true humanity through the virgin pregnancy and virgin birth, God the Holy Spirit providing the necessary genetic material, so that the humanity of Christ was born without a genetically formed sin nature and without the necessity for the imputation of Adam's original sin. Thus our Lord is the perfect combination of the eternal essence of God and the perfect essence of true humanity in one person forever.
John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14, "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth."
2. That our Lord lived a perfect, sinless life on earth, which qualified Him to go to the Cross as the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
2 Cor 5:21, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
John 1:29, "The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said,'Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'"
3. That our Lord bore our sins in His own body on the Cross and was judged as a substitute for us, having the sins of all mankind imputed to Him and judged, so that anyone who believes in Him might have eternal life.
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
4. That salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone and is unlimited in its availability to all mankind.
1 John 2:2, "and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
5. That those who believe in Christ have eternal security, that is, no one who believes in Christ can ever lose their eternal salvation.
John 10:28, "and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand."
6. That the greatest obligation of the believer is found in our Lord's statement in Luke 10:27:
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
7. That when we sin we are expected to name or acknowledge that sin to God in order to be forgiven and restored to fellowship with God.
1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
8. That we are expected to be filled by or under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."
9. That there are permanent and temporary spiritual gifts, 1 Cor 12-14. The temporary spiritual gifts were only operational until the Canon of Scripture was completed, when these temporary spiritual gifts ceased to function. These temporary spiritual gifts include: speaking in tongues (foreign languages), the interpretation of tongues, apostleship, prophecy, miracles, and healing. The permanent spiritual gifts that function throughout the dispensation of the Church are: pastor-teacher, evangelist, administration, helps. (These lists are not all inclusive.) 1 Cor 12:28; 13:8.
10. That the Scriptures (both Old and New Testaments) are the eternal word of God. They are completely accurate and infallible, being inspired by God the Holy Spirit to the human authors of Scripture, using their own human language and thought patterns.
See this document on The Canonicity of the Bible for more details.
11. That we are expected to grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Pet 3:18), "until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ," Eph 4:13.