Introduction
The concepts below are a summary of our core beliefs. For brevity, we don’t expound on these tenets here, and we use a lot of technical “shorthand” drawn from specific passages from the Bible. Some of the verses we had in mind when writing this Statement of Faith are provided for clarity.
Scripture
We believe all scripture, specifically the 66 canonical books of the Bible, to be fully inspired by God, transmitted by men carried along by the Holy Spirit. Since scripture is God-breathed, it is inerrant and thus infallible1. It clearly indicates everything humanity needs to know regarding salvation and sanctification, and is our final authority in all matters of belief and conduct.
(2 Timothy 3:16–17, 2 Peter 1:20–21, 2 Timothy 3:15)
God
We believe in one true, living God, who is perfect, omnipotent, just, and loving. God eternally exists in the three uncreated persons of the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These persons have distinct offices, but are equal in divine essence.
(Deuteronomy 6:4, 1 Corinthians 8:4, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, Exodus 34:7, Matthew 28:19)
Salvation
We believe that all mankind is sinful by nature as well as by choice, and is thus under God’s judgement. God, being infinitely just, will punish all unrighteousness without exception. Being infinitely merciful and loving, He took this punishment on Himself at the cross, where Jesus Christ died in our place. This substitutionary atonement is available to all who repent of their sin, and trusting that Jesus has cancelled their sin debt through His death and resurrection, devote themselves to a new, continually growing, committed relationship with God. Mankind’s salvation is a work of God’s grace, received by believers through faith alone.
(Romans 3:23, Romans 1:18, Romans 3:24–26, Acts 2:38, Colossians 2:13–14, Romans 6:11–13, Ephesians 2:8-9)
Last Things
We believe that Jesus will return physically and prominently. There will be a final judgement where those who have been justified of their sin by faith in Jesus will enjoy eternity in God’s presence. All others will be judged based on their own merit, and falling short of God’s perfect righteousness, will spend eternity apart from God in punishment.
(1 Thessalonians 4:16, John 5:24–29)
- We uphold Article X of the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy:
We affirm that inspiration, strictly speaking, applies only to the autographic text of Scripture, which in the providence of God can be ascertained from available manuscripts with great accuracy. We further affirm that copies and translations of Scripture are the Word of God to the extent that they faithfully represent the original.
We deny that any essential element of the Christian faith is affected by the absence of the autographs. We further deny that this absence renders the assertion of Biblical inerrancy invalid or irrelevant. ↩︎