Affirmations of Belief & Doctrinal Statement

To trust Christ, to live Christ, to communicate Christ

Affirmations of Belief & Doctrinal Statement

*We Affirm the Following:

As members of the Evangelical Tradition, we affirm the Bible alone, and the Bible in its entirety, is the inspired Word of God and is therefore inerrant in the autographs. Furthermore, God is a Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence, equal in power and glory. As members of this tradition, we are concerned about the clear understanding, presentation, and advancement of the Gospel of God’s Free Grace.

1. The Grace of God in justification is an unconditional free gift.

2. The sole means of receiving the free gift of eternal life is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whose substitutionary death on the cross fully satisfied the requirement for our justification.

3. Faith is a personal response, apart from our works, whereby we are persuaded that the finished work of Jesus Christ has delivered us from condemnation and guaranteed our eternal life.

4. Justification is the act of God to declare us righteous when we believe in Jesus Christ alone.

5. Assurance of justification is the birthright of every believer from the moment of faith in Jesus Christ, and is founded upon the testimony of God in His written Word.

6. Spiritual growth, which is distinct from justification, is God’s expectation for every believer; this growth, however, is not necessarily manifested uniformly in every believer.

7. The Gospel of Grace should always be presented with such clarity and simplicity that no impression is left that justification requires any step, response, or action in addition to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Doctrinal Statement

God

We believe in one God eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity, and the characteristics of personality.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He is, therefore, perfect and complete deity and perfect humanity, these being united without mixture in one person forever. We believe that He lived a sinless life and voluntarily and vicariously paid for the sins of all mankind by dying on the cross. We believe in the resurrection of His crucified body, in His ascension to heaven, and in His present ministries in heaven.

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God and that He has come to reveal and glorify Christ, to convict and draw sinners to Christ, to regenerate, indwell, seal, and baptize believers into the body of Christ, to impart gifts to believers, and to enable them to live holy lives.

Creation

We believe that the Genesis account of creation is to be understood historically and literally and not allegorically or figuratively. We believe that man was created in the image of God and that the first man, Adam sinned, bringing spiritual death to all, who, therefore, stand condemned and in need of Christ's salvation.

Salvation

We believe that God saves by grace alone, apart from works, those who put their faith in Christ alone, imputing His righteousness to them and keeping them secure eternally. We believe a person can and should have assurance of their Eternal Life the moment he receives Christ based on the promises of God.

The Christian Walk

We believe that although sinless perfection is not possible in this life, all believers are called to live holy lives in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

The Church

We believe that the church, the body of Christ, began on the day of Pentecost and is composed of all who receive Christ through faith. We believe God's program for the Church is distinguished from His program for Israel described in Daniel 9. We believe that all believers should assemble regularly in local churches for worship, for observing the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper, for mutual encouragement and discipline, and for carrying out God's purposes in this world.

The Future

We believe that the personal and imminent return of Christ to rapture His church will be followed by a period of tribulation on this earth. At the conclusion of this period, Christ will return triumphantly and inaugurate His millennial reign over this earth. We believe in the everlasting conscious blessedness of the saved in the New Jerusalem and the everlasting conscious punishment of the unsaved in the lake of fire.

*Adapted from the Covenant of the Free Grace Alliance.