Our Theology
We stand in line with the historic creeds of the Christian Church:
Apostle's Creed:
I believe (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 4:5) in God (Deut. 6:4 1 Cor. 8:6) The Father (Psalm 89:27; Matthew 7:11) Almighty (Genesis 7:1; 2 Cor. 6:18) Maker of heaven and earth (Psalm 33:6; John 5:17)
And in Jesus ( Zech 9:9; Matthew 1:21) Christ (Daniel 9:24; John 3:34) His only (Zechariah 13:7; John 1:14) Son (Psalm 2:7; Matthew 16:16) Our Lord (Jeremiah 23:6; John 20:28) Who was conceived (Jeremiah 31:22; Luke 1:31) By the Holy Spirit (Daniel 2:45; Matthew 1:20) Born (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:14) Of the Virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:43) Suffered (Isaiah 50:6; Luke 23:25) Under Pontius Pilate (Psalm 2:2; Luke 18:32) Was crucified (Psalm 22:17; John 3:14) Died (Daniel 9:26; Rom. 5:8) And was buried ( Isaiah 53:9; John 12:24) Descended into hell (Psalm 16:10; Ephesians 4:9) And on the third day (Hosea 6:2; Matthew 26:32; Acts 10:40-41) He rose again from the dead (Isaiah 63:1; 2 Timothy 2:8) Ascended into heaven (Psalm 68:19; Col. 2:15) And sits at the right hand of the God the Father Almighty (Psalm 110:1; Mark 16:19) From thence he will come (Isaiah 66:15; Acts 1:11) To judge (Acts 17:31) The living and the dead (Daniel 12:2; 1 Cor. 15:51)
I believe in the Holy Spirit (Zechariah 12:10; John 15:26) The holy (Psalm 45:14; Ephesians 5:26) catholic* Church (Psalm 22:26; Matthew 16:18) The communion of saints (Exodus 19:5; Ephesians 4:3) The forgiveness of sins (Psalm 32:1; Acts 10:43) The resurrection of the body (Isaiah 66:14; John 5:28) And the life everlasting (Psalm 16:11; 1 Peter 1:4) Amen! (Psalm 72:19; 2 Cor. 1:20)
Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, (Exodus 20.2-3, Mark 12.29-31) the Father Almighty (Ephesians 4.6, Malachi 2.10, Genesis 35.11) Maker of heaven and earth, (Genesis 1.1, Isaiah 44:24) and of all things seen and unseen (Colossians 1:16, Romans 1:20).
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, (2 Corinthians 1:3, I Thessalonians 1:1, Romans 13:14) the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; (John 3:16, Hebrews 1:6, Matthew 14:33, Revelation 1:8) God of God, Light of Light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, (John 1:1, I John 1:5, John 8:12, John 20:28, I John 5:20, Psalms 2:7, Hebrews 1:5, John 14:9) being of one substance with the Father; (John 10:30, Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:8, Philippians 2:6, John 10:38, Colossians 2:9) by whom all things were made (John 1:1-3,10,14 , I Corinthians 8:6, Colossians 1:15-17).
Who, for us all for our salvation, came down from heaven, (I Thessalonians 5:9, Acts 4:12, II Timothy 3:15, John 6:51, John 6:38, Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:27,35, Philippians 2:6,7 , Romans 1:3) and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; (Acts 2:36, Matthew 27:2,26, Mark 15:15). He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, in accordance with the Scriptures; (Matthew 16:21, Mark 15:46, Luke 24:5-7, I Corinthians 15:3-4) and ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; (John 20:17, I Timothy 3:16, I Peter 3:21,22, Acts 1:9, Mark 16:19) and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the living and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.(Acts 1:10,11, Revelation 1:7, John 5:22, Acts 10:42, Luke 1:33)
And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life; (John 14:17, II Corinthians 3:17, Acts 5:3,4, John 3:5, Titus 3:5) who proceeds from the Father; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets (John 15:26, Luke 11:13, Matthew 28:19, II Peter 1:21).
And we believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church (John 17:20-23, Ephesians 4:1-6, Colossians 1:18, Hebrews 12:23, Revelation 21:27, Philippians 4:3, Matthew 18:20, Philemon 1:2, Romans 16:5, I Timothy 3:15, Ephesians 2:20, Acts 2:42) I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins (Matthew 28:18,19, Ephesians 4:5, Galatians 3:27, Matthew 26:28, Luke 24;47, Acts 2:38, I Peter 3:21, Romans 6:3,4) and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen (1 Corinthians 15:12 , 1 Corinthians 15:21,22, John 3:16, 1 Corinthians 2:9, -Romans 11:36)
We Believe
Within the framework laid out in the Apostle's and Nicene Creed, we believe:
Regarding Scripture
The Bible is the inspired, authoritative, living, eternally-reliable Word of God. It is our rule of faith and practice and necessary to our daily lives. [Guiding Scriptures: II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12]
Regarding The Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, His present ministry, His indwelling, His empowering, His impartation of gifts for today and His transforming power in the lives of all believers. [Guiding Scriptures: I Corinthians 12:4-11, Galatians 5:22-23].
We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We hold that the real evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is one’s response to the Word of God, a Christ-like life, showing forth Christ’s character, and experiencing and manifesting the gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit. [Guiding Scriptures: Acts 2:4, 10:46, 19:6; John 16:13, 15:26, 16:14; Galatians 5:22-23; I Corinthians 12:4-11]
Regarding Water Baptism
We believe water baptism is necessary in obedient response to the command of Jesus. Baptism is to be performed only upon repentant believers in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [Guiding Scriptures: Matthew 28:18-20]
Regarding The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.
A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, protect and lead his family.
A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God, as is her husband, and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his companion in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. [Guiding Scriptures: Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:20-25; Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:25; Ephesians 5:24; Genesis 2:20-21; Titus 2:4-5; Psalm 139:13-15]
Position Papers
These papers are provided to give further teaching and clarifications regarding our beliefs and practices: