Statement of Faith
Scripture
I believe that all Scripture is inspired by God and is His special revelation to mankind. Everything written in the sixty-six canonical books is inerrant, infallible and authoritative. I affirm the authority of Scripture and the sufficiency of Scripture. The Bible is the sole authority for faith and practice.
(1 Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20-21)
The Trinity
I believe that God is one being that exists in three distinct persons (known as the Trinity). The Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal and united in the Godhead.
(Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14, John 14:16 – 17)
God the Father
God the Father is fully divine and is the first person of the Trinity. He is the originator of the plan of redemption. He planned the creation of the world and humanity, the redemption of believers in Christ, and the eternal state of all earthly and heavenly beings.
(John 3:16, Jn 8:28, 1 Cor 8:6)
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity. He is both fully divine and fully human. Jesus was sent from the Father to earth to take on the form of flesh. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life on earth, worked many miracles, was rejected by His own people and crucified on a cross at Calvary. Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day to conquer sin and death.
(John 1:14, Col 2:9, Matt 28:6)
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is fully divine and is the third person of the Trinity. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to declare and glorify the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin and draws a believer to saving knowledge of Christ. The Holy Spirit plays an essential role in the conversion, regeneration, and sanctification of a believer. The Holy Spirit empowers believers to live the Christian life and proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
(John 8:28, 16:8, 16:13-14; Titus 3:5)
Humanity
Man is created in the image of God and reflects His characteristics. (Gen 1:26-27) We are all created equal and in the image of God. All genders and races are created with equal value. We are all originally of one race: the human race. We are all related in our likeness of how God made us. All humanity, after the fall of Adam and Eve, is born sinful and has a warped view of righteousness.
(Gen 1-2)
Because of the fall of humanity, man is totally depraved and sinful at birth. Our sinful nature causes us to sin and makes us guilty before a Holy God. We are condemned because we are sinners and we sin because we are inherently sinful. Adam sinned as the federal head of mankind. He failed in representing humanity and in so doing, condemned all of humanity to the punishment of sin.
(Gen 2:16, Rom 5:12-19, Rom 7:5)
Sin
Sin at its root is disobedience to God. Sin can be defined and described many ways such as: missing the mark, rebellion, perversion, wickedness, pride and selfishness. Sin is not recognizing and obeying God as the absolute authority.
The punishment for sin is death. When Adam sinned, he was cursed and all of mankind fell under that curse. There is both a physical death and a spiritual death. Adam and Eve received a spiritual death when they disobeyed God by eating the fruit from the tree of knowledge. It resulted in a loss of their innocence and of close communion with the Lord in the Garden of Eden.
All of mankind is born spiritually dead and if a person physically dies in that state then he will receive God’s just punishment. The Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death and that those who do not repent of their sin will be eternally separated from God in Hell.
(Gen 2:16, Gen 3:17-19, Rom 3:23, Rom 5:12)
Heaven
Believers will live in eternity with Christ in the holy city of the New Jerusalem. This eternal life will be lived in a constant state of happiness with the triune God. There will be no more mourning or crying or pain. God will wipe away our tears and painful memories. Heaven will be a conscious enjoyment of God’s presence for eternity.
(Rev 21:3-4, 1 John 3:2, John 14:2-3, Heb 12:14)
Hell
Those who rejected Christ will be damned and endure eternal punishment. This punishment in Hell will be a total separation from God in complete darkness. There will be a physical fire (unquenched and eternal) in Hell and weeping and gnashing of teeth. There is no escaping from Hell and no end to the punishment.
(Matt 7:21, 25:46, 13:50, Mark 9:42-48, Jude 1:7, 2 Thess 1:9)
Salvation
A person is justified by grace through faith alone in Jesus Christ. When a person is called by the Holy Spirit to put their faith in Christ, and they repent and believe, then they receive the Holy Spirit and are born again. The person has experienced regeneration, conversion and justification all at once. They are now adopted into the kingdom of God and as the person grows they will experience God’s sanctifying work and eventually be glorified when they go to be with the Lord.
(Eph 2:8-9, Rom 10:9, Acts 1:8, 2:38, 1 Cor 12:13, Mark 1:8)
Marriage, Gender, Sexuality
God created male and female equal in value and gave them distinct roles. This beautiful design is seen in marriage and when serving in the Church. God created men and women uniquely and the different characteristics that they possess greatly complement one another. A Complementarian view of gender roles is what God shows us throughout His Word and is the only way that a marriage and Church will function the way that God intends.
(Gen 1:26-27, 2:18-25, Eph 5:22-33)
Men and women are both given incredible value to be used in distinct roles within the Church. Upon the authority of Scripture, and for the purpose of consistent testimony of the gospel, it is important that the Church holds to the biblical qualifications of the office of overseer (elder, pastor) and function of the preacher. Scripture clearly states that the office of elder (overseer, pastor, ruling authority) and role of preaching / teaching to a co-ed congregation is to be held by a male that meets all other biblical qualifications listed in the Bible.
(1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:6-9, 1 Pet 5:1-4)
God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman. He has reserved sexual intimacy to be enjoyed within this covenant relationship between husband and wife. Any sexual relationship outside of marriage is called sexual immorality. It is a rejection of God’s Word and is in disobedience to His commandments.
(Gen 2:18-25, 1 Cor 6:18, 7:2-5; Heb 13:4)
I believe that the distortion of God’s design for marriage is incredibly damaging to the gospel witness. Marriage is a symbol of Christ and the Church and it is essential that all Christian leaders affirm that marriage was ordained by God to be between one man and one woman and that any other union is not a marriage recognized by God.
In addition to these basic Christian beliefs, I affirm the following statements:
On Biblical Sexuality:
https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement
On Social Justice and The Gospel: