The sole basis of our belief is the Bible. The Bible is the final authority in all matters. The Bible is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. It is our infallible and divine authority in all matters of faith and life. The Bible in its entirety originated with God and was given through the instrumentality of chosen men. The Bible consists of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments.
There is one true God, eternally existing in three persons (personhood): Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of Deity. These three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. In the beginning, God created the universe and all things in it out of nothing, manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to sustain His creation, and by providence He orders the affairs of people and nations according to His own wise, eternal plan.
The central purpose of God's revelation in Scripture is to call individuals to fellowship with Him. Originally created to have fellowship with God, man chose to go his own independent way, and was alienated from God and suffered the corruption of his nature, rendering him unable to please God. The fall took place near the beginning of human history, and all people since have suffered these consequences and are thus in need of the saving grace of God. The salvation of persons is a work of God's free grace, not the result, in whole or in part, of human works or goodness, and is appropriated by faith alone. When God has begun a saving work in the heart of a person He gives assurance in his Word that He will go on performing it until the day of its full consummation.
The saving object of faith is Jesus Christ, the eternal second person of the Trinity, who was united forever with a true human nature by a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily atoned for the sins of all people by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice and gaining salvation for all who trust in him alone. He rose from the dead, ascending bodily into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father. He is the only Mediator between God and man, continually making intercession for his own. Jesus Christ will return personally, visibly and bodily to judge all mankind and to receive his people unto himself. He has instituted two sacraments/ordinances, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, to bear witness through visible symbols to his saving work.
The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, worked in the believer by the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead. He was sent into the world by the Father and the Son to apply to people the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens them to recognition of their need of a Savior, regenerates them, and at the point of salvation, permanently indwells every believer to become the source of assurance, strength, wisdom, and guidance. His power and control are appropriated by faith, enabling the believer to live a life of Christ-like character and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father.
The consummation of God's saving work embraces the whole person: body, soul and spirit. For all people there is a life to come, a resurrection of the body and a future judgment. At physical death, the believer enters immediately into eternal conscious fellowship with the Lord, and the non-believer into eternal conscious separation from the Lord. Bodies of all dead will be raised, some to a resurrection of glory, some to a resurrection of condemnation. There are two aspects to the righteous judgment of God; the judgment of believers reveals the quality of works done in the body for the purpose of bestowing rewards, there being no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus; the judgment of non-believers reveals the depth of sin and the justice of God in allowing people to perpetuate in eternity their rejection of God.
The corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that believers become united with one another through the Church. There is one true Universal Church, which is composed of all people everywhere, living and dead, who have trusted Christ alone for salvation, without regard to organizational affiliation. God commands us to assemble together for the purposes of worship, edification, and mutual encouragement. Wherever God's people meet in obedience to this command there is a local expression of the Church. It is the responsibility of each Member to keep the unity of the Spirit for the building up of the body and work with other Members of the fellowship to show Christian concern for the needs of the people everywhere, and to fulfill our Lord's final command to his Church; to spread the Good News of redemption throughout the world.