We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Word of God is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for which the church is governed.
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all things toward the ultimate goal of His own glory.
We believe in the person of God the Father, an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He reigns in incomprehensible majesty from His throne in Heaven as supreme King and Judge over the universe; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only unique Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth.
We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, Who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, indwell, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ.
We believe that salvation is by grace, through faith, and consists of regeneration (new birth/conversion), justification, forgiveness of sins, indwelling of the Holy Spirit, gifting of eternal life, positional sanctification, and imputed righteousness.
We believe that the evidence that someone has repented and believed unto salvation is that they go on repenting and believing as a result of that salvation. The truly converted person displays the evidence of progressive sanctification in their thoughts, words, and deeds for the remainder of their natural life on earth.
We reject any method of leading sinners to Christ that assures them of their salvation based on the sincerity of their own decision, rather than their ongoing trust in Christ.
We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is His personal, visible return to Earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, in Christ's final judgment, and eternal blessing of the righteous and eternal punishment of the wicked.
We believe that every Christian is commanded to be baptized as a symbolic expression of their death to sin and resurrection to new life with Christ. We serve communion every Sunday to remember and celebrate Christ laying down His life for sinners.
We believe that every Christian is mandated by Christ to verbally communicate the gospel to people who have not yet believed in Jesus for salvation.
We believe that the family is the most important God-ordained institution among humanity; that marriage, comprised exclusively of a permanent union between one man and woman, is a lifelong covenant with no acceptable reason for dissolution among believers; and that the sanctity of marriage and the family should be honored, taught, and defended by Christians in the face of a society that seeks to destroy the family unit.
*If you are a woman who is being abused in any way, get to safety and seek help.
As opposed to Catholicism, we are Protestant. That means we protest the idea that men need to go through human mediators in order to access the Father. We believe that there is only one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.
We believe that salvation is by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, to the Glory Of God Alone, according to the Scriptures Alone.
We believe that unique events can occur in the life of a believer in which the Holy Spirit, who already dwells inside the believer since conversion, specifically empowers them to be a bold, vocal witness of Jesus Christ; and that this empowering experience is often accompanied by definable, supernatural manifestations, such as speaking in tongues.
We believe that signs, wonders, and miracles will accompany the Church's evangelistic efforts until the return of Christ. We also believe that the spiritual gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12 will continue to be sovereignly distributed among believers, according to God's will, for the edification of the Church, until the return of Christ.
We believe in the autonomy of the local church, in regenerated membership, in baptism for those who profess faith only, and in general religious liberty.
Our church is not directly affiliated with any specific denomination. We gladly labor alongside any denomination or church that unwaveringly promotes biblical truth.
We believe that there are two biblically recognized "offices" in the church; Elder and Deacon; the former being occupied exclusively by men. Elders primarily serve the church through oversight, the ministry of the word, and personal spiritual disciplines such as prayer and the study of scripture to prepare them for the ministry of the word. Deacons primarily serve the church by more practical means such as property and finance management, humanitarian-related efforts, and facilitation of corporate services.
*Due to our church's small size, our current structure includes a Senior Pastor and a semi-retired Associate Pastor. As we grow, by God's grace, it is our intention to transition into leadership consisting of a plurality of elders as God qualifies and calls men to the task.
We believe that the totality of man is depraved; that is, his spirit, soul, and body are corrupted by sin.
We reject the idea that every man is as depraved as he can be, as it practically defies the easily observable shared morality and sense of justice among humanity; and prefer the term "Radical" when referring to the degree or nature or man's depravity, as it better describes the insane nature of it, considering the worth and majesty of the One whom man is depraved against.
We believe that there is nothing in man that merits election.
We reject the idea that God, for His own pleasure and glory, decided who would be saved and damned before the creation of the world; entirely negating man's responsibility to respond to the drawing of His Spirit with repentance and faith, and blaspheming against the revealed character of God in His will that "none perish" and that He "takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked."
We believe that God is sovereign over all of His creation; meaning, He has the power and right to impose His will on the events of the universe and actions of men in any way He pleases; and that all of His interventions are righteous and just, working toward the ultimate goal of His own glory.
We believe that many events in the universe have been predetermined by God, especially involving creation, Israel, Christ, and last things, and that God, in His sovereignty, works all things together toward these events. However, we reject the idea that God has predetermined absolutely every happening in the universe. Rather, all things, though upheld in their existence by His power, were created with observable natural laws that govern them, allowing for fluctuation and in some cases, decision-making, as the timeline of the universe presses forward. Entire predetermination leaves no logical antithesis for God being the author of sin, making Him not merely the permitter of evil, but the direct cause of, and willful agent behind, all evil that occurs in the universe.
We believe that the atoning work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all, but only effective for the elect (those who are born again).
We reject the idea that Christ was the propitiation for our sin only, but rather, according to 1 John 2:2, He was the propitiation for the sin of the whole world as well; meaning, He absorbed the wrath of God owed to every human who will ever exist, resulting in the availability of salvation to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord in response to His Spirit's drawing.
We believe that the grace for Christ to be revealed is irresistible, not the grace to save. It is the opening of the heart to the tragic nature of sin and the reality and beauty of Christ that cannot be resisted; and subsequent to this revelatory grace, it is the responsibility of man to respond with repentance and faith; in response to which, God, according to His promise, sovereignly saves him by grace, which is solely and exclusively a divine act of God.
In simpler terms, biblical soteriology consists of 3 necessary events.
1) God must draw a sinner in order for him to respond.
2) Man can respond to this drawing with faith or refusal.
3) Upon man's response of faith, God converts the man.
We believe that God has hardened certain groups and people at certain times throughout history to accomplish His ultimate plan of salvation, and that man has no right to question the Potter with regard to the times he deems fit to harden one and soften another. We believe that Romans 9 outlines God’s partial hardening of the Gentiles for Israel’s sake, Romans 10 outlines God’s partial hardening of Israel for the Gentile’s sake, and Romans 11 reconciles the two in a dispensation where God can now “show mercy to all.”
We believe that God is the only entity in existence that has a truly free will; one that is not dependent on anything outside of Himself, not persuaded by external influences, and proceeds entirely from Himself. We believe that man, although he does not have a free will, has a functional will; meaning, humans have the capacity to make choices. These choices are not born of a free will, as it is helplessly influenced by new information, external circumstances, and past experience, but as heavily affected as the will is, choices still proceed from it. We reject the idea the God has predetermined all, or even the majority, of the natural decisions men make, which would imply the existence of a mechanical agent rather than a moral one.
In the case of spiritual ability, men, as moral agents, have willfully rebelled against God and purposefully hated righteousness to the extent that they are completely unable to "seek God" and "do good" without divine influence. This area of man's will is incapacitated by sin and bound by Satan, rendering it entirely incapable of considering righteousness on its own.
We believe that all genuine converts will remain justified and regenerated until the end of their natural life on earth, resulting in God's promise of their final glorification. This, in no way, excuses ongoing carnal behavior; for a person engaged in immorality with an unbothered conscience has great reason to fear. Such a one should be exhorted to examine the validity of their conversion, rather than assured to rest in a false hope of eternal life, having born no lasting fruit of conversion.
We do not endorse political candidates or parties in church. We believe that every Christian should follow their own conscience when deciding how extensive their political involvement should be.
The only race on the planet is the human race. Racism is illogical, immoral, and incompatible with biblical Christianity.
Abortion, from the moment of conception, is murder and is therefore incompatible with biblical Christianity, as is any form of birth control that ends a conceived life.
We adhere to both biblical teaching and biological reality with regard to the makeup of men and women, the plan and purpose of marriage, and the revealed will of God concerning sexual immorality.
These religious organizations recognize the divine authority of either altered versions of the Bible or extra-biblical writings, which encourage works-based righteousness and are therefore categorically non-Christian. While it is possible for truly converted persons to remain in these movements for a time, ignorant of their malignity, one of the evidences of their conversion will be their eventual exodus out of the heretical religion and into the true Church of Jesus Christ.
We acknowledge the existence of Gnostic teaching and experience among movements such as the Toronto Blessing and Lakeland Outpouring, along with other similar "revivals" and the churches that embrace similar doctrine and spiritual expression, such as Bethel and iHop. We believe that these excesses are a result of valuing miracles, emotional ecstasy, and self-expression rather then God, the gospel, and the scriptures; and are therefore not authentic expressions of Christianity.
We believe that television preachers who promise all believers health, wealth, and luxurious comfort are the judgement of God upon people who, "wanting to have their ears tickled, accumulate teachers for themselves in accordance to their own desires." Consequently, these sorts of prosperity-driven churches are not authentic expressions of Christianity.
We believe that God is triune; that is, one divine nature, represented by 3 distinct, simultaneously existing persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that a Christian's baptismal experience should be considered genuine whether it was conducted in the name of Jesus Christ or in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.
We acknowledge that the office of Apostle has ceased with the death of the original 12 apostles of Christ, in that no man will ever again receive divine revelation for the purpose of establishing doctrine for the church. We acknowledge, however, that some men, like Matthias and Barnabas, receive apostolic-like giftings for the purposes of strengthening the Church and uniquely effective evangelism, and that God will distribute similar giftings to men of His choosing until the return of Christ.
We acknowledge that God still enables prophets who, by various means of supernatural revelation, communicate messages from God to specific groups of people and individuals. We acknowledge that it is the church's responsibility to judge the predictive accuracy, doctrinal compliance, and God-glorifying nature of every prophecy and supposed prophet.
We believe that both communion and water baptism are symbolic expressions of unseen spiritual realities and do not contain, in themselves, the physical presence of Christ or the power to regenerate.
If you have any questions about our beliefs, email JD @ JDLangton@protonmail.com
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