God

There is one living and true God who has revealed Himself, as to his divine nature, a Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--three distinct Persons, yet One God.

God is timeless and eternal. He has always existed and will always exist. God is the creator of all there is.  He is all-knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present. His character is the definitive expression of love, perfection, righteousness, kindness, justice, mercy, goodness, holiness...

The Bible

The Bible, composed of the Old and New Testaments, is God's written revelation to mankind, the original autographs of which were inspired by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is the Christian's sole and sufficient authority of God's revelation to man.

Mankind

Men and women are created in the image or likeness of God. We have, collectively, fallen from innocence as a result of the disobedience of Adam. We are, consequently, born into a state of hostility with God and are unable to liberate ourselves from this condition, without His provision.

To bring about His eternal purpose in restoring us to a peaceful relationship with Himself, God sovereignly moves within the lives of individuals and the destiny of nations as instruments of that purpose.

Salvation

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, at the appointed time in history, left His place of honor with the Father and became a man on the earth. He was born of a virgin woman named Mary and His conception was the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus lived a sinless life, fulfilling and keeping all of the requirements of the law of God.  He was crucified outside the gates of the city of Jerusalem and gave up His spirit to die. He was buried in the garden tomb of a rich man. On the third day, Jesus rose from the grave, appeared to many witnesses and returned once again to His original place of honor at the right hand of God the Father.

Jesus' death on the cross provided the perfect substitutionary sacrifice for mankind's sins.  Having taken upon Himself the eternal penalty we all deserve, He paid the penalty for our transgressions of the laws of God, whereby God's justice and holy anger against sinners is satisfied.  All those who believe, by faith, that Jesus Christ's death rescues them from their condemned state receive a pardon from their impending doom and is sanctified in the sight of God.

The Church

All those who have been saved by faith in Christ make up the Body of Christ (the Church). The Church is endowed by the Holy Spirit with gifts and abilities to be effective ministers and servants of Christ for the benefit of others and for the glory of God.

The Church practices two ordinances, Baptism (typically by immersion) and Communion (or the Lord's Supper). The former serves as a public and symbolic identification by the participants with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The latter serves as a memorial for believers, reminding them of the sacrificial nature of the Lord's death and the covenant God has established with them by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Last Things

Jesus Christ will, at some unknown time in the future, come again to earth and take up believers to heaven.   All those who have been saved, living or dead, will receive new, glorified, and eternal bodies.  Following the rapture of the church, the earth will be subjected to God's wrath upon a rebellious world in a 7-year period known as the Great Tribulation, which will be followed by the return of Christ to Earth.  He will reign on earth following the Great Tribulation for a period of 1000 years, which will end at the Great White Throne Judgment. The redeemed will enjoy the untold blessings of everlasting life with God, free from the burden and the influence of sin and evil.   Satan, the demons, and  the unredeemed, will be cast into the "Lake of Fire" and spend eternity in torment.