We believe in one true God, holy, eternal, unchanging, perfect in every way, creator of all things visible and invisible, being everywhere present, having all knowledge, wisdom, and power. God is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. He is just, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin, but never leaving sin unpunished. All that comes to pass does so according to the decree of God and will ultimately redound to his own glory – for God is ever seeking, experiencing, and enjoying his own glory. There is but one being of God, yet this one being exists eternally in an unfathomable, perfect unity of three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While functional hierarchy and subordination are evident within the Trinity, each person is fully and completely God, lacking none of the divine attributes.
The Godhead
God the Father is the creator of heaven and earth. By his Word and for his glory, he freely and supernaturally created the world from nothing. Through the same Word he daily sustains all his creatures. He rules over all and is the only Sovereign. His plans and purposes cannot be thwarted. He is faithful to every promise, works all things together for good to those who love him, and in his unfathomable grace gave his Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind’s redemption. He made man for fellowship with himself, and intended that all creation should live to the praise of his glory. (Borrowed from the SGM statement of faith).
God the Father
The Lord Jesus
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God became human without ceasing to be God. In the incarnation God the Son submitted himself to the will of God the Father, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful humans. Jesus, the last Adam, though tempted in all points as we are, lived a sinless life, revealing the will of God and obeying his law perfectly. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to his apostles and to over five hundred of the brothers at one time, and in this same glorified human body ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. He will come again in power and glory to consummate his work of redemption, to judge the living and the dead.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the divine agent in nature, in revelation, and in redemption. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He regenerates chosen sinners, and in him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs into the family of God. In contrast to the times prior to Pentecost, he now indwells believers at the point of regeneration, guiding them and empowering them to live lives in increasing conformity to the image of Christ in accordance with the Scriptures. He is the seal, the down payment guaranteeing that God's work of redemption in the believer will indeed come to ultimate fulfillment. Starting at Pentecost and continuing through the apostolic era the Spirit gave miraculous gifts to his church. Their primary function was signatory, giving testimony of the truth of the message of the apostles. We believe they are not the normative expression of the Spirit's activity in the present era. The Scriptures were written in ancient times as holy men were carried along by the Holy Spirit, and it is he who illumines the Scriptures for believers today.
The Holy Spirit
The Bible
We believe the Bible, consisting of thirty‐nine Old Testament books (Genesis through Malachi) and twenty‐seven New Testament books (Matthew through Revelation), to be the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. The Scriptures in their original manuscripts are “God‐breathed” ‐ both verbally and plenarily ‐ and are therefore infallible, inerrant, and fully authoritative in and of themselves, the only certain and final rule for all mankind for faith and practice. It is the true basis for Christian unity, and the supreme standard by which all conduct, creeds, and opinions should be judged.
We believe that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. Man (male and female) was created in the image of God to serve him by taking dominion over the earth, multiplying godly offspring, and reflecting his holy character. Because of Adam's disobedience when he listened to Eve his wife and to Satan rather than to the revealed will of God and ate of the forbidden fruit, sin entered into the world and mankind became a fallen race, being universally sinful in both nature and practice and thus falling under the righteous judgment and eternal wrath of God. As a penalty for sin, at death the unbeliever enters into conscious punishment as he awaits the final judgment and entrance into the lake of fire.
Sin
