The Bible, Salvation and Sin

We believe that the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, is the verbal inspiration of the one true God.  The Bible is God’s infallible and authoritative rule pertaining to faith and conduct of mankind.

The word “Salvation” means the act of saving or protecting from harm.  Another term is “Born Again” Man’s hope of salvation can be found only through Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  Salvation is received by the repentance of sin, and placing ones faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Sin is lawlessness, it separates man from God.  Sin is disobedience toward God and rebellion against Him.  Everyone sins, even those considered to be “good people”. Romans 3:23 states that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”.  God wants us to completely remove sin from our lives, He wants us to live free from sin. 

(2 Timothy 3:15-17, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, John 1:12-13, John 3:3, John 3:16-17, 1 John 3:4, Romans 10:13, Ephesians 2:8, Titus 3:5-7, Romans 3:23, Romans 12:2, Romans 6:23, Colossians 3:5-7)

 God The Father, The Son & The Holy Spirit

We believe the Godhead, also known as the Trinity, is one God in three Persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  While we recognize that the word “Trinity” is not used in the scriptures the concept is.  The Bible makes it very clear that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are individual persons.  There are many scripture references to this, for example, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen” (2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV)

We also believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit begins and amazing work in every person who accepts Jesus Christ.  However, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an empowering gift from God the Father that is promised to every believer.  Along with many other spiritual benefits, the ultimate purpose of the Baptism is to give greater power for witnessing.

 Heaven, Hell, Sin & The End Times

The human spirit is eternal, it will exist forever.  Heaven and Hell are literal places that reside in the spiritual realm, and they are places where the spirits of people will live on.  The Bible describes Hell as eternity in darkness and isolation and Heaven as a place where there is no more pain, no more death, and no more tears.  People do not get to heaven by being “good”.  The only way to enter into heaven is by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as Lord and Savior, and by the repentance of sin.  The people who choose to not make this decision, sadly, will spend eternity in Hell.  God does not want this for anyone, but He leaves the choice up to us, He has given us free will.

Are we living in the End Times?  Scripture tells us that one Day Jesus is going to take all his followers off of this earth and that one Day He will return for the final judgement, but know one knows the day or the time this will happen.  But just as we can see the signs of the changing seasons, there are also signs of the coming of the end of the age.  Matthew 24:6-8 mentions signs of wars, rumors of wars, famine, and disease.  But do not be troubled because the future of the world is held firmly in God’s hands; He is in complete control. 

(1 John 5:11-13, Romans 3:23-24, Romans 10:9-10, Luke 23:39-43, 2 Peter 3:9, John 14:2-4,  Revelation 7:16-17, Matthew 10:28,  Revelation 21:8, Matthew 25:46, Matthew 24:6-8, 2 Timothy 3:1-5)