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What We Believe

Our beliefs can be summarized as those expressed by the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
This is in agreement with the Nicene Creed, which states things a little more precisely, with which we also agree:
We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary, and was made man;
he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father;
from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead;
whose kingdom shall have no end.
And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceedeth from the Father, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spake by the prophets.
In one holy catholic and apostolic Church; we acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
In addition, we hold to the five "solas" of Reformed Theology, to wit:
- Sola scriptura. Scripture alone.*
- Sola fide. Faith alone.
- Sola gratia. Grace alone.
- Solo Christo. Christ alone.
- Soli Deo gloria. The glory of God alone.
* By scripture, we mean the 66 book canon accepted by all mainline Christians

Or, to put them into a single statement: we believe in salvation through grace alone, given by faith alone in Christ alone, as revealed in scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.
This also sums up the statement of faith for most Protestant denominations in the United States. Thus, we are non-sectarian within that context.
Finally, due to the obsession with sex in our culture and with the beliefs of certain sociopolitical movements, we feel obligated to make the following statements as well:
- There are only two sexes: those with Y chromosomes are one (traditionally called "male") and those without Y chromosomes are the other (traditionally called "female"). Genesis 5:2
- Marriage, as designed by God, is between two humans of the opposite sex, who have made public their intention to stay together for life, and are not too closely related. Genesis 2:24
- Sexual relations of any kind outside of marriage, as designed by God, are contrary to His will. Ephesians 5:3
- Within marriage, sexual relations are not only holy Hebrews 13:4, but are not to be neglected by either partner. 1 Corinthians 7:5 However, this does not allow for either partner to insist on practices that the other finds degrading or abusive. Ephesians 5:32
- Feelings are irrelevant to issues of sin and salvation. Faith, expressed through both words and deeds, is what are important. Galatians 5:6
- God considers fantasizing about a sinful action to be morally equivalent to committing that action. Matthew 5:28
- Hatred towards any individual is morally equivalent to murder; Matthew 5:21 however we are called to hate sinful behavior Psalm 97:10.
As important as correct doctrine is, we do not dismiss believers who belong to other groups, regardless of that group's beliefs, so long as those who claim to be believers hold firmly to salvation through faith in Christ alone.