The following constitutes my doctrinal convictions:

1. I affirm that the Bible, composed of 66 books, is given to us by the Holy Spirit and constitutes the plenary (inspired equally in all part) Word of God; and that it is verbally inspired in every word, absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God-breathed.
2. I affirm a literal (or natural), grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture.
3. I affirm the Bible alone is authoritative and sufficient for every believer, and constitutes the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 
4. I affirm that God created the earth in six literal days.
5. I affirm that there is only one true and living God, co-equal and co-eternal, existing in three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
6. I affirm the virgin birth, the perfect life, the substitutionary death, and the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ who is both fully God and fully man.
7. I affirm that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, laid aside His right to the full prerogatives of coexistence with God and took on the nature of man while never divesting Himself of His divine attributes.
8. I affirm that man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God; and that through Adam’s sin of disobedience, the nature of all men was corrupted and transmitted to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the only exception; and that through Adam’s sin, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became the subject of God’s wrath, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace.
9. I affirm that salvation is completely of God, by grace, on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or good works.
10. I affirm God’s unconditional sovereign election before the foundation of the world, whereby He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies; that His election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Savior and Lord; and that all whom the Father calls to Himself will come in faith, and that all who come in faith, the Father will receive.
11. I affirm that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God’s power and secure in Christ forever; and that the redeemed will persevere by God’s grace to the completion of their salvation at glorification.
12. I affirm that upon physical death, the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ forever; that physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness; and that there is a separation of soul and body which will continue until the rapture when the soul and body is reunited to be glorified forever with Christ.
13. I affirm that hell is a literal, eternal place of conscious punishment for all who reject God’s provision of salvation through Christ alone, along with the devil and his angels.
14. I affirm the autonomy of the local church free from any external authority or control with the right of self-government and freedom from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one supreme authority for the church is Jesus Christ.
15. I affirm that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other for the presentation and propagation of the faith; that each local church, through its elders and their interpretation and application of Scripture, should be the sole judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; and that the elders should determine all other matters of membership, policy, discipline, benevolence, and government as well.
16. I affirm that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through God’s sovereignty; and that the biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders (also called bishops, pastors, and overseers) and deacons, both of whom must meet the biblical qualifications as found in Scripture alone.
17. I affirm that the only two ordinances committed to the local church and given by our Lord are (1) believer’s baptism by immersion and (2) the Lord’s Supper, and should be perpetually observed until the end of this age.
18. I affirm that the Lord’s Supper is a commemoration and proclamation of our Lord’s death and should always be preceded by solemn self-evaluation; and that the elements are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, but that participation is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who indwells every believer, and so is present, fellowshipping with His people.
19. I affirm church discipline or church restoration as an indispensable practice for the health and purity of the local church, only according to the standards of Scripture.
20. I affirm that there were only two kinds of gifts given to the early church: (1) miraculous gifts of divine revelation, tongues (i.e., human languages), miracles, and healing, given temporarily during the apostolic era for the purpose of confirming the authenticity of the apostle’s message; and (2) ministering gifts, given to equip believers for edifying one another.
21. I affirm that with the New Testament revelation now complete, Scripture becomes the sole test of the authenticity of man’s message; that the miraculous gifts are no longer necessary to validate a man or his message; and that only the non-revelatory equipping gifts given for edification are in operation today.
22. I affirm that the purpose of the local church is to glorify God by building itself up in the faith, by instruction of the Word, by fellowship, by keeping the ordinances, and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world.
23. I affirm a premillennial, pre-tribulational, dispensational view of eschatology; that the Lord Jesus Christ will return personally and bodily before the seven-year tribulation to translate His church and reward believers according to their works; that during the tribulation period, God will pour out His righteous judgments upon an unbelieving world; that after the tribulation period, Christ will come to earth physically to occupy the throne of David and establish His messianic kingdom for a literal 1,000-year reign on earth; that the kingdom itself will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel; that following the millennium, all physically resurrected, unredeemed humanity will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, and along with Satan and his angels, be committed to eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire; and that finally, all redeemed humanity will enter the eternal state of glory, at which time the elements of this earth are destroyed and renewed, and the new heavenly city will come down out of heaven, and the redeemed will enjoy fellowship with God and one another forever and ever.
24. I affirm a clear distinction between the nation of Israel and the church in God’s overall economy; that Bible prophecy should be interpreted consistently and literally according to an grammatical-historical hermeneutic; and that the glory of God is the supreme purpose of all history.
25. I affirm a presuppositional approach to apologetics as the most effective and biblically consistent method of proclaiming the truth of Christianity; that the authority of God’s Word must come to bear upon the unsubmissive, rebellious heart of an unbeliever; and that only the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of God’s Word, can convict and convince an unbeliever of the necessity to believe.
26. I affirm that biblical or nouthetic counseling, and not psychology, is the only way to supernaturally change lives, whether in salvation or progressive sanctification.
27. I affirm the expositional preaching and teaching of the text of Scripture as the only God-ordained means to save, sanctify, and strengthen His church; that the expositor is one who explains Scripture by laying open the text to public view in order to set forth its meaning, explaining what is difficult to understand, and making appropriate application; and that the Scripture alone (not the preacher) is to dictate and determine God’s message to the church.
28. I affirm that the church has the responsibility to uphold the biblical ideal of marriage, especially as exemplified by its leadership; that the pastor’s marriage should be a model demonstration of the relationship Christ has to His church; and that his family should be a model of faithful and righteous living.
29. I affirm that marriage, which is ordained and designed by God, is an indissoluble union and a life-long covenant between a man and a woman and that marriage was established by God at the time of creation and is patterned after Christ’s own covenant relationship with His redeemed people (the church).
30. I affirm that the only biblical grounds for divorce are (1) persistent, unrepentant sexual sin of a married partner or (2) the desertion of an insistent, married, unbelieving partner; and that the only biblical grounds for remarriage by a faithful believing partner is when the divorce was biblical.
31. I affirm that every human being is created in the image of God; that we are created either male or female, bearing the glory of His image before the world; that men and women are equal before God, and yet, designed with distinct and specific roles and responsibilities in marriage and in the context of the local church without making one inferior to the other; that in the church, women are not permitted to teach or exercise authority over men, but may honorably teach other women and children; and that men are to be leaders in their home and love their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church without demeaning or diminishing his wife’s equality; that children are a stewardship from God; to be brought up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
32. I affirm that these doctrinal convictions are subject to the authority of Scripture alone; and that where there is misunderstanding of personal conviction based on a proper interpretation of Scripture, I am open to correction and refinement.
33. It is my utmost desire to hold to these convictions with all grace and humility, as a faithful slave of the Lord Jesus Christ; and not to lording these convictions over others, but proving to be an example of them to the church.

(Please see my Statement of Faith and Philosophy of Ministry for supporting Scripture.)