WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Gospel is the message of good news, promised long ago in the Old Testament, that God, being just and yet merciful, gracious, and kind would come to reconcile humanity to Himself and redeem us from the brokenness brought on us through the treason of our first parents. He did this through sending Jesus to die in the place of sinners and rise from the dead according to the Scriptures so that everyone who repents and believes will be forgiven, declared righteous, have eternal life in Him, and join in His joyful kingdom, where all sin, death, injustice, and sorrow will be banished and all creation will flourish according to God’s design forever.

The Bible is God’s Story about Himself where He reveals His nature, goodness and glory so that all people may know, love, worship, and adore Him. This story unfolds human history so people see Jesus Christ as the focal point and understand their origin and purpose in relation to Him. Without this revelation, mankind would be lost in darkness. But God’s Words give us light and life, showing us how to truly have joy and purpose in humble relationship with our Creator.

We believe that the Bible (consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is verbally inspired by God and therefore is infallibly true, eternally unchanging, and without error in the  original manuscripts.

We believe that the Holy Spirit supernaturally carried along the various human authors of the Bible in such a way that they retained their own intentions, styles, and personalities in writing, yet recorded the very words of God.

We believe that since the Bible is God’s words, it carries His full authority, is applicable to people in every time and culture, and is the supreme standard by which all of humanity will be  judged.

We believe that since God inspired the Bible through its human authors, God’s intentions are revealed through their intentions. Therefore we find the singular meaning that God intended by  studying the historical setting, purpose for writing, grammar, flow of thought, and words that the human authors of the Bible wrote. In other words, the Bible has fixed, objective, historical meaning that can be found through studying the text in its context. So while the Bible applies differently to people in every situation and culture, its meaning is always the same.

We believe that while individual passages may be difficult to interpret, the message of the Bible as a whole is clear, that God will hold people accountable for understanding and living out its  message, and that the Bible is sufficient and relevant for every aspect of life. This does not mean the Bible answers every question people may have. But it does mean that the Bible tells us everything we need to know to see our need for and be reconciled to God, walk by faith in pleasing Him, and flourish according to His design. While the Bible is clear, because of our fallen humanity we will have blind spots, bias, language and cultural barriers, sin, and other baggage that hinders us from fully and properly understanding the Bible.

We believe that due to these weaknesses, proper interpretation and application of the Bible is dependent on the Holy Spirit’s illumination and that people should be humble, repentant, diligent, and prayerful in seeking to understand and live it out. While the Spirit must illumine for proper spiritual understanding of the Bible, this doesn’t remove the need to diligently study, deeply meditate on, and faithfully obey the Bible to understand it properly.

We believe that while God reveals His invisible attributes through creation, the additional revelation of God’s Word is necessary for salvation. Since the original author’s words were inspired, we value studying the text in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and we value translating the Bible into other languages so all people worldwide can see the glorious God of the Bible in their own language.

We believe that there is one true and living God who exists eternally as three persons in perfect unity: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. While each member of the Godhead has distinct roles, they share the exact same nature, attributes, and being, and are equally worthy of glory,  honor, and obedience.

We believe that God is the source of everything in the universe, not dependent on anyone or anything, self-existent, and self-sufficient. He created everything that exists and in Him we live and move and have our being. He is by nature an invisible spirit, who is present everywhere at the same time. He is unchanging. While He is beyond our comprehension, and we cannot know Him on our own, He reveals Himself and is near to us. We believe that God is all-knowing and all-powerful, and is sovereignly in control of everything in the universe, large and small.

God is holy and glorious, perfect and good, faithful and true, righteous and just, compassionate and merciful. He is jealous, wrathful, and worthy to be feared. He alone is wise. God is light and God is love.

We believe that God the Father is Creator of the universe who in six literal days made heaven and earth for His glory, through the Son and by the power of the Spirit. He alone has the authority and power to sovereignly rule over all of history, to save sinners, and to  providentially preserve, orchestrate, and govern creation. He is eternally happy because His plan will surely come to pass. As the Creator, He owns everything and gave it all to the Son for His glory.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the image of the Father, who as the Word of God reveals and explains God. We believe at the right time in God’s plan, God sent His Son to be born of a virgin and take on human flesh. We believe that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and raised on the third day, appeared to His disciples, and ascended into heaven. Now at the right hand of God, He is the head of the Church, our Advocate and Mediator, Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Pioneer and Perfector of faith, and the only way to the Father. We believe that Jesus will return in glory to rescue His people, judge the world, and consummate His everlasting kingdom.

God is holy and glorious, perfect and good, faithful and true, righteous and just, compassionate and merciful. He is jealous, wrathful, and worthy to be feared. He alone is wise. God is light and God is love.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, a divine person, co-eternal with God, empowers what God does in creation and glorifies the Lord Jesus in this age. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and draws unbelievers to repentance and faith. The Spirit raised Christ from the dead, gives new life to believers, and brings us into union with Christ and His body. The Spirit seals and sanctifies, instructs and guides, fills and empowers, equips and comforts. He permanently indwells believers at salvation, and gives spiritual gifts to believers for Christ-like living and service.

We believe that God created mankind, male and female, equal in value and purpose, in His own image and likeness. In the garden humanity was created in completion and maturity, free from sin and death, made to know, enjoy, represent, and glorify God forever. When tempted by Satan, Adam and Eve distrusted and rebelled against God, bringing sin, death, and condemnation to all mankind. Since the original sin, all humanity is born spiritually dead, totally corrupt by nature and by choice, alienated from God, without defense or excuse, and subject to God’s righteous wrath. Due to being spiritually dead, all humanity is in desperate need of the saving and transforming grace that is found in Jesus Christ alone.

We believe that God created and defined marriage as a covenant between a man and woman who are equal in value but given different roles in marriage and the church. God assigns male and female genders at the moment of conception, therefore they are biologically defined. Because God created gender and instituted marriage, He alone has the right to define them, which He has designed for our good and to picture transcendent realities such as the Trinity, and the beautiful mystery of Christ and His bride. People flourish in this life when God’s definitions of marriage and sexuality are upheld and those who trust God will be rewarded in eternity.

We believe that because every person bears the image of God, all forms of racism, prejudice, and misogyny are evil. We acknowledge that churches at various times and places have been complicit in not standing up for justice in these and other areas. This should not be so. But we rejoice that God is a God of justice and that He defends the powerless. We believe that life begins at conception, and so abortion is an affront to God who creates life in His image.

We believe that Jesus is mankind’s only hope of salvation, the only mediator and way to God. Jesus saved believers from God’s wrath by dying on the cross in our place to pay the penalty that we deserve. This means that through the cross believers are forgiven and reconciled to God. This salvation is available to anyone worldwide who calls on the name of the Lord, and yet Christ actually atoned for the sins of the elect.

We believe that this salvation was sovereignly planned by God in eternity past so that God would get all the glory for His undeserved mercy. Though we were not righteous, God declared and counted us righteous in Christ. We are united to Christ through faith and not works, so that salvation would be all of God’s doing and all of grace. While the law shows God’s righteous standard and our need of Christ, it cannot save or transform us, and trying to be right with God by the law undermines God’s power working through faith. We simply confess, repent, and believe, and God saves and transforms. Yet anyone who has truly tasted and seen God’s goodness in Christ will continue to walk by faith, pursue holiness, and grow to be like Jesus until they see Him face to face. When we were saved, we were set apart for God, born again, regenerated, adopted into God’s family, and sealed with the Holy Spirit.

We believe that at the cross Jesus defeated death and all the powers of darkness and is reconciling all things to Himself. Therefore through faith believers share in His victory. We can be absolutely certain of our salvation since God who promised it is faithful and will never reject anyone who genuinely repents and believes. Yet we should never take grace for granted, but must work out our salvation with fear because God is the One who works in and through us.

We believe that when someone is saved and God’s Spirit indwells them, He makes them a member of Christ’s body, the Church. This body is made up of all genuine believers globally so that together we represent Jesus to the world and give Him glory as our head. The church is the family of God, characterized by love, the temple of God, indwelt and empowered by Him, and the bride of Christ, living in purity as we wait for His return.

We believe that the universal church finds expression in individual local churches which God establishes to be salt and light throughout the world, pillars to uphold and display His truth. Each local church is a community of Jesus followers who are committed to help each other grow to be like Jesus and be His ambassadors who do His good deeds and proclaim His good news to the lost. God structured His church to be shepherded by qualified male elders who lead by teaching, and are supported by qualified deacons who exemplify serving.
 
We believe that the mission of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission, making disciples of every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and teaching them to watchfully adhere to all of God’s Word.

We believe that God gave the church two ordinances to practice until Christ returns: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is a public profession and promise to live for Christ in joining the body of Christ, with immersion in water symbolizing unity in death with Christ and being raised with Him to new life. The Lord’s Supper is for members of the body to carefully remember and proclaim Jesus’ death until He comes again in celebration of the New Covenant

We believe that Jesus, having offered the once for all perfect sacrifice for sin, sat down at the right hand of the Father where He is currently interceding for believers and waiting for the time when He will return to earth personally and visibly to reign. When Christ returns in power and glory with His angels, believers who have died will be raised to life, will become like Christ with new bodies like His, will celebrate the wedding supper of the Lamb, and will forever be united to the Lord. Christ will consummate God’s kingdom in perfect righteousness, justice, and peace, and believers will reign with Him forever. Unbelievers who have died will be raised to life and those who are alive but not in Christ will stand before the Great White Throne, where all of their deeds will be judged and they will be thrown into hell, along with Satan and his demons, suffering eternal punishment for their sins. God will create a New Heavens and a New Earth, where there will be no more sickness, sorrow, pain, or death and believers will worship and enjoy God forever.