Our Beliefs:
Lives centered on the Gospel of Christ
What Is the Gospel?
At our church, you will hear the word “gospel” repeatedly because it is the most important truth that we can know and experience. The gospel is not merely a message that needs to be shared with non-Christians, but also with Christians. It is not something that mature Christians move on from, but rather something that they move deeper into. The gospel is the lens in which we should view theology, ministry, and all aspects of life.
The Apostle Paul defined the word “gospel” concisely in 1st Corinthians 15:3-5 when he wrote, “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” Simply put, the gospel is all about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and the implications it has for us.
The word “gospel” literally means “good news.” It is the good news of God taking on flesh through the person Jesus Christ and rescuing mankind by His perfect life that we could never live, His substitutionary death that we deserved, and the resurrection that now gives us true life through His Spirit. While the gospel can be stated in a sentence, it is also the grand narrative that is told throughout the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. The gospel is the glorious story of how God is reconciling the whole world back to Himself through the life, death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. It is personal, yet cosmic. It is simple, yet infinite.
God
God's gospel originates in, and expresses, the wondrous perfections of the eternal, triune God.
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who know, love, and glorify one another. Perfectly equal in their divinity, however subordinate in responsibility; the Son submits to the will of the Father & the Holy Spirit is submitted to the will of the Father & the Son. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in His love and in His holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy to receive all glory and adoration. Immortal and eternal, He perfectly and completely knows the end from the beginning, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things, and providentially brings about His eternal good purposes to redeem a people for Himself and restore His fallen creation, to the praise of His glorious grace. (Genesis 1:2, 26; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; John 1:1-5; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:16-21)
The Scriptures
We believe the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s inspired and infallible Word. It is inerrant in the original manuscripts, and is the authority for conduct, belief, and practice.
(2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)
Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ. We believe He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in His sinless life and in His miracles. He is true God and true man. His death on the cross was substitutionary for mankind and paid for the sins of the world. He bodily rose from the grave, He ascended into heaven, and He will return to the earth in power and glory.
(John 1:1,14, 18; 5:18; Heb. 1:1-9, 5:8; 1 John 5:20; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 15:1-5)
The Holy Spirit
We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit, that His present work is to reveal Jesus Christ to people, to convict of sin, and to regenerate those who believe. We believe He permanently indwells believers at the moment of salvation, that He guides, instructs, comforts and empowers believers for godly living and service.
(Matt. 28:19; John 3:3-7; Acts 1:8; Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 6:19; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 2:12, 12:13; 2 Cor. 1; Eph. 4:30; Col. 3:14)
Man
We believe people are created in the image of God. Through Adam all people inherit a sin nature. Because of sin all people in their natural condition are separated from God and under His wrath and condemnation. (Rom 2:2, 3, 5:3; 10, 23; 5:12; Eph. 2:1,8,9; Gen. 1:27, 9:6)
Salvation
We believe people may be saved from the wrath of God, be forgiven of sin, be justified by the righteousness of Jesus Christ and be reconciled to God through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This salvation is a free, permanent gift to all who believe. (Acts 4:12; 16:31; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; Rom 4:4-5; 5:1; 8:28-29; John 3:16; Eph. 2:8-9)
Ordinances
We believe the local church was commanded by the Lord Jesus Christ to baptize those who come to faith in Him. This baptism is an act of obedience to the Lord’s Command, an outward testimony of a person’s belief in Christ, expresses our union with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and is a basic requirement for local church membership. Immersion is the mode of baptism set forth in Scripture.
(Matt. 28:19-29; Acts 2:41; 10:47, 48)
The Church
We believe that the Church, the body of Christ, is made up of all believers of the church age; that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church; and that local churches are the practical expression of the Church. The local church is a group of baptized believers voluntarily joined together to Worship God and glorify Jesus Christ through an aggressive effort to disciple others by the preaching of the gospel, and the exercise of spiritual gifts. (Matt. 28:19-20; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:1-16; 1 Cor. 12:4-13, 27)
Final Judgments
We believe there is an eternal state of punishment for the unsaved and an eternal state of blessing for the saved. All unbelievers of all ages will be judged and condemned to eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire. All believers will be saved from the wrath of God, but they will give an account of their works as God’s children. (Rom. 2:8-9; 5:1, 12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 20:11-15)
Sanctity of Life
We believe that all human life is sacred from conception throughout the entire natural human life; that human beings are created in His image and, as such, are to be protected; that the weak, vulnerable, infirm, handicapped, pre-born, and needy deserve our respect and our care.
(Psalm 51:5; 71:6; 139;14-16; Jer. 1:5; Luke 1:44; 1 Cor. 11:12)
Human Sexuality & Marriage
We believe God has commanded that no sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. God has ordained marriage as a sacred union between a man and a woman for life.
(Gen. 2:24; Exo. 20:14; Rom. 1:26-29; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; 6:9; Col. 3:5; Heb. 13:4)