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What We Believe
~ IN ESSENTIAL BELIEFS - WE HAVE UNITY..
“There is one Body and one Spirit...there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all...” Ephesians 4:4-6
~ IN NON-ESSENTIAL BELIEFS - WE HAVE LIBERTY..
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters...
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls ...
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God... So whatever you believe about these things
keep between yourself and God.” Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22
~ IN ALL OUR BELIEFS - WE SHOW LOVE..
“...If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith
that can move mountains - but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.” 1 Corinthians 13:2
ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE
1. ABOUT THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S WORD TO MAN
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction
in righteousness, that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
The Bible is God’s inerrant Word to us, infallible as originally given by God through human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit, and is absolutely true and trustworthy. It is our only standard of faith and practice.
Hebrews 4:12 * 2 Peter 1:20-21 * Matthew 5:18 * Psalm 119
2. ABOUT GOD
THERE IS ONE TRUE AND LIVING GOD
“...one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all...” Ephesians 4:6
“... In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..” Matthew 28:19
There is one true and living God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is infinite, eternal, unchangeable, & is revealed to us as the Godhead existent in three co-equal, co-eternal, & co-substantial persons: the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:1, 26, 27; 3:22 * Ephesians 1:3-6; 13-14 Matthew 28:19 Philippians 2:5-6 * John 1:1, 3, 14,18 * Isaiah 9:6
GOD THE FATHER
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom
there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17
The first person of the Trinity who orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace, and who continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events for His own glory. Fatherhood denotes spiritual relationship, first within the Trinity, second within mankind, creatively in relation to all men, but spiritually only in relation to those who have been saved by His grace from their sin and have come to Him through Jesus Christ.
GOD THE SON
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory as of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah of the Old Testament, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on the cross, rose from the dead to provide justification for every believer, ascended to the right hand of God where He presently intercedes for all believers, and will again, in the fullness of the Father’s time, return in visible, triumphant, personal form to overthrow sin, judge the world, and establish His Kingdom on earth.
GOD THE SPIRIT
“He will give you another Helper ...even the Spirit of truth... He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment... He will guide you into all truth...” John 14:16-17; 16:8, 13
The Holy Spirit was sent from God to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to save us from sin. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer spiritual gifts when they are saved. As Christians we should seek to live under His control daily.
At salvation, we get all of God.
When we trust God to fill us with His Spirit (take control of our lives), God then gets all of us!
3. ABOUT MAN, SIN AND SATAN
MAN’S CONDITION IS ONE OF SIN & SEPARATION FROM GOD
“So God created man in His own image. Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 1:26; 2:17
“For the wages of sin is death...” Romans 6:23
God created man in His spiritual image directly and immediately (not by evolution); for the purpose of fellowship with God and bringing glory to God. Man was tempted by Satan and sinned, and because of this, all have been born with a nature to sin since that time. Every person has tremendous potential for good, but we are all marred by rebellion and disobedience toward God, which the Bible calls sin. Sin separates us from God, others, and all good things. When a person dies without the forgiveness of Christ, they spend eternity in hell. All persons need to be saved from their sin, but not all persons are saved.
Genesis 1:26-28; 3:1-19 * Romans 5:12; 6:23 * Rev. 20:10 * Is. 14:12-17
4. ABOUT SALVATION
GOD HAS ACTED IN JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE US FROM SIN
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all...” 1 Timothy 2:5
“He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life... And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand...” John 5:24; 10:28
Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin. He provided forgiveness and atonement for our sins on the cross, and rose again to provide life and justification. Apart from Christ, there is no salvation. All men are under condemnation through personal sin. Deliverance from condemnation comes only by the righteousness of Christ by grace through faith, and not through good deeds. The Spirit gives new life to the one who makes this life commitment to Jesus, and he is saved by God’s power forever.
Acts 4:12 * Ephesians 2:8-9 * John 3:16-19 John 5:24; 6:47; 10:28-30
5. ABOUT THE CHURCH
JESUS ESTABLISHED THE CHURCH TO CONTINUE HIS MISSION AND MINISTRY ON EARTH
“...on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Matthew 16:18
“...Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it...” Ephesians 5:25
A New Testament church is a voluntary association of baptized believers who have covenanted together to follow the teachings of the Bible.
Colossians 1:18 * 1 Corinthians 11:23-38 * Heb. 13:7,17 * Eph. 4:7-12
6. ABOUT LAST THINGS
JESUS CHRIST WILL RETURN TO THE EARTH!
“...This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go...” Acts 1:11
“...looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ...” Titus 2:13
When Jesus Christ returns to the earth, the dead will be raised and Christ will judge all men according to their works. Unbelievers will be cast into eternal punishment and outer darkness prepared for the devil & his angels. The saved will spend eternity with God in their resurrected bodies.
Matt 16:27 * Luke 17:21-37 * 1 Thes. 4:14-18 2 Pet.3:7-14 * Rev. 20-22
7. ABOUT DEATH AND RESURRECTION
EVERYONE WILL FACE JUDGMENT BEFORE GOD: SOME TO ETERNAL LIFE, OTHERS TO ETERNAL CONDEMNATION.
“It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27
“To be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” 2 Cor. 5:8
“And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God... And they were judged, each according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.” Rev. 20:12-14
Death occurs when a person’s soul leaves the body & passes immediately into the presence of Christ for judgment. There is separation of soul and body until the first resurrection when the spirit, soul, and resurrected body will be reunited in glorified form in heaven forever. All men will be bodily resurrected, the saved to everlasting life - the lost to condemnation. Rev. 6:9-11; 20:6, 13-15 * Phil. 1:23 * 1 Corinthians 15 * 2 Cor. 5:8 THE STEADFAST LOVE OF THE LORD IS BETTER THAN LIFE
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