What We Believe

THE BIBLE

The Bible is God’s word to people. In it, God reveals Himself to us. Nobody would know the truth about God, or be able to know Him in a personal way, if He had not first made Himself known. This He did in the sixty-six books of the Bible.

The books of the Bible were written by men inspired by God’s Spirit. Since the Bible is inspired by God, it is without error in the original writings. Every word of it is true.

The Bible is the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice and, therefore, our church follows its truths rather than man-made traditions.

The entire Bible centers on Jesus Christ. He is the focus of both Old and New Testaments. There is no part of the Bible that can be properly understood apart from its relationship to the Person or work of Christ.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Joshua 8:34; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105, 140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21
 

GOD

There is only one true God. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Since there is one God revealed in three Persons, He is best described as a “Tri-Unity” or Trinity.

Though each member of the Trinity has distinct personal characteristics, there is no difference in their essential nature.

Almighty God has intellect, emotion, and will. Though He is not human, He is a personal Being, not a “force”. We know Him as Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, and Ruler of the universe.

God is self-existent. He has always been. He will never cease to be. He continues forever unchanged.

He is infinitely holy and perfect in all ways. He is all powerful and all knowing. He provides care for the universe and for the people whom He has created.

He is fully in control over the entire flow of human history. He exercises His sovereign control according to His gracious and loving purposes.

We, His creatures, owe Him the highest degree of love, respect, and obedience.

Genesis 1:1, 26-27; 2:7; 9:6; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11-18; 20:1-7; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; Psalm 14:1; 19:1; 90:2; Isaiah 43:1-3, 15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 6:9-13; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-11; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; 17:23-25; Romans 1:18-20; 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15-17; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17
 

JESUS CHRIST

Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He became man without ceasing to be God. In taking upon Himself human nature, He identified Himself completely with mankind, yet without sin.

He was conceived in the womb of His mother Mary by a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit and without a human father.

He became man in order to reveal God and redeem sinful people. He redeemed us from the penalty of our own sin by dying on the Cross in our place.

Our redemption and salvation are guaranteed by His physical resurrection from the dead. After He rose up from death, He ascended into heaven where He now sits at the right hand of God.

Since He is fully God and fully man, and since He is without sin Himself, He is the perfect and only Mediator between God and man.

He now dwells in all believers as their living and ever-present Lord and will return one day in power and glory to judge the world and to perfectly complete His work of redemption.

Genesis 18:1 and on; Psalm 2:7 and on; 110:1 and on; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6, 19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6;15:1-8, 24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16
 

HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal influence; He is a Person. In fact, He is a divine Person. He is not like God; He is God. Therefore, He possesses all the characteristics of God. As a Person, He has thoughts, feelings, and a will. As a divine Person, He is eternal and omnipresent and He knows everything and He is almighty.

As mentioned previously, God has revealed Himself as a Trinity. He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son.

The Spirit of God carries out the will of God in creation, in written revelation (the Bible), and in redemption. In fact, the Holy Spirit not only persuades us to be redeemed, He also enters into the life of the newly redeemed person.

Then, from the inside out, He brings about great change. He helps us to turn from wrongdoing; He helps us to understand the Bible; He helps us to serve in a way that pleases God.

In order to do this, to serve God, His Spirit gives each follower of Jesus Christ at least one special gift. These are beyond our natural talents; they are gifts from the Spirit to enable us to worship, witness, and work for God.

If you are a Christian, it was the Holy Spirit who persuaded you to acknowledge your sin and to realize your need for Jesus, your Savior. And then, at the moment of personal salvation, it is the Holy Spirit who enables us to live a life pleasing to God. Since we have Him in us now, we ought to let Him control us. That’s what it means to be filled by the Spirit.

If you are a Christian, you have probably noticed that reading the Bible is different now. It is more meaningful and you understand more of it all the time. You know who did that for you? It is the Spirit of God. He not only inspired specially called people to write the Bible; He also helps the rest of us to understand and live by the Bible.

The Spirit of God opens the Word of God to the children of God so that the children of God look more and more like their heavenly Father.

Genesis 1:2; Psalm 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:13-14; Matthew 1:18; 28:19; John 3:5-7; 16:13; Acts 5:3-4; 28:25-26; Romans 8:9; 12:1-8; 15:13; 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; 12:7-13; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 13:14; Galatians 5:18-26; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30; 5:18; Hebrews 9:14; 2 Peter 1:20-21
 

PEOPLE

We were created by God. Impersonal matter did not create personal people. We are complex beings and we did not originate from simpler living things. We were supernaturally and directly created by God.

And, what’s more, we are the only beings of whom it is said: “We are created in God’s own image.” This distinguishes us from all other living things. We were created to be as much like the Creator as a creature can be.

God made us in His own image so that we can relate to Him personally. The Creator of the universe desires a relationship with us. Since our purpose is to relate to God personally, we cannot find a sense of identity or worth apart from Him.

We are not only created to relate to God personally; we are created to reflect God publicly. We have been created in His image in order to reflect His image.

We cannot be satisfied if we are not living in alignment with God’s purpose for our lives. We are His image-bearers created to enjoy Him and glorify Him forever.

Though God made us, we have somehow unmade ourselves. From the first person on, we have violated God’s standards. We have sinned. In fact, sin has become part of our nature. Sin is a universal human problem. Everybody does it. Nobody is without it. We have a sin problem. It separates us from God and that separation will last forever.

Sin is the antithesis of who God is. He hates it and will judge it. So you see we have an inherited, natural inclination to do what God hates. And we are entirely helpless to free ourselves from this human inclination to sin.

So what do we do? The Bible speaks about a solution to our sin problem that has more to do with what God has done for us than with what we can do for God. These words, recorded in the Bible, express the despair and frustration of one struggling with the reality of his sin problem: “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?”

And this is the wonderful and freeing conclusion to his struggle: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Our personal problem is sin and a personal Savior is the solution. Jesus Christ is that Savior. Confidence and trust in what He has done for us, by dying and rising and living in us, upon our invitation, is the solution to our sin problem. Apart from Him, all people are hopelessly mastered by sin, are separated from God, and face eternal judgment.

Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, 16-17; Psalm 14:1-3, 73:27-28, 100:3; Isaiah 43:7; John 3:36; Romans 3:9-18, 5:12, 6:23, 7:18-25; Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 9:27-28; Revelation 4:11

 

...more to come (to be completed by the first of November)