What We Believe

Truths We Stand On

Jesus 

The earliest statement of faith by the New Testament church was simply – “Jesus is Lord” and this is at the heart of what we believe. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, possesses all the divine excellencies, being co-substantial and co-eternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. In His incarnation, He united to His divine nature a true human nature and so continues to be both God and man, in two distinct natures and one person, forever. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, fulfilled the requirements of the law by His sinless life, suffered under Pontius Pilate, poured out His blood as a vicarious and propitiatory atonement for sin in satisfaction of the divine justice, and on the third day was raised from the dead in the same body, now glorified. He ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father interceding in Glory for His redeemed..

The Beginning

We believe there is one God, the Creator of all and God is the personification of pure love and complete power. Because God is love and as such is inherently and ultimately a relational being, we understand the following: God has revealed himself as plurality-in-unity (<—Click on the link to learn more about this definition…Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) Relationship is at the core of all reality and God desires a relationship with all people. God created man in His own image, in a state of original righteousness, from which he subsequently fell by a voluntary revolt, and as a consequence is guilty, inherently corrupt, and subject to divine wrath. The unregenerate are totally depraved and do not possess a will free from the dominion of the sin nature..

The Bible

We believe the Bible is God’s “love letter” to humanity. Although written through people with the perspective of their own era, culture, and tradition, the Old and New Testaments were inspired by the Holy Spirit and considered to be the only absolute truth.

The Problem

We believe that God created all humanity in His image, regardless of gender, color, social class, or other form of human identity and thus all people are precious. We have all fallen short of God’s ideal for us and are in need of forgiveness and reconciliation with Him. Missing the mark is a term referred to as sin and that is what separates us from God.

The Solution

We believe that Jesus is God’s answer to our human need. Through Jesus, God fully revealed His extreme love for humanity and unveiled His plan and purpose to reconcile the world to Himself through the Messiah – Jesus, rather than through a religious system. Through Jesus’ death on the cross, He made it possible for us to find forgiveness in a way that didn’t circumvent God’s justice. Salvation consists of the remission of sins, the impartation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, the gift of eternal life and the concomitant blessings thereof, which are a free gift of God, and received by faith alone apart from human works of merit. Even the ability to believe is a gift of God. This blessing in no way relieves men of their responsibility to repent and believe. After repentance towards God and faith towards the Lord Jesus Christ, the believer is to publicly proclaim his identity with Christ by immersion in water baptism, in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit..

The Heart

The restored relationship with God the Father through Jesus opens the way for the human heart to be changed from the inside out. The Bible teaches that the human heart isn’t changed from the outside-in by things like rules, regulations and harsh accountability. Rather, Jesus taught that the human heart is changed by God working in us and through us. His Spirit, His divine presence and love, is what has the power to transform our lives and free us to live authentic, grace-filled, outward focused lives.

The Gift

All nine gifts of the Spirit listed in 1 Cor. 12:4-11 continue to be expressed in the church today and are subject to the order prescribed by Scripture..

The Lord’s Supper

Communion can/is to be taken frequently and offered to all believers except those who are living in unrepentant rebellion or immorality. Although the Bible is clear about repentance and forgiveness/forgiving before taking communion, it is a table of grace. “The Lord’s Supper reminds us that Jesus Christ is the host and that we participate at Christ’s invitation.” Jesus invites us to take part in the special meal he ate with his disciples the night before his crucifixion, and other meals he shared in homes and on hillsides. The communion elements are symbols of Christ’s body and blood and are useful to exercise our faith in the person of Jesus Christ as the only means of absolving guilt, shame, and punishment of sin. As oft as we drink from the cup, we shall remember Him and as we partake of the bread, we remember it was His body broken for us. His grace made available to us through the person of Jesus Christ. Again, it is a table of repentance and a table of grace and all are welcome

The Church

We believe that the church is made up of people – the followers of Jesus to be more precise – and not a building or denominational institution. Although not an institution, the church is an organism – the living, active body of Jesus carrying on His ministry today. The church is the ultimate tool that God uses to reach out to those lost and alone, to show His love and compassion, and to be peacemakers in a world of brokenness, conflict and war.

The Future

We believe that at the end of our time on earth, God wins. God will make all things right throughout His entire creation and those who are a part of His family will live forever with Him and those who have rejected His love will not. The choice is ours. The Lord Jesus Christ will return bodily, visibly, and personally to conform believers to His own image. He will judge the quick and the dead and will effect a final separation of the redeemed and the lost, assigning unbelievers to eternal punishment and believers to eternal glory.. The Kingdom of God is a present reality and a future hope, forcibly advancing through the agency of the church..

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