WHAT WE BELIEVE
 
 
One God. One Gospel. One Savior.
One Book. One Purpose. Love.
 
 
WHAT WE BELIEVE IN STORY FORM

 

There is one true God Who exists as a trinity – Father, Son (Jesus), Holy Spirit – in perfect unity. God made us in His image as a triune being (body, soul, spirit) and we are the pinnacle of His creation. (Matthew 28:19, Genesis 1:26,27)
 

God put our parents (Adam and Eve) in paradise to have continual relationship with Him but one day a serpent came in. The serpent was the devil and he hated the fact that God made us and he wanted us to die. To express his hate the serpent deceived us by getting us to think that God did not have our best in mind. He planted the seed that paradise was not really about continual relationship with God but instead paradise could be found outside of God’s instruction. We bought what he was selling (i.e. God is holding out on you, just do what He instructed you not to do). We ate from the tree God instructed us not to eat from, and then the serpent expected us to die as he knew that was the rule. (Genesis 3:1, Revelation 12:9, Genesis 3:4,5)

 
But…God had a backup plan…a perfect plan to redeem us. And He immediately put His plan in motion! This perfect plan was a rescue mission that  only His Son, Jesus, could pull off. The first prophecy in the Bible is about this plan. Jesus came to earth and demonstrated how much God truly loves us by being willing to send His Son to pay the ultimate price so we can have relationship with God again.  This showed us that God is NOT withholding anything good from us, He only wants our absolute best…and He gave His life to show it. (Genesis 3:15, Hebrews 2:9-17)
 
Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross our relationship with God is restored. Jesus rose again and He is sitting at the Father’s right hand now, desiring that all be in relationship with God again. He desires a deep, genuine friendship with all people. One day He is coming back! Until then He asks His followers to bring the Good News of His sacrifice, and how by receiving what He did for us and choosing to follow Him, we can now have an intimate relationship with God again. (2 Corinthians 5:18, Acts 3:15, Mark 16:19, 2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 24:30-31)
 
In the meantime, God sent us His Holy Spirit to help us on our journey, and continues to give us gifts, too – like superhero powers! Gifts that are to be used to build up His church until He comes back. His church is a big deal to Him – He gave His life for it, and the Bible teaches us that Jesus is the head (CEO) of the church and that it is through His Church that He accomplishes much of His purposes in our world. He builds His Church. In other words, He puts us right where He wants us to be with our unique gifts, and it is important that we seek Him on where He wants us to plug in. (Ephesians 1:22,23; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 12:18; Ephesians 4:11,12; John 20:21, John 14:26)
 
One last thing, all these references we use come from another one of God’s gifts – His living, active, and infallible Word that He left for us, the Holy Bible. Written over a period of 1500 years by over 40 different Holy Spirit-inspired authors He continually speaks to us through their stories, words and testimonies. We use it as life’s field manual until His return. (Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
 
WHAT WE BELIEVE – IMPORTANT POINTS
(source: Life Church)

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe.

He has eternally existed as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are coequal and are one God.

Jesus is the Son of God.

He is coequal with the Father and Holy Spirit. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday to earth to reign as King.

The Holy Spirit lives in each Christian from salvation.

The Holy Spirit is coequal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He provides Christians with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every Christ follower spiritual gifts. As Christians we seek to live guided by Him daily.

The Bible is God’s Word to us.

The Bible was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs about living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without error.

People are the supreme object of God’s creation.

People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” Sin separates us from God and causes many problems in our life.

Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it.

We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

People will exist eternally with or without God.

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence.

Baptism is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. It is also a step of obedience based on God’s commands and allows us to follow the example of Jesus, who submitted himself to baptism to “fulfill all righteousness.”

In addition to Essential Beliefs, we have liberty in Non-Essential Beliefs.

Accept the one whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters… Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master servants stand or fall… So then each of us will give an account of ourselves to God… So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22

“I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-4