Statement of Beliefs
We believe that true Christian faith can only be properly understood and imitated through a biblical/scriptural lens. This means that Scripture Alone is the standard for all Christian Faith. We understand there, are several interpretations, as to what this means. We therefore hold to the Reformed view as the only correct form of Christianity, and as such we affirm the following:
BIBLE
The Bible is the inspired Word of God that is without error and totally true in everything it affirms. The Bible is the authority for our lives that is sufficient to guide us in what we believe, how we live, and how this church functions (Psalm 138:2; Matthew 5:17-18; Mark 12:26, 36; Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39-47, 10:33, 16:13, 17:17; Acts 1:16; Romans 15:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Revelation 22:18-19; Luke 6:46-49, Acts 15:15, Hebrews 4:12,James 1:22
GOD
There is one God who eternally exists in three distinct but equal persons who have the same essence, nature and attributes: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe (1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 11:33-34; Isaiah 45:21; 2 Peter 1:17;John 1:1, 5:17, 8:58, 10:30-33, 20:28; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1; Revelation 1:8; John 14:16-17; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 4:16; Hebrews 9:14; Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:10-11,66:7; Isaiah 45:5-12; Daniel 4:17, 32; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17; Revelation 19:6).
JESUS
Jesus Christ is fully and eternally God who entered this world through the virgin conception and birth as a genuine human being with a human body and sinless human nature. He is fully God and fully man simultaneously. Jesus is Lord over everything. He lived a sinless and perfect life, died on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins, bodily rose from the dead, ascended to heaven where He is now making intercession for us, and He will someday literally, bodily, and visibly return to set up His kingdom on the earth (Isaiah 7:14; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1, 14; Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:14-16; Luke 19:10; Romans 3:20-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Timothy 2:5; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2; Matthew 28:7; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 4:25; Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 7:25; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 19:7-20:6).
THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who baptizes, seals, and indwells every Christian at the moment of salvation. He is the person, presence, and power of God in the life of a believer. The Spirit teaches, guides, comforts, empowers, and develops the character of Christ in believers as they are filled with and walk in the Holy Spirit. He also distributes spiritual gifts to believers. These gifts must be used in accordance with Scripture (John 14:16-17; 16:5-15; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 12:1-14:40; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:22, 5:18).
SALVATION
All men are created in the image of God and not evolved from a lower order of beings. However, all people are born in sin and are sinners by nature and conduct. Our sin has separated us from God and results in spiritual and physical death. Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Only those who are called by God and receive Christ are children of God who know God personally as their Heavenly Father. We are made right with God only on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus. All who receive Christ through genuine repentance and faith are born of the Holy Spirit and permanently become children of God with all of the blessings and responsibilities associated therein (Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Psalm 51:5; Isaiah 59:2, 64:6; Romans 3:9-23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:24-26; Galatians 4:4-6; 1 Peter 1:18-19; John 1:12, 3:16, 5:24,10:28; Acts 3:19; Romans 3:21-4:8, 5:1, 8:1-17, 10:9-10, 13; Galatians 2:16-21, 3:10-14, 4:4-7;Ephesians 1:14,2:8-10, 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; Jude 24).
THE CHURCH
The Church of Jesus Christ is His Body of elect believers who have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation. The church is comprised of the universal body of all believers and is expressed in autonomous local churches where the people of God gather together. It is the function of the church to fulfill the Great Commission until Christ returns for us. The ordinances of the church are baptism with water and the Lord’s Supper (Communion) which are symbols of our salvation and covenant with God. (Matthew 16:13-19, 28:16-20; Acts 2:42-47, 9:31, 20:28; 1 Corinthians 11:17-12:31; Ephesians 2:19-20; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Revelation 2-3).
SPIRITUAL GROWTH
Sanctification (a setting apart unto God) occurs positionally when the believer is placed into Christ at the moment of salvation, continues progressively as the believer grows spiritually throughout the rest of life, and is completed permanently and perfectly when the believer is glorified in heaven. It is the calling of every Christian to live a holy life, love God and other people, grow spiritually, use his or her God-given spiritual gifts for the glorification of Christ and edification of the body, and to be a witness for Christ in the world (John 17:17; Romans 8:18-30; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 7:1; Ephesians 4:17-24, 5:27; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10, 14;Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Peter 1:15-16, 4:10-11; 2 Peter 3:18).
ANGELS
Angels are real spirits who are created by God. They continually worship and serve God and also minister to believers. We do not become angels when we pass. We also believe in the reality of Satan and demons, who are fallen angels. However, Jesus defeated Satan on the cross and believers have authority over him today (Isaiah 6; Hebrews 1; Genesis 3; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 2:4; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12).
ETERNITY
There is a bodily resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous. Only those who are called and receive Christ are eternally blessed in heaven while those who do not are eternally punished in hell (Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:29; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 19-22).
THE FAMILY
MARRIAGE
We believe that “marriage” is a word with a specific definition. We believe that definition is revealed to us in Scripture and in nature. Marriage is the exclusive union of one man and one woman for as long as they both shall live. The husband and the wife are equal before God, since both are created in God’s image. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously and voluntarily to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. In other words, husbands and wives are equal persons with distinct, God-given roles. They are to work together to manage the household and nurture the next generation (Genesis 1:26-28, Genesis 2:15-25, Genesis 3:1-20, Matthew 19:1-6, Ephesians 5:22-33, Colossians 3:18-19, Titus 2:3-5, 1 Peter 3:1-7)
CHILDREN
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to raise their children with a godly example, loving discipline, wise teaching and training, and proper affection. Children are to honor and obey their parents (Psalm 127, Psalm 139:13-16, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Malachi 2:14-16, Ephesians 6:1-4, Colossians 3:20-21).
INTIMACY
We believe that sexual intimacy should only occur within a marriage relationship as described above. We believe that any sexual intimacy occurring outside of this context is sinful and harmful. This includes, but is not limited to, fornication, pornography, incest, adultery, homosexual sexual intimacy, bisexual sexual intimacy, bestiality, bigamy, polygamy, polyandry and any other sexual activity other than sexual intimacy between a man and woman who are exclusively married to one another for as long as they both shall live (Genesis 2:24-25, Genesis 19:1-29, Leviticus 18:22-23, Matthew 5:27-30, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Hebrews 13:4).
GENDER
We believe that God created humans as male and female. We believe that gender is a wonderful and holy gift. We believe that disagreement with one’s gender or attempts to change one’s gender, to live consistently as a gender opposite to the one a person is born with, or to live as though one did not have a specific gender, is sinful and harmful. We believe that protecting the genders of our children and ourselves is the duty of every believer in Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 139:13-16).
CONFESSIONS AND CREEDS
We consider the Three Forms of Unity, Westminster Standards, and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, as well as their respective catechisms to be further doctrinal standards of understanding for the Christian faith.
While we consider them to supplement in the understanding of scripture, the Confessions and Creeds within themselves are not scripture and do not replace the authority of scripture.
DOCTRINES OF GRACE
We consider the Doctrines of Grace aka TULIP (5 Points of Calvinism), to be biblically accurate in it’s summary of what scripture directly expresses. For further understanding and reading, we defer to the post The Doctrines of Grace aka TULIP.