WHAT WE BELIEVE
1. THE WORD OF GOD
The Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God and is our sole rule of faith and practice. It is the standard by which all human conduct should be tried. (Timothy 3:16-17)
2. THE TRINITY
There is only one true and living God who is manifested in three eternal and coequal persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is Holy, perfect and the fullness of life is only found in Him. (Matthew 28:19, [James 1:17, John 8:12, Ephesians 5:9])
3. HUMANKIND
Humankind is created in the image of God but through Adam’s fall is now in a sinful state of separation from God. By deliberate choice, all participate in sin, which is rebellion against God. Though sinful, God still views all human life as valuable and capable of reflecting His glory. (Genesis 1:26-27, Romans 3:23)
4. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
Human beings can be forgiven of sin and justified solely through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ who died for sinners and rose again from the dead. Only by the confession of sin and faith in Christ can true restoration of relationship to God be attained. (Romans 3:21-26, 1 John 2:1-2)
5. REGENERATION
Regeneration of the heart, mind, and soul is the work of the Holy Spirit by which the believer receives a new nature from God. Spiritual growth is the continued work of the Spirit as we submit to Him. (Titus 3:5)
6. THE CHURCH
The Church in its widest sense includes all believers of all ages. The church is manifested in the local body of believers who join in loving and joy-filled fellowship. The Church is considered all who worship God in spirit and truth. (Ephesians 2:19-22, John 13:35, John 4:24)
7. HUMAN DESTINY
Jesus Christ will eventually return visibly at which time He will raise the dead and judge all people. Believers will enjoy an eternal state of blessedness in heaven while those who reject God will experience eternal separation from Him in judgment. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, Mathew 12:31-32)
8. EVANGELISM
The Church has been called to share the gospel so that individual people can receive the saving knowledge of who God is, what He has done for them, and how He desires to restore them to Himself. (Mark 16:15)
9. PURPOSE
Our purpose in life is to; Know God, Enjoy God, Fight Darkness with the light of God, and show others the truth of God by sharing the knowledge of Him. (Ecclesiastes 12:13,1 Timothy 2:2-4, Philippians 4:4, James 4:7)
10. HUMAN SEXUALITY
God’s design is that man and woman either be joined together in a perpetual monogamous relationship (married) or live in a single state. Extra-marital sex, adultery, and homosexuality are inconsistent with biblical teaching. (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6, Romans 1:26-27, Hebrews 13:4)
THE GOSPEL
#1 Who is God and who are we?
God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, ever-present creator and sustainer of all physical and spiritual life. The "Most High" created men and women to experience and express His light through a deep relationship with Him and others. The light of God is pure love, joy, peace, patience, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and orderly control. This is what God is like.
#2 What happened to us?
Mankind was separated from God when Adam and Eve disobeyed His order and chose to know evil after being tempted by the evil one. Now, all of mankind is separated from God due to this sin. As we are born with sin, we are born into darkness. God is opposed to sin and must judge it by the very nature of His perfect being.
#3 How did God control evil?
Through His Spirit, God told men called prophets to set up a sacrifice payment for sin and to write moral laws. The sacrifice illustrated how sin destroyed what was meant to be beautiful. The moral laws (called the law of Moses) taught mankind how to live rightly. Together, the sacrifice and the law revealed how dark the sin in the human mind and heart truly were by contrast. The laws guided man and acted as a restraint against sin, but they didn't grant victory over it.
#4 How did God solve the problem within the heart?
God became a man Himself. This is who Jesus is; God in the form of a man. Jesus taught, modeled, and expressed the true nature of His pure love, joy, peace, patience, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and control. Jesus taught that true light only comes from being born of the Spirit and that one must "become like a child" to truly enter into the kingdom of heaven. Becoming like a child means accepting the simple, profound, and pure truth of His teachings.
After Jesus taught about true light, He broke the bond sin had on mankind by becoming the ultimate sacrifice, where He took our sin upon Himself as He died on the cross. Jesus' sacrifice is God’s beautiful illustration that defines love and shows how God enacted justice upon sin.
#5 What happened after Jesus died?
By the power of the Spirit, Jesus was raised from the dead. This very real event shows us that Jesus is not a myth or just taught good ideas. Jesus is truly God and has all power over spiritual and physical death. After Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven and promised to return one day to rule the earth in truth and righteousness. The Spirit was then poured out upon those who believed and they shared the knowledge of God with others.
#6 What does this mean for us?
Christ offers freedom from the bond of sin. By believing in Jesus, confessing that we are sinners, and asking forgiveness for that sin, we "open the door of our heart" and give over our sin to Christ. The scriptures teach that upon doing so, we will be filled with the promise of His Spirit. This connection restores us to God in this life and the eternal life to come. If we reject Christ and His offer, we remain separated from God in this life, and in the life to come, where we will face the judgment of God.
If you can understand this, you should think about it deeply. Then, when you are ready, take these three steps:
#1 Believe. Acknowledge God's holiness and your need for the light of Christ in your heart.
#2 Receive. Confess your sin, ask for forgiveness, and receive it as a free gift of grace, knowing that Christ has paid the price for it.
#3 Turn from evil. Seek the Spirit, and allow His light to transform your mind and heart.
The Spirit will continuously fill you with an ever-deepening knowledge of His pure love, joy, peace, patience, wisdom, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and orderly control as you seek Him. These spiritually expressed attitudes that bring about actions are called the Fruit of the Spirit. Jesus says we will know who is truly connected to Him by the fruit they bear.
#7 How do we grow?
We continue to grow in spiritual knowledge, wisdom, and understanding through prayer, study, and deeply thinking about the Scriptures. We are to learn the full knowledge they give us and apply that knowledge to all areas of our hearts, as we fight the powers of darkness in this world.
Our purpose in life is to experience and express the glory of God through a deep relationship with Him and others.