Our Faith & Beliefs
We believe and boldly proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We hold as central to our life and thought the following affirmations.
ABOUT THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s own message to every man, woman, young person and child. It was inspired by the Holy Spirit even as it was written by human authors. We believe that the Bible is the only perfect rule for our faith, our teaching, and our lives. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105, 160, 12:6, Proverbs 30:5)
ABOUT GOD
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are all equal and are one God. (Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is the Son of God, equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and in love, offered Himself through death on a cross to remove the obstacle of our sins, so that all people could, through faith in Him, become connected to God. He rose from the dead, demonstrating His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. (Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13)
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Jesus the Son. He makes people aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian, providing power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. As Christians, we seek to be “filled with” the Holy Spirit: to live under His control daily. (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18)
ABOUT PEOPLE
People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation and love. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1,2)
ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, ours by simple faith, belief and trust. 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 a person trusts in Jesus Christ by faith. (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:2; Titus 3:5,Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1)
ABOUT FREEDOM IN CHRIST
Jesus sets us free from sin’s power to condemn, control, and destroy (Galatians 5:1). We are not without sin, but we find in Jesus’ death and resurrection release from the bondage and punishment of sin. We are set free to follow and serve Jesus, as led by the Spirit’s power and under the guidance of scripture. We are set free from the power of those things that on their own tend to divide. United in Christ, we offer freedom to one another to differ on issues of belief or practice, in those matters where the Biblical witness allows for a variety of interpretations of the will and purposes of God. We focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us. (John 8:32, 36; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:1, Ephesians 3:12, James 1:25, 2:12)
ABOUT ETERNITY
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. (John 3:16; John 14:17; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15; 2 Corinthians 2:7-9)