The Bible, Salvation, and Other Matters
Concerning Salvation
We believe that God’s love and justice intersect at the cross. Since God is just he cannot simply ignore or disregard our sin but because He is loving He wants to be in fellowship with us. God’s solution to our sin problem was to send Jesus to serve the death penalty due us and to reconcile us to Himself so that he might reign in our hearts and lives (2 Cor. 5:18-19; I Thess. 5:9-10; I Pet. 3:18; Rom. 6:23). This is why the Gospel is Good News!
God has acted on our behalf but we must choose to accept or decline his gift of salvation. We accept the gift of salvation through faith. Faith is more than just intellectual assent (James 2:19); it is made complete by our actions (James 2:22).
A faith-response to Jesus starts with hearing God’s Word. Why would we ever commit our lives to following something we’ve never heard or experienced? True discipleship starts with the Word of God.
We must be willing to believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He died for our sins, and that He has prepared a place in Heaven for the faithful.
We are then called upon to repent of our sins. Simply put a change of mind that leads to a change of heart. (Acts 2:38).
If we are believe in Christ and are willing to change our ways the Bible also teaches us that confession is included in our response as well (Rom. 10:9). This is a simple ackowledge
As we continue to follow theBible’s teaching on salvation the next requirement is baptism. Just as Christ died, was buried, and was raised from the dead, we also we must be buried (immersed) with Christ in baptism and then be raised to live a new life (Rom. 6:4). At the time of our baptism, our sins are taken away and the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence in us (Acts 2:38); additionally, we are added to the Church (Acts 2:47).
Throughout our lives, we are continually being transformed into the image of Christ by our faithful living and daily service to God (Rev 2:10, Rom 12:1-2).
Concerning Sin
We believe that our sin separates us from a Holy God (Isa. 59:2). To sin is to violate God’s law and to rebel against Him. Sin is pervasive – it consists not only in the bad things we do but also in the good things that we fail to do (James 4:17), it manifests itself not only in word and deed but also in thought (Matt. 5:28). The Bible teaches that all of us have sinned (Rom. 3:23; I John 1:8-10).
Concerning the Church
We believe that the church belongs to the Lord! It is His body and every Christian is a member of that body. It is not defined racially, socially, geographically or ethnically. The purpose of the church is to glorify God (Eph. 3:10-11). God is glorified when we grow closer to Him (Eph. 4:11-16) and when we reach out to those around us with the love of Christ (Luke 9:2).
Concerning Christian Living
The Christian life seeks through the grace of God to live out the way of Jesus every day. We are flawed, imperfect people, but God in his mercy has provided everything we need to live godly (2 Pet 1:3). Together as a church, we cling to the cross of Christ as we grow in sacrifice, service and self-emptying love (Rom. 12:1-2; Gal. 5:22-25; 2 Cor. 3:18).
Concerning God
We believe in the one true God revealed in the Bible. He spoke the world into existence and sustains all things today. God remains active and involved in this world and in our individual lives (Gen. 1:1; Heb. 1:10-12, 11:3). We believe that God exists in three distinct personalities: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 13:14; John 1:1, 14; John 16:12-15).
Concerning Jesus
We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We believe He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, shed His blood by dying on a cross, was buried and raised from the dead three days later. He ascended to the Father and now reigns over his Kingdom. (Rom. 8:34; Phil. 2:5-11).
We believe that Jesus is the only way to Heaven (Acts 4:12, John 14:6) and is the only one qualified and able to redeem us and save us from our sins (Heb. 9:11-15). We believe that one day Jesus will return to take his own to live with him forever (Acts 1:11; I Thess. 4:16-17).