OUR CORE BELIEFS
ABOUT GOD
The God of the Bible is the one and only true God, Creator and Ruler of the universe(1). He eternally exists in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are co-equal and are One God(2). He is holy, eternal, infinite, personal, sovereign, faithful, unchanging, all powerful, all-knowing, and present everywhere always(3). He is love, light, Spirit and truth(4).
1) Deuteronomy 4:35,39, 6:4; 1 Kings 8:60; 2 Kings 5:15; 1 Chronicles 17:20; Isaiah 43:10-11, 44:6,8, 45:5; 1 Timothy 2:5
2) Matthew 3:16-17, 28:18-20; John 10:30, 14:10; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-4
3) Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 57:15; Revelation 1:8, 22:13; Matthew 1:23; Ephesians 1:4-6; Colossians 1:16-17; Isaiah 45:7-9; Job 42:2; Psalm 117:2; Malachi 3:6; Jeremiah 32:17, 27; 1 John 3:20; Psalm 139:7-12
4) 1 John 4:8; 1 John 1:5; John 4:24, 14:6; Hebrews 6:18
ABOUT THE FATHER
The Father is fully God and is co-equal with the Son and the Holy Spirit. He perfectly foreknows all that will come to pass(1). He is merciful and just(2) , and He hears and answers prayers(3). The Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to save us from sin and death(4). The Father, along with the Son, sent His Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, to call people to repentance, and to empower believers in sanctification(5).
1) Psalm 139:1-6; Psalm 147:5; Romans 11:33
2) Jonah 3:10; Ephesians 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:9
3) Psalm 91:15; 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Jeremiah 29:12
4) John 3:16; 1 John 4:14
5) John 16:7; John 14:16-17, 26; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:7-8
ABOUT THE SON
The Son is fully God and has eternally existed as God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Son, sent from the Father, became the man Jesus who is the Christ, the Savior of the world(1). The one person of Jesus Christ has two natures, being fully God and fully human(2). Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, lived a sinless human life in obedience to the Father, and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin by dying on a cross(3). He physically arose from the dead after three days and demonstrated His power over sin and death(4). He ascended to the right hand of the Father and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords(5).
1) John 1:1-5, 14, 14:10-14; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:1-13, 7:1-17, 24-25
2) Romans 1:3-4, 9:5; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 1:1-14
3) Matthew 1:18-23; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Peter 2:22; Matthew 27:45-56
4) Mark 16:6; Luke 24:13-49; John 20:19-29; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 12-19, 32-34; Romans 10:9
5) Acts 1:9-11; Colossians 3:1; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 1:3
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is fully God and is co-equal with the Father and the Son. Sent by the Father and the Son(1), the Holy Spirit is present in the world to make mankind aware of their need for Jesus Christ, to convict mankind of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to reveal the work of God(2). He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation and provides the Christian with power for living, provides understanding of spiritual truth, provides spiritual gifts and guidance for serving, as well as baptizes and seals the believers salvation for eternity with God(3). As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.
1) John 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, 20:22; Galatians 4:6
2) John 16:7-9; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 8:5-11
3) 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 5:5; 1 John 2:20-27; James 4:5; Ephesians 1:17-18; Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; 1 Peter 4:10-11; Ephesians 1:13, 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:22
ABOUT THE BIBLE
The Bible is about Jesus; God’s revelation of Himself to us. It is the Word of God, written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit(1). The Bible, consisting of its 66 books, is the one and only authoritative and sufficient source of truth for Christian beliefs and living(2). Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error in all that it affirms(3).
1) Exodus 24:4; 2 Samuel 23:2; Jeremiah 1:9; Habakkuk 2:2; John 1:1; 1 Corinthians 2:13, 14:37; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13
2) Psalm 119:2, 105, 130; Matthew 24:35; Luke 11:28; Colossians 3:16; Romans 15:4; 1 Timothy 4:16; Hebrews 3:7-8, 4:12; 2 Peter 1:3; James 1:25
3) 2 Samuel 7:28; 1 Kings 17:24; Psalm 12:6, 33:4, 119:142, 160; Matthew 5:18; John 17:17; 2 Corinthians 6:7; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Timothy 2:15
ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS
People are the supreme object of God’s creation, made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character(1). Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are born into rebellion that the Bible calls sin. Due to sin, every person is spiritually dead, separated from God, and in need of salvation through Jesus Christ(2). Because of Jesus’ redemptive and sacrificial work on the cross, we are able to approach God, and understand the truths of God(3). We cannot earn or maintain salvation through our own efforts(4). All people who trust in Jesus Christ for salvation will inherit eternal life; and those who do not will experience the consequence of eternal punishment and separation from God(5).
1) Genesis 1:26-28, 5:1, 9:6; Colossians 3:10; 1 Corinthians 15:49; Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Peter 1:4 James 3:9
2) Isaiah 59:2; John 3:3-5; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 8:7; 2 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3
3) Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 1:4, 2:1-10, 4:22-24; 2 Peter 1:4
4) Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 4:1-6; Galatians 3:1-3
5) Matthew 25:46; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-9; Revelation 20:11-14
ABOUT SIN
Sin is rebellion against God(1). After Adam and Eve committed the first sin in the Garden of Eden, all humanity thereafter is born with a sin nature(2). This means that sin infects every aspect of our being, resulting in condemnation, physical and spiritual death, and separation from God (judgment)(3). In addition to our sin nature, everyone has personally committed their own sin against God as well(4). Because of the effects of sin in the world we experience brokenness, pain and suffering(5).
1) Genesis 3; Deuteronomy 9:7; Galatians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-6; 1 John 3:4
2) Genesis 6:4; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:3; James 1:14-15
3) Genesis 2:17; Isaiah 59:2; Ezekiel 18:20; Romans 3:10, 6:23; Galatians 6:7-8;
4) Ecclesiastes 7:20; Isaiah 53:6; Romans 3:23, 5:12; 1 John 1:8, 5:17; James 1:14-15, 4:17
5) Genesis 3:13-19; Psalm 88:15; Proverbs 1:24-27; Romans 8:20-21
ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is being saved from sin and the righteous judgment of God by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross and being given eternal life in Him(1). It is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it(2). Salvation is obtained by grace alone, through faith alone, in the work of Christ alone and not by our own good works(3). Salvation includes being accepted (adoption), being made new (regeneration), being made right (justification), being made holy (sanctification), and eventually being made perfect (glorification)(4). Salvation is available to everyone who receives the grace of Jesus Christ through faith and repentance(5).
1) Mark 16:16; John 3:16-18, 5:22-30, 9:39, 12:47-50; Romans 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
2) Romans 6:23; Acts 16:30-33
3) John 6:44, 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:20, 5:2; Ephesians 2:5,8-9; Titus 3:5
4) Galatians 3:26; Titus 3:5; Romans 3:24; Titus 3:7; Hebrews 10:14; Philippians 3:21
5) Mark 1:15; John 3:16, 6:28-29; Acts 2:38; Romans 1:16, 10:9; Hebrews 11:6; 1 John 5:1
ABOUT SANCTIFICATION
Sanctification is the process in which the Holy Spirit forms and shapes us into the image of Jesus Christ in all we do, think, and desire(1). It is the process by which we grow in our strength to repent from and resist sin by God’s grace, and this process continues throughout the Christian life(2). Sanctification is the result of salvation, not a cause or contributing factor to salvation(3).
1) John 17:17; Ephesians 4:20-24; Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:23;
2) 1 Timothy 4:6-10; Acts 20:32; Romans 6:11,19; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Philippians 3:13-14
3) Romans 6:1-11; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 2:9-10; Hebrews 10:14; Titus 3:5