The Bible is God's Word (2 Tim. 3:16)
The
Bible is our ultimate authority and compass for living. God breathed the words
of the Old and New Testament into the hearts of the authors, who through their
own personalities, recorded them without error. We read the Bible as normally
as we read any book, and we believe all of it and work to apply it in all areas
of life.
God
is Three In One (Matt. 28:20)
God is Three Persons but He is one
God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, each an uncreated person, one in essence,
equal in power and glory.
Jesus
is God’s Son and Our Savior (Matt. 1:18-23; Acts 2:36; Eph.1:15-23)
Jesus is fully God and fully human
except without sin. His sinless life, death in our place and bodily resurrection
paid for our sins. He ascended back to heaven and is now seated at the right
hand of God waiting to return.
Man
is Wonderful but Sinful (Gen.1:26-27; Rom. 3:10-18)
God created man to reflect Him, to
relate with Him and and one another and to rule earth for Him. God gave us
incredible gifts, abilities and worth. But Adam chose to rebel and now every
person is spiritually corrupt and relationally broken, helpless to remedy our
corrupt condition. We do many wonderful things, but we are unacceptable to God
in our rebellious state.
Rescue
Is By Grace Alone Through Faith Alone in Jesus Alone (Romans 3:21-26)
God freely removes our guilt, makes
us righteous and unconditionally accepts us when we trust in Jesus. Faith is a
personal persuasion, apart from our works, that the death and resurrection of
Jesus has delivered us from God’s wrath and provided our rescue. God cannot lie
and guarantees in Scripture that His rescue is eternal and unchanging.
The
Holy Spirit Lives Inside of Us (Eph.1:13-14; Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit comes to live inside
of us when we trust Jesus. He teaches us to love, makes our character more like
that of Jesus and empowers us to share the good news about Jesus with those who
do not yet believe in Him.
We
Live by Relationship Rather Than Rules (John 17:1-3; Eph. 1:3-23)
When we trust Jesus, God joins us to
Him and is as delighted with us as He is Jesus. He establishes a growing
relationship with us that starts to make us like Jesus from the inside out. We
learn to live by God’s kindness and goodness rather than by rule keeping. Life
becomes our quest to know Him and to make Him known.
The
Church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11-16)
The church is baptized believers in
Jesus who are His body on earth. The mission of the church is to connect with
the unconvinced everywhere so that we can help them become life long followers
of Christ.
Christ’s
Kingdom is Our Destiny (Heb. 12:28-29; Rev.19:11-22:6)
The Bible says that Jesus will rule
over an eternal kingdom on earth. He left us here to train to reign with Him in
that kingdom. Our present sufferings, opportunities and responsibilities all
help develop us to be future rulers. Jesus will come in the air and take His
followers to be with Him and to reward them. He will then judge the unbelievers
on earth for seven years. After that He will return to earth with His people
and rule for 1,000 years. When that kingdom ends, Jesus will resurrect and
judge all the unbelieving dead. They will all be condemned to eternity in Hell.
He will then make a new heaven and a new earth where He and His people shall
reign forever.
