Our Beliefs

We believe that the Bible, consisting of the 39 books of the Old Testament originally written in Hebrew and Aramaic and the 27 books of the New Testament originally written in Greek, is a specially and uniquely inspired word of God (2 Timothy 3:1616 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,). That is, God, by his Spirit, inspired human authors to write only and exactly what God intended, so that every word that they wrote is in fact the word of God (2 Peter 1:2121 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.). And since God is perfect and incapable of error or falsehood, the Bible is also perfect and does not contain any errors or falsehoods. The Bible alone, therefore, is our chief authority on what we must believe. Furthermore, we believe that the whole Bible reveals God’s plan of salvation for his people through his Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:44–4744 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.).

We believe that there is only one true and living God (Deuteronomy 6:44 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.), who exists eternally in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:1919 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,, 2 Corinthians 13:1414 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.). We call this “The doctrine of the Trinity.” God is eternally good and sovereignly in control of all things. In the beginning, God created the universe and all that is in it out of nothing by the word of his power (Genesis 1), and he continues to sustain all things by the word of his power (Hebrews 1:33 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,).

God created human beings, male and female, uniquely in his image (Genesis 1:2727 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.), to glorify him and enjoy him forever. The first human beings created were Adam and his wife, Eve, from whom all human beings descend (Genesis 2:77 Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature., Genesis 2:21–2221 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.). Adam and Eve sinned against God when they disobeyed his commandment not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:1–7). Sin thus entered into the world and corrupts all things (Romans 8:20–2120 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.), and every human being descended from Adam and Eve are born in sin (Romans 5:12–1412 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.). This means that every human being inherits Adam’s guilt and is unable not to sin themselves (Romans 3:10–1210 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”). Because every sin is against an infinite and eternal God, every human being is deserving of God’s eternal condemnation, wrath, punishment, and death (Romans 6:2323 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.).

In the first century AD, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save people from their sin (John 3:16 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. ). Jesus was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, who was a virgin at the time, and was born of her (Matthew 1:18–25) . We call this the “incarnation.” At the incarnation, God the Son, who existed from all eternity ( John 1:1–21 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. ), took on a full and perfect human nature ( John 1:1414 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.) so that he became, and continues to be, both fully God and fully man forever.

In his earthly life, he was like all human beings in every way, and was even tempted like us in every way, except that he was not born in sin, and did not inherit Adam’s guilt by virtue of the virgin birth. And so, though he was fully human like us, he was without sin, and was perfect in every way, perfectly obeying all of God’s will (Hebrews 4:1515 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.).

But Jesus did not come just to live a perfect life. He came to give his life to save sinners by dying the death that sinners deserve and taking God’s wrath and curse on himself as a substitute (Galatians 3:1313 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—) . And so, he was arrested, and tried as a criminal, though he had done nothing wrong, and was killed by crucifixion, the cursed form of death penalty reserved for the worst of sinners (Luke 23:4646 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.).

On the third day, Jesus was raised bodily and appeared to his disciples (John 20). His resurrection proves that he did not die as a sinner for his own sin, but as a substitute, and that his substitutionary sacrifice has been accepted by God (Romans 4:2525 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.). After spending 40 days with his disciples after his resurrection, he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:99 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.), where he now sits at God’s right hand (Hebrews 1:33 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,), and he has promised that he will return at the end of time to judge all the living and the dead (Acts 1:1111 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”; Acts 10:4242 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead.).

We are saved from our sins only by believing in Jesus Christ (John 3:1616 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life., Acts 4:1212 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.). When we believe in him, the Holy Spirit unites us with Jesus (Romans 8:10–1110 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.), so that his perfect righteousness is counted as ours (Romans 5:1919 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.), and our sins are counted as having been paid for by his death at the cross (2 Corinthians 5:2121 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.). We call this “justification,” which means that God declares someone righteous in his sight, as a “not guilty” verdict is rendered in a courtroom. We are justified before God only by faith in Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:15–1615 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ...).

This faith to believe in Jesus and be saved is given by God by grace alone (Ephesians 2:88 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,). By “grace” we mean “undeserved and unearned favor,” as in a free gift. God grants saving faith to sinners apart from anything we have done or will do to deserve it. The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts, and it is only by the work of the Holy Spirit that we can believe in Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:33 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.).

The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to us to work faith in us, is also the Spirit of his Son (Galatians 4:66 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”). And so, when we receive the Spirit of the Son, we are adopted as children of God into his family (Romans 8:15–1715 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.).

As children of God, we continue in this life as imperfect people who nevertheless by God's grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit become more and more holy in our thoughts and deeds (2 Corinthians 7:11 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.). We call this process of becoming more and more holy “sanctification,” which is a lifelong process that is never perfected in this life but continues until the day we die or Jesus returns.

When we die, our souls are temporarily separated from our bodies. The souls of those who have believed in Jesus Christ in this life go to be with Jesus in heaven, while the souls of those who have not believed and therefore remain in their sin go to hell (Luke 16:22–2322 The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.). When Jesus returns at the end of time, all who have died will be brought back to life for the final judgment and their souls will be reunited with their bodies (Daniel 12:22 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.). Those who had not believed will be sent to the torment of hell forever (Revelation 20:12–1512 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. ). Those who had believed will be given a glorified body (1 Corinthians 15:51–5351 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.) and will enjoy everlasting life in the presence of God forever (1 Thessalonians 4:1717 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.). God will remake all of creation (Revelation 21:55 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”), doing away with the corruption that has entered in with the coming of sin (Romans 8:19–2219 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.). There will, therefore, be no more suffering or death anymore (Revelation 21:44 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”).

God saves individuals but brings saved individuals into a family of people by adopting us as his children. This family of God we call the “Church,” and all believers are brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus Christ himself has instituted the church (Matthew 16:1818 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.) and is its head (Colossians 1:1818 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.). There is one universal church, consisting of all of God’s chosen people across all of time, which we call “the invisible church.” There is also what we refer to as “the visible church,” which consists of all people who profess faith in Jesus Christ and their children (1 Corinthians 7:1414 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.). The Church is to be governed on behalf of Christ by elected officers: pastors, elders, and deacons (Acts 6:1–6). A true church is one that rightly preaches and teaches God’s word, rightly administers the sacraments, and appropriately administers church discipline.

Sacraments are ordinances instituted by Christ which represent his grace to us. There are two sacraments: baptism (Matthew 28:1929 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,) and the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23–29). The sacraments are to be administered by an ordained minister of the word.

In baptism, God, by his Holy Spirit, signifies and seals to us the grace of the washing away of our sins (Acts 22:1616 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.), our being united to the Lord in his death and resurrection (Romans 6:3–43 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.), and being brought into God’s family (1 Corinthians 12:1313 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.). Baptism is to be received by those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and their children (Acts 2:38–3938 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”; 1 Corinthians 7:1414 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.).

In the Lord’s Supper, God, by his Holy Spirit, signifies and seals to us the grace of Christ’s body being broken and blood being shed for us (Matthew 26:26–2826 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the[a] covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.), and our souls receiving and being fed by him through faith (John 6:53–58). The Lord’s Supper is to be received by those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, have been baptized, and understand the significance of the Lord’s supper, after carefully examining themselves (1 Corinthians 11:27–2927 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.).