FOR THE COMMON GOOD

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Statement of Faith

Doctrine is important, and it’s important for a church to know and understand its articles of faith.

Foundation of Belief

I. THE WORD OF GOD – We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:21-22), inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will, and the supreme and final authority for church life.

II. THE TRINITY – We believe in one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; that they are equal in every divine quality, and that they perform distinct yet harmonious roles in the work of creation, providence, and redemption (Matthew 3: 16-17, 28:19-20)

III. GOD THE FATHER – We believe in God the Father, an infinite, timeless, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. (Romans 8:15-16). Though transcendent above us, He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men and women, hears and answers prayer, and saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.

IV. JESUS CHRIST – We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son (John 8:58), and has precisely the same nature, attributes, and qualities as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. He is not only true God, but true Man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:24-25). We believe in his sinless life (Hebrew 4:15), his substitutionary atonement (1 Peter 3:18), his bodily resurrection from the dead (John 20:27), his ascension into heaven (Luke 24:51), his priestly intercession on behalf of his people (Hebrews 4:15), and his personal, visible, return from heaven prior to the last judgment (John 14:6).

V. HOLY SPIRIT – We believe in the Holy Spirit, his personality and his work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation (Ephesians 1:13). His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living and service. We do not believe the Holy Spirit comes and goes, but that His indwelling continues unabated in every true believer. We can grieve the Spirit, but not send Him away (Ephesians 4:30).

VI. HUMANITY – We believe God created humanity, male and female, in the image of God and free from sin. We further believe all persons are sinners by nature and choice and are, therefore, spiritually dead (Romans 3:23, Ephesians 2:1-2). We also believe that the Holy Spirit regenerates those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior.

VII. SALVATION – We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, and was purchased by Christ on the cross, and is received through faith apart from any human merit, works, or ritual (Ephesians 2:8-10). We believe salvation results in righteous living, good works, and concern for the helpless and oppressed.

VIII. THE CHURCH – We believe that the church is the spiritual body of which Christ is the head and author, and is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have been immersed upon a credible confession of faith and have associated themselves for worship, instruction, evangelism, and service (Ephesians 4:11-13). The ordinances of the local church are baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19, Acts 8:38-39) and the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:23).

IX. SANCTIFICATION – We believe that the path to maturity as a believer in Christ is a long, slow obedience that is measured in progress over years rather than models of growth that promise instant or miraculous change attained in particular spiritual techniques (2 Peter 1:5-9). While growth produces life change and deeper character and obedience, not all change is outwardly visible or measurable by objective standards of accomplishment.

X. LAST THINGS – We believe Jesus will return to this earth near the end of time as the culmination of His kingdom on earth (2 Peter 3:13-14). We believe that at the end of time, God will summon a bodily resurrection of the saved and lost to a final judgment (Romans 2: 5, Hebrews 6:2). We believe in rewards, and punishments, and the eternal joy of the redeemed in regenerated bodies in heaven, as well as the eternal destruction of the lost in hell (Revelation 20:11-15). The eternal state of new heavens and the new earth will be the final triumph of the kingdom of God, and the end of the rebellion initiated by Satan and his followers (Revelation 20:10).

Our Statement of Faith is also included in our Church Constitution and linked here: Church Constitution