What We Believe

= Pointer to Scripture reference.

God, Jesus, Holy Spirit

God - We believe that there is only one God,1 who has three different parts: God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God created the world and everything in it.2 He created mankind for His pleasure and He desires that we have fellowship with Him. God is a jealous God,3 and He does not want us to have any other gods, nor does he want us to create manmade images (idols)4 and worship them.

Jesus - We believe that Jesus is the Christ,5 the only begotten Son of the Living God,6 and that He himself is God.7 Jesus was miraculously born into this world to a virgin, and during his ministry on earth He taught the will of God. He died on a cross for our sins, was buried and dead for three days, then conquered Satan and death by rising from the dead. Jesus then ascended back to His Father and is preparing a place for us called heaven. We believe that someday He will return to take the saved to heaven.8

The only way a person can be saved is by believing that Jesus is the Savior for mankind and submitting to His Lordship. There is no other person on earth, nor deeds that can be done, that can save us.9

Holy Spirit - We believe that God lives inside Christians in the form of the Holy Spirit.10 The Holy Spirit guides and comforts us and helps us to know the will and desire of God.11 He gives us strength to do things that we could not ordinarily do. He also intercedes on our behalf to God the Father in our prayers.12

However, we have freedom to quench the Holy Spirit13 by refusing to listen. And when we consciously allow sin to reign in our hearts and minds, we push the Holy Spirit away.

The Bible

The Bible is the complete basis for our belief in God. We believe It to contain the accurate historical word of God: we believe in the miracles of both the Old and New Testaments. The Bible explains the will of God and contains all we need to know to be pleasing and acceptable to God.14

We use the Bible as the source of answers to all of our questions regarding religious matters. We recognize that many have twisted the scriptures to prove their own points, but we believe that one can honestly read the Bible and understand what God wants. The Bible should be read as a whole and complete document, and we believe that most errors in understanding come from taking parts of the Word and ignoring other parts. The entire Bible is compatible with itself.

We believe the written Bible that we have today to be the accurate recordings that God intends for us to have. The Bible is infallible, it has no mistakes. We believe that any person who teaches contrary to the Bible is contrary to God, and should be ignored. We believe that where the Bible has specifically addressed a topic, we should strive to completely comply with what God has said. However, where the Bible is silent, we teach that the Christian has freedom to make their own decisions.

We do not believe that God has any additional revelations or teachings that are not contained in the Bible. We also believe that since the Holy Spirit is God and the Bible is God’s word, the two do not conflict. The Holy Spirit will never lead a person to do something contrary to Biblical teachings.

Because we take the Bible as our only source of knowledge, we use it explicitly to justify our beliefs.

Heaven

The ultimate goal of every Christian is to spend eternity with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit in heaven. Heaven is our final resting place where there will be no more pain or sorrow.

Sin/Hell

Sin is defined as failing to be everything that God desires us to be. It is doing wrong. It is going against God and his plan. The Bible clearly teaches that many things are sin,15 and that because of this sin we can not be in the presence of God.

God has prepared a place for Satan and his demons,16 called hell. It is a place of fire and eternal torment.17 It is the destiny of all people who do not follow Christ.

Salvation

Sin separates us from God, as demonstrated in the garden of Eden by Adam and Eve when they disobeyed God and had to leave the garden. Salvation is a gift from God that allows us to again commune and come into His presence. Our salvation is possible only because Jesus paid the price for our sins by dying on a cross; therefore, our sins are forgiven. That is why Jesus is called our Savior.18

However, salvation is not forced upon mankind. It can only be accepted by submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. If we want to be forgiven, we must allow Him to be the king of our lives, and we must obey His commands and desires. Salvation is a two-part process: God’s part was sending his Son into the world to die, and the Bible identifies several basica things on our part that must be done.

FAITH: It is necessary to believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that he died for our sins.19 However, faith is more than mere belief, faith is so strong of a belief that it results in actions. We demonstrate our belief and trust in Jesus as Savior in the works we do for Him.

CONFESSION: We must acknowledge that we have sinned and need Jesus as our Savior.20 We recognize that we are sinners, and we confess our belief in Jesus as Lord, both verbally and by our actions.21

REPENTANCE: Repentance is required.22 Repentance means turning away from sin and living for God. Christians are to have an attitude that disdains sin. We consciously make the effort to stop sinning, and make every effort to avoid evil – even the appearances of evil.23 God wants us to forsake ourselves and our desires, and instead to seek His better ways.

BAPTISM: Baptism24 is the act of being immersedb in water, and is the point where a person becomes a Christian.25 This symbolic act is when our sins are washed away, and the Bible states that "baptism saves us."26 It is at this point that a person contacts the blood of Jesus and receives the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – at this point the water, the blood, and the Spirit are one.

A person should understand the commitment they are making when they choose to submit to Christ in baptism and receive forgiveness of sins. As such, we do not baptize infants. We do not have a set age at which a person may be baptized, instead each individual must decide for themselves.

LIVING FOR GOD – Once a person becomes a Christian, they continue to believe and profess Jesus, and they still confess and repent from sins. Baptism is the culmination of the salvation process, however, it is not the climax, but instead is merely the beginning of a life based on serving Christ.

The term Christian means follower of Christ. The primary purpose of a Christian is to worship God. The secondary purpose is to witness to the lost world and show them the way of salvation. Everything else in life is sacrificed to accomplish the will of God.

Church Membership

The Lord adds to the church those who follow His plan as described above.27 The Bible makes it clear that these things are absolutely required for a person to be saved and to gain entrance to heaven. Although the Bible also identifies other things that may occur in the life of a Christian, there are no other requirements for salvation. We do not allow any other teaching that demands additional signs to prove that one has been saved.

Therefore our congregation does not have any additional requirements for membership in the church of Christ, or to prove that they are Christians. If a person comes from another congregation, we welcome them as fellow saints if they state that they have followed the steps described above.

FRUITS – The Bible lists several fruits, or characteristics, that a Christian will demonstrate as the result of having the Holy Spirit living in them. Members are expected to practice love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.28

MISSION – Jesus has commanded us as Christians to go into all of the world and take the gospel to every person.29 Within this congregation, we individually recognize this as our personal mission to reach out to the lost souls around us. As a congregation, we support missionaries who go into foreign countries or even into places in America where the gospel needs to be taken.

COMMUNION – Jesus asked that we remember his death in a service we call "the Lord’s supper" or "communion." Jesus took fruit of the vine and said that it would commemorate His blood shed for us. He told us that the bread would represent His body that was broken for us. The early church practiced this tradition, and we continue it to this day each Sunday.30

We are told to examine ourselves before we partake of the communion elements. We believe that any person who recognizes the body and the blood of the Lord is welcome to participate in this service.