(Some Of) What We Believe
What follows is a representative list of what we present as our core Christian beliefs, as taught by the Bible and the historic creeds of Christianity, though this list is not necessarily comprehensive or complete, and we freely confess that our clearest understanding of these truths is limited to God's teaching of them in the Bible, and that all else beyond that is mystery and beyond us:
Section 1: The Bible
We believe that the Bible was clearly communicated to humanity by God moving through human authors, and as such is His Word to us: perfect, complete, divinely inspired and infallible, the clear authority for the Christian's life and faith.
Section 2: God
We believe that God is eternally and mysteriously Triune, one God existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinguishable but indivisible, sharing the same divine nature.
Section 3: People
We believe that the first people were originally created in the image of God, with free wills, to live in relationship with Him, but chose to disobey and reject God, bringing separation from God, a marring of God's image ("total depravity") and a sentence of spiritual and physical death not only for themselves, but for all of humanity, a problem which humanity cannot and will never be able to fix on its own in any way.
Section 4: Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal second person of the Trinity, is the unique Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and as such fully God and fully human at the same time. By His perfect life of love, teaching and miracles, He was the full revelation of God to people, and He died on the cross in obedience to God the Father's plan in order to pay the full price of humanity's disobedience and make a way to restore the relationship between God and people that had been broken. Rising from the dead, He later ascended to heaven, and is now representing His people and interceding for them with God the Father. He will one day return to earth to fully establish God's Kingdom of joy, love and peace.
Section 5: Salvation
We believe that God eagerly desires all those who have not turned their lives over to Him to do so, and that anyone who does is saved from spiritual death and hopelessness by His incredible grace, as they turn from their own ways and put their full trust in Him. We further believe that in doing so, they are spiritually transformed by the Holy Spirit, adopted by God as His own children and given right standing with Him, all because of the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf. Finally, we believe that this choice has eternal consequences, and for those who accept His grace, God will give the gift of life with Him forever. However, for those who continue to refuse God's offer of love and grace, even as He continues to do everything possible to reveal Himself to people and see them saved from spiritual death, that the Bible clearly teaches that there will be those who finally do reject Him, and the horrible consequence of their rejection will be eternal separation from God and punishment.
Section 6: The Church
We believe that God has established a community of all those who belong to Christ, and that Christians are deeply connected to Him and to each other by the Holy Spirit. This community is locally expressed in groups of Christians gathering regularly for prayer, worship, instruction, encouragement, accountability, mutual service and mission, as they live out Christ's call to bring His love to all people. Practices of the Church include water baptism for those who have given their lives to God anew, and the celebration together of the Lord's Supper, in order to remember the life and death of Christ for each of them, all as modeled by the church of the Book of Acts.
Section 7: The Christian Life
We believe that Christians are called by God to follow the example of Christ: to live lives of love marked by generosity, compassion, joy, grace, and a desire for justice, as they resist temptation and evil in all their forms. Christians are helped in this by the Holy Spirit living in them, who guides them, empowers them and transforms them more each day to be like Christ. When they fail, they are able to receive forgiveness by God's grace once more and continue to live for Him. We further believe that as part of God's empowering of every Christian, that He gives each one various "gifts" - God-enabled abilities beyond their own capabilities and experience, given for them to serve and help each other. We also believe that God empowers Christians to boldly demonstrate His love and truth through an experience given in His timing to those who desire it - the "baptism" of the Holy Spirit, a demonstrated overflowing of God in one's heart and life. Finally, we believe that God is able, and does heal people both spontaneously and over time as a demonstration of His continuing love and power in the world.
Of course, the trick is to live all of this out consistently.
