What We Believe
We believe the Bible is the all-sufficient rule of faith for Christians. We try to follow the Scriptures without adding to them or taking away from them. Ephesians 4:4-7 lists seven grand themes which we see as essential Christian beliefs:
- One Body: The one body is the group of people who have been saved by God's grace through Christ's blood (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:24).
- One Spirit: Romans 8:9-11 tells us that God's Spirit living within us is a sign that we belong to God. Without this indwelling presence, we are still in the world.
- One Hope: Our one hope is that the promises of God are sure and true. Eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and transformational living are all God-given promises made possible by "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).
- One Lord: Jesus the Christ is the fulfillment of all Scripture (John 5:39); He is our perfect sacrifice for sin (John 1:29); He is our mediator with God (1 John 2:1); He is Lord, He commands us and our destiny (Philippians 2:9-11).
- One Faith: The faith we profess is that righteousness (right-standing in the eyes of God) comes from faith in the Gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16ff), that faith is perfected and evidenced in our submissive obedience to Christ (James 2:14-26). We are not saved by our good deeds, we do good works because we've been saved (Ephesians 2:10).
- One Baptism: Immersion is not an action that obligates God to save us (i.e., it's not a good work that earns our way into heaven), but is the only way the Bible tells us we can be put into Christ (Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27), to enter God's kingdom (John 3:5), to gain the Holy Spirit and the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Being baptized is an act of submissive faith to God's plan of salvation (Acts 6:7; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-8).
- One God and Father of all, over all, through all, in all: God has no equal in heaven or earth (Isaiah 40:18, 28; 43:10; 44:6, 8). He is awesome, worthy, and beyond comprehension. We serve Him, we draw near to Him and He draws near to us (James 4:8).