My Statement of Faith

1. I believe that God is completely sovereign, all knowing, perfect in holiness, infinite in power, and abounding in love. He has revealed himself to us in three persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Our triune God is one and there is no other god besides him. 2. I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God. I believe in his miraculous birth, his perfect life, his all-sufficient atoning death and glorious resurrection.Jesus ascended the highest place. Jesus is the King and kings and Lord of lords. His Kingdom will last forever. One day every living creature will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 3. I believe the Holy Spirit lives in all Christians. The Spirit’s purpose is to glorify Christ in us. The Spirit convicts us of sin and draws us to Jesus. He comforts, guides, and empowers Christians to understand the mind of Christ and obey the will of God. The Spirit distributes spiritual gifts and helps us bear good fruit. 4. I believe the church belongs to Christ. The church is spiritually united as one body with Christ as the head. There are no denominational, geographical, ethic/racial, or gender barriers in the body of Christ. We are all one in Christ and we must make every effort to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 5. I believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Christ. Salvation is a free gift from God to man. It cannot be obtained or maintained by good works. I believe that justification is the saving action of God where he declares sinners righteous by our faith in Jesus Christ. 6. I believe that everyone who confesses the name of the Lord should turn away from sin. Since we have a sinful nature that cannot change and must die, we should repent of sin and obey the Lord. Repenting of sin and obeying the Lord are evidences of our faith, not the basis of our salvation. Our obedience is an expression of our love and gratitude and is empowered by the Holy Spirit. 7. I believe that the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper should be observed faithfully as God intended. Baptism represents identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is open to all believers and is a time to commune with the living Christ and his church. The bread represents his body and the wine represents his blood. 8. I believe the Bible is the infallible, authoritative word of God. The Bible is our only standard of truth for all Christian beliefs and practices. 9. I believe that Jesus will return - Since the return of Christ is imminent we should teach the gospel to the lost with urgency. 10. I believe that love for God and people should be our motivation for everything we do. People will know that we are Christians when we love God and people like Jesus Christ loved us. Without love we cannot benefit from any of the beliefs above.