What We Believe
What you believe about God is very important, especially in these times when so many claim to be an authority in matters of faith. As a matter of fact, what you believe about God can determine whether you gain, or miss, heaven, or whether your Christian life is effective and helpful. Your understanding of God has a great influence on how you live every aspect of your life. When you come to a new church you ought to ask some specific questions, and then be able to hear some clear answers. You have every right and responsibility to ask the question, "What do you believe?" Another thing you will want to ask the leadership of any church is, "By what authority?" By what authority does any Christian, or any church, make the statements they make? You have the right to know. You have the responsibility to find out, especially if you are bringing your family to a new church.
BY WHAT AUTHORITY?
The authority for all matters of the Christian faith and life at this Church is the Bible.
We believe the Bible to be God's infallible Word for this age. We believe it is God-breathed, verbally inspired, and that by its precepts we can know about God's nature, God's expectations of us, God's plan for salvation and God's will in our lives. There are many other good spiritual books in the world; but not a single one of them is the Word of God for the human race. This we believe.
Another authority in our church is church tradition. However, we only accept those Christian traditions that are confirmed in the Bible. For this reason we say that we believe the teaching of the two great creeds of the Christian Church - The Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT SALVATION
We believe that human beings may gain salvation and forgiveness of sins only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and not by our good works. This is clearly what Jesus and the other writers of the New Testament taught. We believe that we are helpless to come to God without the calling and saving act of God on our behalf. All men and women are born in a state of sin and separation from God, unable to reach God or please God through their own works. Only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ can a person be saved from hell and the wrath of God, and be granted salvation and a permanent place in heaven. Jesus paid the price for our sin and offered salvation for all who would believe in Him through His suffering for us, His shed blood on the cross, and His death and resurrection from the dead. We believe that, by God's grace, we are saved through faith in Him, and not by our own works.
