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Statement Of Faith

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We have been a bit reluctant in the past to post such a “statement of faith”.  The reason is not for the lack of one but rather:

1. Many simply copy and paste such statements.

2. Most don’t teach the very ‘statements’ they post.

3. As a church we desired the Holy Spirit to draw people in order to make sure the foundation of this work is in the Lord and not ‘us’ attempting to convince people to come to our church.

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If one were concerned about our doctrinal understanding we would merely reference such classic works as the Westminster Confession.  With such we are in full agreement save comments on predestination.  We do not hold to a Reformed understanding of Predestination.  We believe man has a freewill because the Scriptures constantly appeal to that freewill.  Yet, for the shorter catechism you can visit shortercatechism.com. 

 

As a church, we have found that emphasis is the real issue.  And thus we believe a better ‘statement’ is to answer the question: What do we emphasize?

 

We emphasize:

1. Jesus Christ is God of very God who humbled himself to nothing more than a man, sin apart, dependent upon His Father, commonly called ‘humility’, as a perfect sin offering for the redemption of mankind, to the glory of His Father.

2. Man is utterly hopeless and unable to redeem, reform, or regenerate himself.  It is only through the cross of Christ, both as an event that happened and a life to be lived, that man has that “hope of glory” by which he must be saved.

3. The Life that we live is to be a supernatural life for one reason—it is nothing less than the very Life of Jesus Christ Himself living in us by the impartation of His Divine Spirit.  For this reason we do not teach Christianity, but we preach Christ Himself; for He is the Christianity we profess.

4. It is our Love for one another as a result of our mutual submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ that makes us a church.  A church cannot be formed through the efforts or machinations of man. A crowd can.  But, the church is a Divine organism that expresses itself through the unifying unction of the Holy Spirit whose language is prayer and whose function is Love (not sentimentalism, but Love yielding itself toward God for others).   We believe our obedient Love one to another is the greatest sign of our maturity in Christ.

5. The Scripture is not a book to be taught simply as text.  It is to be taught doctrinally-correct and with sound exposition, but the emphasis in such teaching is to be under the leading of the Holy Spirit whereby He quickens everything that pertains to life.

6. It is our submission to His Lordship that avails us of who He is.  Saving is what He does, Lord is Who He is.  Thus, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is foundational and fundamental to any understanding of His nature.

7. The Grace of God is not there for us to sin. It is rather available to live a life we could never live on our own.  Such a life will simply glorify Him.

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Culturally Relevant Statements:

1. The Emergent Church is a false belief system which has gained momentum through pluralistic, non-definitive teachings and approaches within the church itself.  It is the result of a generation of young people growing up in what they were told was the “legitimate church” but devoid of the power of God. Absent were any real evidences of His existence. This, mixed with the hypocrisy of unchanged lives by people claiming to be the people of God, produced wide-spread disillusionment. With no firm foundation to be found, searching for answers, young people began to question everything.  Sadly, this included the Scriptures as well.  Even more tragic—the Emergent Church  it is a self-condemned movement in and of itself.

2. We believe the Church Growth Movement has undermined the spiritual work that God alone can do. It is largely responsible for the Emergent Church due to its lack of emphasis on Scripture and focusing on human effort to accomplish God’s plan.  Using human resources—referred to as flesh in the Scripture—to create human momentum, it creates hype but does not produce Spiritual life.  Such works will be revealed in the Day of Christ.

3. We believe the family is the core of society.  When the family breaks down, so does the society.  Marriage is the core of the family.  Homes are to be the garden in which children are allowed to grow. A place in which they learn love, honor, and respect.  This being the case, Christ Jesus must be a welcome and active occupant in the home if mom and dad are going to survive.  Godly marriage is the key. And a Godly marriage is between one man and one woman.  Clearly, these views are not based on current culture, but rather the Scripture that we hold as the basis of all doctrine and duty.

4. We do not believe in Universalism; the heretical teaching everyone goes to heaven.  The fact that Jesus died “for all” speaks of His sufficiency.  But His efficiency is seen in the fact that He died “for many”.  A person is only saved in and through Jesus Christ.  If they are not saved in and through Jesus Christ, they are not saved.

5. The Church in America is largely apostate.  Although professing great things, they do not posses great things.  The current political and social condition can be attributed, in part, directly to the western church. An entity whose focus has shifted from building the kingdom of God to merely buildings.  If you build it, they will come, but they will be carnal.  We believe if the American church was truly persecuted, it would either crumble or conform overnight.  We are called to be salt and light, not spice and dazzle. That which reveals and preserves, not that which panders and pleads for money.

6. We believe any preacher that places the emphasis on money is false.  This becomes evident in numerous NT passages, namely 2 Peter 2:3.  And therefore any “teacher” that routinely begs for money is false, not merely because of what he is saying—what he is saying may be true—but he is false because he himself is false. He really doesn’t believe what it is that he is teaching.

7. We believe these are the last days before the imminent coming of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Therefore we live our lives in holy fear, trying to be upright, good men with the hope and desire of preserving the community in which we live.  Our message of repentance is for the preservation, not the destruction of any people.  In love, we warn.

 

 

If you would like, we have provided a full range of Bible studies online for free.  They are for your encouragement and growth in our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.  If you have any specific doctrinal questions or concerns, we are more than happy to answer any questions honestly asked.

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