Our Statement of Faith seeks to explain what Christianity is in its most basic terms. The following 7 articles describe what it means to say we have “faith in” or “believe in” Jesus.
1) God. We believe in one God who created all things out of nothing and made them good, who eternally exists in three persons: the Father, Son, and Spirit. He is a God of glory—altogether holy, powerful, majestic, and loving—the superlative of all that is good. There is none like him, and he alone is worthy of all worship and adoration.
2) Revelation. We believe that God created the world so that he could be known abundantly and enjoyed supremely. While God displays his character in all he has made, he more clearly reveals himself in the writings of the Old and New Testaments. These writings possess God’s own authority and are sufficient for knowing God and his redemptive plan. Ultimately, both creation and these writings point to Jesus Christ as God’s eternal Son who descended from Heaven, clothed himself in mortal flesh, and lived among us in order to make the Father known. Jesus Christ—who is fully God and fully man—is the ultimate revelation of God to us.
3) Sin. We believe that although humanity was created good, our ancient representative, Adam, chose to sin against God. As a result, every human now has a sin nature; left to ourselves we cannot cease straying from God. In various ways, we all reject God and go our own way, giving the allegiance and affection due to him to our selfish pursuits and godless pleasures. Our sin corrupts creation and provokes God’s curse, resulting in widespread chaos, disorder, hardship, suffering, and death. In short, our sin dishonors our Creator and consequently ruins his good creation. Therefore, every man and woman lives under God’s justified anger, deserving only damnation in Hell forever.
4) Redemption. We believe that God rescued humanity from this terrible judgment through his eternal plan to send Jesus Christ into the world. Jesus came to earth as a man to represent sinful humanity before the Holy God. On the cross, Jesus secured the forgiveness that he proclaimed by subjecting himself to scorn and humiliation, suffering under the wrath of God as he died on the cross. As our substitute, Jesus paid every debt, canceled every charge, atoned for every trespass, met every demand, and fulfilled every righteous requirement for all who are united to him. For them, Jesus secured the promise of life, peace, and joy in everlasting fellowship with God by rising on the third day—victorious over sin, death, and Hell itself. By securing this great redemption, Jesus earned a name that is above every name and gained all authority in heaven and on earth. Jesus now exercises this authority in support of his redeemed people as they advance his kingdom.
5) Faith. We believe that faith alone unites us to Jesus Christ and includes us in his work of redemption. Saving faith includes (1) accepting the historical facts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection; (2) comprehending the meaning of Jesus’s work: that he alone accomplished God’s plan of redemption; and (3) joyfully resting in Jesus’s redeeming work for us particularly. Our faith proves that we are born of God’s Spirit, who makes us new creatures and fills us with Jesus’s resurrection life. By the power of this new birth, we oppose all our remaining sin and display a new, glad-hearted devotion to God that overflows in sacrificial acts of love toward him and other people.
6) The Church. The faith that unites us individually to Jesus also unites us to his body, the Church, a worldwide community of Spirit-filled believers. Our common faith makes us one people: God’s kingdom on earth. Therefore, we join with a local expression of this body to live together under God’s authority and love. Together, we submit ourselves to his Word, devote ourselves to his ways, and celebrate the ordinances given by Christ to the Church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Through these things, the Church preserves and advances the gospel of Jesus Christ until He comes again.
7) Last Things. We believe that Jesus will soon return to finally and fully establish God’s kingdom on the earth. All humanity, living and dead, will answer to God, and God will make all wrongs right. In so doing, God will justly punish unrepentant sinners to eternal death, banishing all evil to Hell forever. God will also reward all who practice righteousness brought about by faith in Jesus and the work of the Spirit. Heaven and earth will be remade into an eternal home free from all sin, sadness, sickness, injustice, and death. There, God’s people will enjoy the fullness of God’s beauty and love in covenant union with him forever.
