• In essential beliefs - we have _UNITY_.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through
the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit--
just as you were called to one hope when you were
called-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and
Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Eph 4:3-6
• In non-essential beliefs - we have _LIBERTY_.
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing
judgment on disputable matters. Who are you to judge
someone else's servant? To his own master he stands
or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make
him stand. So then, each of us will give an account of
himself to God. Romans 14:1,4,12
• In all our beliefs - we show _CHARITY_.
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that
can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:2
WHAT ARE OUR CORE BELIEFS?
• The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of
God. It is our final authority in all matters of faith and
practice. John 17:17, 2 Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:20-21
• God exists eternally as a Trinity - Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit - in unity, without division in nature,
essence, or being - three Persons and yet one God.
Deut 6:4, Matt 28:19, 2 Cor 13:14
• God the Father reigns with providential care and
by sovereign grace over His universe. He is Father in
truth to all who have become children of God through
faith in Jesus Christ. Gen 1:1; Isa 45:5-7; Matt 6:26-30,
Eph 1:8
• Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity,
God the Son, the only begotten Son of God, the Son of
Man, the only Savior, begotten by the Holy Spirit and
born of the virgin Mary in order to reveal God and
redeem sinful man. He suffered and died as a
substitutionary payment for the sins of the whole
world, was buried, rose again after three days, is now
exalted at the right hand of the Father, and is coming
again to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Luke
1:30-55, John 1:1-18, 14:6, Acts 2:18-36, Phil 2:5-8
• The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity
Who convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and
judgment. He is the Agent in regeneration, revealing
Jesus to be the only hope of salvation, baptizing all
believers into the body of Christ, indwelling them at the
moment of salvation, and sealing them until the day of
redemption. He gives spiritual gifts to believers for the
building of the church, enables them to mature
toward the fullness of Christ, and empowers them for
godly living and service. John 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; I Cor 2:
12-14, I Cor 12&14; Eph 1:13-14
• Man was created in the image of God but fell
through Sin, bringing not only physical death, but also
spiritual death, which is eternal separation from God.
Now all of mankind exists as a fallen race with an
inherited sinful nature. Gen 2:16, 3:16-19, Rom 3:10-23,
5:12, 6:23
• Salvation is a gift from God, offered freely to
sinful man by His grace and received by personal faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on
Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. To be saved
from the penalty of sin and receive the gift of eternal
life, man must be born again spiritually, trusting Jesus
Christ alone as Savior. John 3:3-7; Acts 4:12; Eph 1:7,
2:8-9
• All the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's
power and are thus Secure in Christ forever. John 6:37-
40, 10:27-30; Rom 8:38-39; I Pet 1:4-5
