We’re a Bible-believing church in the evangelical Protestant tradition. As evangelical Christians, we’re happy to allow a range of beliefs at Christ Church about certain things (for example, you’ll find that folks at Christ Church take different positions on the presence of supernatural sign gifts for today, or questions concerning the last things). These beliefs we keep in an “open hand.” We want our members to take biblically informed positions, but we recognize that Christians can agree to disagree on these and other non-essential issues.
However, there are other points of teaching and belief that we hold in a “closed hand.” These are the core beliefs of historic, orthodox Christianity, the things the Bible is very clear on. These truths we prize and build our lives upon, holding them passionately and firmly. Among these beliefs are the inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, the doctrine of the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, justification by faith, and the personal, visible return of Jesus at the end of time.
In our Statement of Faith below, you’ll see the biblical teachings we hold to and prize together as a church.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, complete in the 66 books of the Bible, to be the only inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation, and the supreme and final authority in all matters to which they speak.
We believe in One God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that these are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, divine guidance, and redemption.
We believe in God the Father, the sovereign, eternal, personal Spirit, omnipotent and omnipresent, unchanging, perfect in Holiness, Wisdom, Justice and Love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer and that He saves from sin and spiritual death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s Eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only True God, but True Man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin, Mary. We believe that in the Incarnation He surrendered only the prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine Essence, either in degree of kind. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement by His shed blood, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible return from heaven.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, His divine personality and His work in regeneration, sanctification, and preservation. His is a Divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same Nature. His ministry is to convict of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness. We believe that He is the Author of the Holy Scriptures. He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony. He is the life-giving agent of the New Birth, bringing God close to us through His indwelling presence within the believer. He seals, empowers, guides, comforts, teaches, sanctifies, and helps the believer.
We believe God created man, male and female, in the image of God, for the purpose of enjoying fellowship with Him and exercising dominion over His created order. Created free from sin, man voluntarily disobeyed God and fell from his sinless and happy state, in consequence of which all mankind is now of a sinful nature, and they sin, not by constraint, but by choice, and are therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse, resulting in both spiritual and physical death. We also believe that those who repent of sin and turn to Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, reconciled to God, and restored to true fellowship with Him.
We believe in salvation by grace through Jesus Christ. This salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God and was purchased through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, by the shedding of His blood on the cross and is received by man through faith apart from any human merit, works or ritual. This free gift is available to any person who will repent of sin, believe and receive Jesus Christ. We further believe that anyone who trusts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is immediately indwelt by the Holy Spirit, has a right standing before God, has received eternal life, and will be kept in his salvation by the power of God forever.
We believe that the Church is the spiritual Body of which Christ is the head. We believe that the True Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe that this Body expresses itself in local assemblies whose members have named Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and have associated themselves for the purpose of glorifying God through worship, instruction in God’s Word, evangelism, service, and the building up of the saints. We believe the ordinances of the local Church are Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that God gives unique and spiritual gifts to each member of the Body of Christ. We also believe that it is scriptural for local assemblies of the True Church to cooperate with each other for the purpose of contending for the Faith, mutual edification and the furtherance of the Gospel.
We believe that Believer’s Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. That it is an ordinance entered into after one has received the free gift of salvation. We believe that participation in believer’s baptism is commanded by Scripture.
We believe that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ, and a proclamation of His death on the cross. We believe that the observance of this ordinance should not be taken lightly, that each individual should examine themselves so that they do not take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Instituted by the Lord himself, we join in the Lord’s Supper in order to express our association with and acceptance of, Jesus Christ as Savior.
We believe that the supreme task of every believer is to glorify God in their life. We believe that a desire to be obedient to the Word of God will be found in every believer, and that through the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God. The believer should become more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ, yearning to realize for themselves the full stature of maturity in Christ.
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Saved and the Lost. The righteous will rise to eternal life in heaven, and the unrighteous will rise to eternal condemnation, punishment, and separation from God in hell.
We believe that Satan was an angel who once enjoyed heavenly honors. Through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, he fell and drew after him a host of angels. He is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world. We hold him to be man’s great tempter, the enemy of God and His Christ, the accuser of the Saints, the ruler of all false religions, the chief power in back of the present apostasy, the lord of the anti-christ, and the ruler of all powers of darkness. We believe however, that he was defeated at the cross of Christ and there doomed to an eternal justice in Hell, the place prepared for him and his angels.