GIVE

WHAT WE BELIEVE

Essentials

Our Essentials identify who God is and what God is doing in the world. They are affirmed by historic and contemporary creeds, and are agreed upon by Christians around the world, regardless of their nation of origin, denominational background, or social location.

01 The Bible

God has revealed himself and his promises in the Bible, which consists of the 66 books of Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible is, in its entirety, the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible is completely relevant today for every area of the human experience because it is living and active. It is the exclusive authority for faith and lifestyle. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice. It is to be believed, practiced, trusted & hoped in. It is always more accurate than our own thoughts, feelings and opinions. (1 Cor. 2:12-13; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:12; 2 Pet. 1:19-21; 2 Pet 3:15-16; Luke 21:33, 24:44; Romans 15:4; 1 Peter 1:25)

Father/Trinity – There is only one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is immortal, eternal, and perfectly and exhaustively knows the end from the beginning. He is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Savior and Judge. (Ex. 3:14-15; Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43:10, 11; Matt. 28:18-20; Jn. 8:58; 2 Cor. 13:14; Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 3:16-17; John 14:16-17, 16:23-27;; Galatians 4:4-6; Isaiah 48:12-13, 17)

Son – The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Holy Spirit, yet of the same substance, two natures in One person (divine and human). He is coeternal with the Trinity, not a created being. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. At no point in his life did Jesus lack anything required to complete his ministry. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood and reconciling to God all those who believe. He rose bodily from the dead and so was vindicated by his Father. He broke the power of death and defeated Satan, and brought everlasting life to all his people. In his resurrection body he ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father where He is the only One who is able to provide access and reconciliation between God and people. Salvation is in and through the Lord Jesus Christ alone. (Mk. 16:19; 3:16; 20:1-2; Hebrews 2:17; Gal. 4:4 Phil. 2:8-11; 1 Pet. 3:21-22; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 24:1-8; John 1:1-5, 1:14, 3:16, 3:18, 11:25-26, 14:6-7, 14:9-11; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4, 5:8-11, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-25; Titus 2:11-14)

Holy Spirit – We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, Counselor and Helper sent for believers. He is a distinct person from the Father and the Son, God of God, sent by the Father to equip the Body of Christ with grace for work. In all he does, he glorifies Christ.The Holy Spirit is received once at salvation and remains with us, assisting in our weaknesses by enabling us to live victorious, bold, Christ-like lives. The Spirit inspired all Scripture and speaks through Scripture today. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and, while believers still battle personal and corporate sin, the Spirit progressively produces in believers increasing likeness to Christ. He gives gifts to build up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission. We believe in the diversity of gifts given by the Spirit for the common good of the church, that they are operating today, and should be eagerly pursued. (John. 14:16-26; Rom. 8:9, 26; Eph. 4:30;. John 15:26, 16:5-15; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31)

All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. Adam and Eve, our first parents, rebelled against God and plunged themselves and their offspring into ruin. Any disobedience to God, regardless of how large or small, is characterized as “sin.” Sin literally separates each person from God, which is spiritual death. Because of Adam’s sin, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. As every man, woman and child has fallen short of the glory of God through sin, we are all therefore under the just condemnation of God and need to be reborn, justified, forgiven, reconciled to God in Christ in order to know and please him. (Ge. 1:26, 27; 2:17; 3:6-24; Rom. 3:23, 5:12-19).

We believe the blood of Jesus Christ, shed on the cross, provides the only way of salvation through the forgiveness of sin. Salvation occurs when people place their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus as sufficient payment for their sin and as a redeeming of the created order of God. Salvation is a gift from God and it cannot be earned through our own efforts. Through Christ the believer becomes a new creation whose mind and will are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit from loving sin, to loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving all people as we love ourselves. (Isaiah 1:18, 53:5-6, 55:7, Matthew 1:21, 22:37-38, 27:22-28:6, 28:18-20, Acts 1:8, 2:21, 4:12, 16:30-31, 17:30-31, Romans 1:16-18, 3:23-25, 5:8-10, 6, 8, 10:9-10, 13, 1 Corinthians 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, Galatians 2:20, 3:13, Ephesians 2:8-22, Philippians 2:12-13, Hebrews 9:24-28, 1 John 1:6-2:11, Revelation 3:20)

We believe that the Church is the Body & Bride of Jesus Christ, who is its Head & Groom. It is made visible in local churches, which are central to the saving plan of God, and are led by godly, accountable elders. They are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and reaching the lost. They are to engage in pastoral care and discipline, mutual love and encouragement, to call all people to repentance and faith in the gospel of Christ, and to equip believers for world mission, mercy, and justice. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel. The Church is being built up and made into the Bride of Christ, fully matured and presentable at Jesus’s Second Coming. We believe the Church is a pillar of truth to the world because of the abiding story and presence of Jesus as mediated by the Holy Spirit. (Mt. 16:18; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-17; 5:25-27; Rev. 2-3; Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38-41, 42-47; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:24-25, 13:17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 12:12-13; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9)

The Lord Jesus Christ will personally and bodily return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. Those who live by faith in Christ will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God in the promised New Creation. We believe that those who reject God’s offer of grace and forgiveness will be raised and judged in the resurrection of the wicked and given over to eternal conscious punishment in the Lake of Fire along with the devil and his angels for all eternity. God will make all things new and will be glorified in all things forever. The imminent coming of Christ should inspire godly living and commitment to the mission of the Gospel. (Isa. 65:17; Mt. 24:30; Acts 1:11; 1 Cor. 15:50-55; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 19:11-22). Revelation 20:15, 21, 22)

Convictions

Our convictions are biblically-rooted beliefs that shape our preaching and practice. They’re positions we’ve come to embrace through study, prayer, dialogue, and experience. They give distinct character to our Christian community.



We know not everyone will see things the way we do. And that’s okay. We’re proud of our convictions, and we’re always excited about opportunities to discuss them. In fact, if you’d like to discuss any of these convictions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Pastor.

01 God’s Sovereignty in Salvation & Eternal Security

We affirm that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not on the basis of foreseen faith but unconditionally, according to his sovereign good pleasure and will. We believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God will draw the elect to faith in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously and effectually overcoming their stubborn resistance to the gospel so that they will most assuredly and willingly believe. We also believe that these, the elect of God whom he gave to the Son, will persevere in belief and godly behavior and be kept secure in their salvation by grace through faith. We believe that God’s sovereignty in this salvation neither diminishes the responsibility of people to believe in Christ nor marginalizes the necessity and power of prayer and evangelism, but rather reinforces and establishes them as the ordained means by which God accomplishes his ordained ends. (John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3:1-4:25; 8:1-17,31-39; 9:1-23; 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9)

We believe that God created men and women with equal dignity, value, and worth. God also designed men and women to be distinct from each other. This divine distinction celebrates the femininity of women and the masculinity of men as equally wonderful and beautiful gifts for the family, the church, and the world. Therefore, men and women have different complementing roles within God’s good purposes. While men and women are both called to lead and engage in fruitful ministry, the husband is to be the head of the home and the church offices of pastor and elder are reserved for qualified men. (Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:22-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9)

We believe God has ordained marriage and defined it as a covenant relationship between one man, one woman, and himself. Hence, we only recognize marriage between a biological man and a biological woman. As a result, the staff and faculty of Christ the Redeemer will only participate in weddings and the solemnization of marriages between one man and one woman. (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4; Eph. 5:25; 1 Pet. 3:7)

We believe that from the beginning God created two separate and distinct biological sexes: male and female. Moreover, we believe that Scripture does not permit any difference between biological sex and gender identity or expression. Humankind has been created by God and any attempt to misconstrue the difference between male/female and/or biological sex/gender identity is an attempt to self-create and is a result of sin and the fall. We also acknowledge that there are rare instances where people are born with an indiscriminate biological sex. Yet, these cases do not involve an attempt to self-create nor deny the dignity of how they were born. (Gen. 1:26-27; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6-7; Psalm 139:14).

We believe that all human life is valuable and sacred, and that human life and full personhood begins at conception and continues until death. As stewards of life, we are endowed by God with the responsibility to protect the worth and dignity of human beings from the moment of conception until the moment of death. Therefore, we oppose taking innocent life in all forms, including abortion and euthanasia. (Gen. 1:26-27; Job 31:15; Ps. 22:10; Ps. 127:3-5; Ps. 139:13-16; Jer. 1:5; Acts 17:25).