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WHAT WE BELIEVE
A statement of faith is the written declaration of a church's position on essential matters that are directly linked to the Christian faith.
The following statements comprise Redemption Calvary's statement of faith and are based completely upon what we believe to be the simple, clear, and evident teaching of the Bible.
We believe that the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are the Word of God.
The Scriptures are fully inspired, literally being breathed by God through human writers. We believe in the verbal, plenary inerrancy of the entire Bible in its original manuscripts. The Scriptures govern the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Bible must be taken in its plain and literal sense, unless the text and context clearly indicates otherwise.
We believe that there is one true and living God.
God eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the godhead is equal in power and glory. While God has revealed Himself in three persons, we do not worship three gods, we worship the one true and living God. This triune God created all things, upholds all things, and governs over all things. God is personal, transcendent, and sovereign over all His creation. He is personally involved with His creation, concerning Himself with the affairs of humanity.
We believe in God the Father.
God the Father is the first person of the Godhead and is an infinite, personal Spirit; perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He concerns Himself mercifully and graciously in the affairs of men. He hears and answers prayer. He alone saves all who come to Him repenting of (or renouncing) their sin (any thought, belief, or action against the character and nature of God). This salvation from the right and just penalty of sin is only achieved through a person’s individual, personal faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe in God the Son.
Jesus Christ is the second person of the Godhead. He was sent from God The Father, born of the virgin Mary by miraculous conception of God The Holy Spirit. The purpose of Jesus's virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and miraculous resurrection from death is to save all of humanity for all of time from the eternal consequence and penalty of sin. This salvation is appropriated to mankind by grace alone, through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
We believe in God the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead. He was sent from the Father and Son upon Jesus’s ascension into Heaven. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the one who regenerates, seals, and empowers believers in Jesus Christ causing them to live a transformed life. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ beginning at conversion and that He is an abiding Helper, Teacher and Guide. We believe in the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Spirit and in the empowering or baptizing of the Holy Spirit with power to be bold witnesses of Jesus Christ to the people of the world for the Kingdom of God.
We believe in the eminent, personal, visible return of Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to Earth the first time as a suffering servant fulfilling that portion of prophecy. He will return to Earth in fulfillment of the rest of prophecy concerning Him as a conquering King. He will establish His millennial Earthly Kingdom, ruling the entire world from the third Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. We believe in the resurrection of our bodies and the final judgment of all humanity for all of time. This righteous judgment of God upon all of humanity for all of time will result in the righteous being welcomed into Heaven through faith in Jesus and the wicked being condemned to Hell through rejection of Jesus.
We believe in the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit.
These gifts are listed and described in the Scriptures. They have not ceased their usefulness and are valid for today. They must be exercised within the prescribed design of Scriptural guidelines. Christians are all given at least one spiritual gift for the express purpose of exercising it/them in love for the building up of other believers. Love is the greatest gift and is the true mark of the Holy Spirit indwelling and empowering a Christian. Love is more important than the seemingly spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
We believe in the laying on of hands for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Physical touch is often a point of actualization for faith, or something for faith to do. Receiving the gifts of the Spirit is, at times, predicated upon the baptism of the Holy Spirit; as well as healing of the sick and afflicted. Spiritual authority is distributed through the laying on of hands in the ordination of pastors, elders, and deacons upon their commission within the church.
NOTE: God has revealed Himself as a God of order, and self control is part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the baptism of the Holy Spirit cannot be validly expressed nor experienced through anything out of order nor laking self control.
We believe that all people are sinners by nature and choice.
Sin is to think, believe, or do anything inconsistent with or in opposition to the character and nature of God. All people are born as sinners, meaning that they are sinners by nature. People do not become sinners when they sin, instead all people sin because all people are sinners. Not only are people born as sinful, but people also choose to sin. There is something within the heart of mankind that the Bible refers to as “the flesh". The flesh desires what is wrong and actually chooses sin over righteousness. Mankind is born into sinfulness and bent upon sinfulness.
Therefore, all people are condemned under the just and holy wrath of God. Yet, through the virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death, and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ, God’s wrath has been satisfied. Now, instead of wrath against sin, God’s grace is offered to all who would renounce their sin (repent) and place their faith in Jesus. God then regenerates those who repent of their sins by the power of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration happens when people confess their sin and receive Jesus Christ as both Savior and Lord. This is what the Bible describes as being "born again", becoming new in Christ. Born again believers are given a new nature bent upon holiness instead of sinfulness. This new nature produces a life in the believer that is "sanctified" (set apart). This setting apart is in two primary ways, being set apart from sin, and set apart to a new life resulting in godliness.
We believe in the universal Church as the living spiritual body of Christ.
Jesus Christ is the leader of His people. Scripture uses the analogy of a body to describe the proper relationship of His church to Himself with Jesus in the position of authority and control as "the head" and the church functioning as members of His body. All regenerated, or born again, people are members of the body of Christ. Every believer in Jesus Christ has the responsibility to participate in their local church. This participation requires the use of their spiritual gifts, talents, abilities, and resources to serve their church body by its being built up, its development, and its growth. The church is the people, an organism, a body, and it is not an organization or structure.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ committed two ordinances to His Church.
Jesus Himself passed down two ordinances, or sacraments, for His disciples, or followers, to keep. The purpose behind both of them is to remember Jesus and His great love for His people. They represent the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf and remind us of His victory over our failure.
Water baptism is one of these sacraments. Baptism does not cause salvation, but is an act of obedience following salvation. Baptism symbolizes the death and resurrection of the believer and is as an identification of the believer with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
Communion is the other sacrament. Communion is a celebratory memorializing and constant reminder of the death of Jesus as payment for our sin, of His soon return and coming Kingdom. These are both to be commemorations of and celebration of life in Jesus.
We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the Church.
Prior to the judgment of God being poured out upon the Earth as described in the book of Revelation, Jesus will rapture or miraculously, graciously, and mercifully remove His people. Following the judgment of God as described in Revelation, Jesus will return to Earth in His second coming, with His people, as a conquering King in fulfillment of prophetic Scripture. The rule of Jesus on the Earth will be personal, pre-millennial, visible, and last for 1,000 years.
We believe that legitimate sexual relations are exercised solely within the covenant of marriage.
God is the One who has created and instituted the marriage relationship, and He has established this relationship as the only legitimate means for a sexual relationship to be experienced. God has also established that this marriage relationship is exclusively the spiritual and legal union of one man and one woman, and this union is designed as a lifetime commitment. Hence, sexual activities, such as, but not limited to adultery, fornication, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, pedophilia, and bestiality are condemned by the Bible as sinful. Further, lascivious behavior, the creation and/or distributions and/or viewing of pornography, and efforts to alter one’s gender, are incompatible with the Biblical witness and are therefore sinful. Marriage has been created, ordained, and established by God. This church recognizes marriage as exclusively the spiritual and legal union of one man and one woman in which such union is a lifetime commitment.
We believe that life begins at conception.
Life is miraculously created by God alone. We hold strongly to the sanctity of human life. God alone is the giver, sustainer, and taker of human life. Also, human life is to be guarded, protected, and sustained as much as is medically and humanly possible. We believe abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, and embryonic stem cell research to be immoral and in violation of Gods clear Biblical commands and principle to guard, protect, and sustain life.
We believe that local church government should be simplistic.
Jesus is the leader and head of His Church. He calls, equips, and ordains men to lead under His direction in submission to Him. Through His indwelling Spirit, God directs His church in a manner consistent with His Scriptures by leading these men. It is up to the men God has called into leadership roles to be in submission to Him personally, looking to Him to lead them and direct them. Structure and government are put in place to better serve the church, but the people of the church do not exist to serve the structure and government. We rely upon God to raise up leaders and ordain them, rather than people to promoting themselves, or simply passing out titles.
We believe that worship of God must be intelligent.
God has specifically revealed Himself in Scripture as a God of order, of intelligent design, as creative, having emotion, and enjoying relationship. Therefore, our church services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshipped. Emotion devoid of intelligence results in foolishness, and intelligence devoid of emotion results in heartless. Neither of these are proper ways to worship Jesus.
We believe that it is the duty of the local church to serve their community by preaching and teaching the Word of God.
The church gathers together for the purpose of worshiping God. Through the preaching and teaching of the Scriptures, people will come to know God, learn to love what He loves and hate what He hates. We are passionate about preaching and teaching God’s word with the utmost of integrity. Our church services, Mens and Womens Bible studies, Kids Ministry, and Life Groups are specifically designed with the Scriptures as our focus. God has chosen to reveal Himself through His written word, therefore, understanding Him by what He has written becomes vitally important. We submit our understanding and beliefs to the Scriptures, and we do not attempt to submit the Scriptures to our beliefs.
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