WHAT WE BELIEVE
THE BIBLE AND SALVATION
The Bible is the answer.
The Bible is the unfailing word of God. Man wrote the Bible, but the words written were God breathed and can be used for guiding our lives to know and grow our relationship with our Savior, Jesus. Jesus was in the beginning and Jesus is the word. If you want to know God, then read his love letter to our lives, “The Bible.”
(John 1:1; 2 Timothy 3:16)
What is the way to salvation?
The only way to salvation is through Jesus Christ. We must believe that Jesus paid it all and that it is not by our works, but by faith in Jesus. It is through the outpouring of God’s love that in obedience we will do the work of God.
(James 2:22; Galatians 2:16)
THE TRINITY AND THE BIBLE
The doctrine of the Trinity means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Stated differently, God is one in essence and three in person. These definitions express three crucial truths.
(1) The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.
(2) Each Person is fully God. (3) There is only one God.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.
The Bible speaks of the Father as God (Philippians 1:2), Jesus as God (Titus 2:13), and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3-4). Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays? The answer must be “no” because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons.
For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), he cannot be the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26; Acts 2:33). Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son.
THE CORE OF SALVATION
The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call people into fellowship with Him. Originally created to be in relationship with God, humans defied Him by going their own independent way, resulting in alienation from Him and the innate inability to please God. This fall took place at the beginning of human history. Since then, all people have suffered the consequences and are in need of the saving grace of God.