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Our Core Beliefs
The Bible
We believe the Bible is the Word of God. In the Bible God has spoken clearly to us about all that is necessary to know him and to live a life that his pleasing to him. God’s supreme revelation in Jesus Christ stands at the very core of the Bible. We also believe that without the gracious work of the Holy Spirit in our lives the Bible will not become the Word of God to us. The inward illuminating work of the Spirit must first open our eyes to its truth.
God
We believe in one God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Christian doctrine of the Trinity is a mystery that can not be fully understood by finite human minds. That is ok. It keeps us mindful that we are not God and that his ways are beyond our ways. Never-the-less, we affirm this doctrine because the Bible teaches us that God is both one (Monotheism was foundational to our Old Testament roots) and three (It is clear from Scripture that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all spoken of as God). On a practical level, the Trinity is crucial because without it the whole understanding of Christian salvation crumbles. If Jesus Christ is not both fully God and human then he can not save us from our sins, nor can he identify with us in our sufferings. Also, the doctrine of the Trinity beautifully reflects God’s relational nature. The inner shared relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit reflects a perfect relationship of love, submission, mutuality, devotion, sacrifice, and fidelity. Because God is relational he does not need us, yet out of sheer love God created us to be in relationship with him anyway.
Humanity
We believe all people are created in God's image, yet our sin separates us from God’s Kingdom. All people are created in the image of God. We have self-worth and purpose because we are created by him. We, by our fallen nature, are also rebellious sinners, and like Adam and Eve we fail to live up to God's holy standards. Our sin separates us from God's eternal kingdom and we deserve his wrath for our sin. The wages of sin is death.
Salvation
We believe that Jesus Christ alone is Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save sinners and only he can get us out of the mess we are in. As the one who is both fully God and fully human, Jesus Christ lived the perfect life and made the perfect sacrifice (all on our behalf) so that we could be restored back into a right relationship with God the Father. When we embrace, by faith, what Jesus Christ did for us we are saved from our sin. It is by grace alone that we come to know him as Lord and Savior. Without the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we will not embrace Jesus Christ as Lord.
The Christian Life
We believe that God calls Christians to a life of holiness, out of gratitude for God’s grace in Jesus Christ. When we are saved by God it is for a purpose. God wants to change our lives and restore all that is broken in us by making us into the image of Jesus Christ. This journey of transformation is a continual process that is never completed in this life. None-the-less, we strive to grow in holiness out of gratitude for what God has done for us in Jesus Christ and not because we think can earn, or contribute to our salvation by being good. We do not make progress in the Christian life in our own strength. The Holy Spirit must empower us to grow in holiness and obedience to God.
The Church
We believe the church is comprised of all people everywhere who confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The church is not just a building, it's the people who have faith in Jesus Christ. Because we are "in Christ" and "Christ is in us" we as people become the body of Christ to one another and the world. Within the church there are many different manifestations of the one body of Christ; the Presbyterian Church USA being just one, and our local congregation being more uniquely another. God calls the church into being for the purpose of corporate worship, making the disciples of Jesus Christ, and meeting the physical and spiritual needs of people in the world.
The Sacraments
We believe that God has instituted two sacraments in the church, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The sacraments are a means of grace; we experience the living God through them. The sacraments are also signs and seals of the promises of the gospel. They remind us of what Jesus did for us on the cross and they assure us that he loves us. Baptism symbolizes the washing away of our sins and new life in Christ. The Lord's Supper symbolizes the broken body and spilt blood of Christ for us. In our church all baptized believers and their children can partake of the sacraments.
The Resurrection
We believe that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and that we will live with him eternally. Theologically, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ reflects the great love that God has for his creation, including the material world. Because our whole beings are created in the image of God, and declared to be good, God does not just love our spirits, but our bodies as well. Thus, God will redeem the bodies of those who have trusted in Jesus Christ by giving them new glorified bodies at the final resurrection.
A New Heaven and Earth
We believe that Jesus Christ will return again to establish a new heaven and a new earth, forever freeing God’s creation from the power of sin, death, and hell. In the end, God will forever crush sin’s power to destroy when Christ comes again to finish his work of redemption in the world. We do not fully understand how or when all of this will happen, or what exactly it will be like, but even so, on the grounds of scripture, we affirm the truth and hope of the promised new heaven and new earth because of what it says about God’s sovereign love for his creation. We believe that God in Christ always finishes what He starts. Come Lord Jesus, come.
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Copyright 2005 Guntersville First Presbyterian Church Web Designer and Administrator sgriggs@otelco.net
04/14/08 |
