Creation
We believe that God has made all things and that human beings were made to be the benevolent rulers, caretakers and developers of creation.
Originally we were to experience all of God’s breathtaking creation and all of man’s astonishing culture in grateful fellowship with God, admiring and delighting in his beauty and greatness in everything. We were to know never-ending pleasure with God in all of creation and culture.
However, we abandoned this honor and gratitude. We abandoned the praise of God, and we sought his very gifts of creation and culture apart from God and instead of God.
We didn’t embrace him in all things; we rejected him in all things.
And when we rulers fell, creation itself fell.
Though creation still shines forth his glory, it is a broken creation and it eventually consumes every single human being. Some rulers we are!
And though culture still shines forth his glory, much culture is now marred by man’s sin. We don’t make it for his glory and we dont enjoy it for his glory.
Not only must we be rescued, but the whole of creation must be rescued.
God, Love and His Image
We believe that one and true God has always existed as three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This means that God has always enjoyed an unlimited, joyful relationship of love in his very being.
We believe that since we are made in his image, love and relationship are at the core of what we are meant to be as human beings. Jesus summarizes the whole Bible like this: love God with all you’ve got and love your neighbor as yourself.
We were meant to love and delight in God and one another.
Our Refusal
Sin is the breakdown and betrayal of love and relationship. Sin is doing harm to one another. It is the very betrayal of our humanity.
We believe that humanity has turned against God, abandoning his call to love Him and love one another, and whether we know it or not, we have given ourselves over to evil spiritual forces who further instigate our abandonment of love.
To live for oneself is Satanic to the core. We have become pathetic slaves of sin and self.
All parts of our lives are affected by our betrayal of love.
We believe all suffering and brokenness and misery in this life is due to humanity’s sin.
We believe that death itself is the consequence of our sin that, apart from God’s salvation, will usher us into an everlasting separation from God’s goodness, a separation from anything good at all, and an exposure to absolute, unrelenting suffering and grief.
We believe that the whole of our lives must be recovered and restored spiritually, morally, relationally and physically. We must be rescued body and soul from our bondage to sin, demonic forces and death.
Jesus Christ
We believe that for His glory and for our rescue God united himself to our sin and misery by sending His own Son to become a true human being, the God-man, Jesus Christ, who:
– lived a perfect life for us
– bore our sins in his body on the cross
– was raised from the dead for us
– now reigns over all things for us
– will one day reconcile all things to himself
– will resurrect us his people
– will judge and remove those who have rejected God
– will usher in the new heavens and new earth
We believe we will live in His presence forever in a restored and renewed creation, as people perfected in love and happiness.
We believe the new creation began in the death and resurrection of Christ and His people participate in that new creation even now and will participate in its consummation in the final day.
We believe that all people everywhere are summoned by God to believe in His Son Jesus Christ in order to:
– be rescued from sin and ultimate destruction
– be restored into a relationship of favor and intimacy with God
– await the coming of the Lord Jesus who will unite all things in himself
We believe there is no other way to be in fellowship with God than through Jesus Christ.
He alone has lived a perfect life. He alone has born the punishment for sin. He alone has defeated death through resurrection. He alone has restored humanity to rightful rule over creation. He alone is the Savior of mankind and of creation.
Grace and Mercy
No human being can be restored to God except by grace and mercy. God does not rescue us because of anything good he sees in us. His rescue of each one of us begins when we are ungodly, sinful enemies of God.
We deserve only death and judgment, but he gives us the free gift of everlasting life in joyful relationship with him.
We trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
We trust in Jesus Christ to gain a standing of unchanging favor with God.
We trust in Christ to become the children of God and joint heirs with Christ.
We trust in Christ for the transformation of our lives and the final restoration of all things.
Love Received, Love Reflected
We believe that God has revealed His amazing love to us through the death and resurrection of Christ. He loved us when we were his enemies and rescued us when we were his enemies.
This is astonishing love, and by his grace, we have come to believe in the love he has for us in His Son.
This changes everything.
It gives us hope that if God didn’t spare us His Son, we will never spare us anything that will be truly good for us.
It convinces us that he will work everything together for our good. It assures us that his goodness and mercy will follow us every single day of our lives.
Being convinced of his love in Christ even takes away our fear of death and judgment.
And we love because he first loved us. We grow in love because we are so greatly loved by God. We walk in new patience and kindness and forgiveness and servanthood because of the precious love of Christ.
His love liberates us from living for ourselves. His love liberates us to love with growing joy and sacrifice in likeness to his own love.
We believe that Christ rescues us from the guilt and judgment of sin, and he rescues us increasingly from the very practice of sin itself, restoring us to his own image of love.
