Biblical truths which
serve as a basis for who we are...and how we
minister.
1.The Trinity :
We
believe in one living and true God, eternal and of infinite
power, wisdom, goodness and righteousness. He is a loving and
faithful God who is the creator and preserver of all things.
(Genesis 1:1, Jeremiah 10:10, I Timothy 1:17) In the unity of
this Godhead there are three persons of one substance with
identical qualities and attributes: The Father (God), the Son
(Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. (John 1:1-2; 4:24; 5:18;
10:30).
2. The Son of God:
We believe in the divine nature of Jesus Christ, God's
only son, who was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin, Mary. Christ was fully God and fully
man. He walked our earth, suffered at the hand of men, was
crucified, died and was buried as a sacrifice for the sins of
all men and women everywhere. The purpose was to restore our
relationship to God which is broken by sin (disobedience).
(Luke 1:27, 31:35; John 3:16; Romans 5:10; Ephesians 5:2)
Christ rose from the dead and ascended into heaven in full
victory over Satan and sin. He now intercedes for the body of
believers to God the Father. (Matthew 28:5-9; Luke 24:4-7).
3.
The Holy Spirit:
We believe in the Holy Spirit as the person
of the Trinity who lives within us, and continuously cleanses
away our sin (Sanctification). He is the one who works in us
to begin with, so that we can begin to respond to the Father.
He is the one who guides us into all truth. (Romans 8:9,
Galatians 4:6)
4. The Authority of Scripture:
We believe the
sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments combined
constitute the Holy Bible. No books may be added or deleted.
The Holy Bible is inspired and infallible (that is, in all
things on which the Bible claims to speak, it speaks without
error. There is nothing misleading or deceiving about it. You
can follow it with confidence for it will never lead you
astray. The infallibility of the Bible means that it is
trustworthy---worthy of our trust.) The Holy Bible contains
all the necessary truths to lead men and women to salvation.
(Psalm 19:7, John 17:17, Romans 15:4, I Thessalonians 2:13, II
Timothy 3:15-17)
5. Humanity:
We believe that
mankind was created by God in His own image, (Genesis 1:27),
but because of Adam's sin (disobedience) man inherits a
corrupt nature that inclines him to do wrong (Genesis 3:6,
6:5, Romans 5:12). Man is not capable of achieving a life
without sin on his own (Proverbs 20:9, Romans 3:20, Galatians
2:16). Because man is created in God's image, we have a
"God-likeness" which includes knowledge about right and wrong,
and the responsibility for our actions, or our choices.
(Joshua 24:15, I Kings 20:40, John 7:17) However, we also
believe that God works in us through His Spirit to draw us to
Himself, and without the drawing we could not appropriately
respond to Him. (Note on election and predestination, i.e.
Ephesians 1:4-5, Romans 8:28-30).
6.
Conversion:
We believe that every person
needs at some decisive crossroads in life, to come face to
face with Christ, and must make the choice of our lives. Such
a turning point is called "conversion". No one ever drifts
into the Kingdom of God. Sooner or later we must stand up and
be counted for something-for someone! Conversion means
deciding for Christ. God somehow creates a situation in our
lives, and in it we hear Him call to come and join His family.
That choice, more than anything else in the world, charts the
course of our future lives. (Acts 9:1-6, Matthew 9:9-13, Acts
16:1-5) True conversion is a fruit of faith in Christ.
7.
Salvation:
We believe that Jesus Christ, the living Son of God,
was given by God as a sacrifice for the sins of people. Christ
died on the cross to mend the broken relationships which were
caused by man's sin of disobedience. This severed relationship
between God and man may be restored into perfect harmony
through belief in Jesus Christ by faith, and not on the basis
of our works (Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 2:8-10). This belief
and faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing Him as Lord and Savior,
gives men and women the free gift of eternal life (John 1:29,
3:16, I Corinthians 5:7, Ephesians 5:2, I Peter 1:19). After
receiving salvation by faith through belief in Jesus Christ,
the "born again" believer may live free from the judgment of
God, by living a life according to the teaching of Scriptures
and trusting the Holy Spirit for the power to live a life that
is completely committed to Him! When we have experienced
Salvation, we are no longer in the center of our lives, rather
the center of our lives is JESUS! We believe that after we
have experienced regeneration that it is possible to fall into
sin, for in this life there is no such height or strength of
holiness from which it is impossible to fall. But by the grace
of God, one who has fallen into sin may, by confession and
true repentance, find forgiveness and restored fellowship with
God (Matthew 18:21, 22, I John 1:9, 2:1,
24-25).
8. Good Works:
We believe that even though men
and women cannot receive salvation by good works, their good
works are still pleasing to God and show evidence of a true
faith in God, and Jesus as Lord of the believers life
(Ephesians 2:10, Matthew 5:16, 7:16-20, Romans 3:20, Galatians
2:16, James 2:18, 22). Thus good works are fruits of a
thankful life, signs of personal assurance (Matthew 11:2, 3;
Luke 22:31, 32, Romans 8:16) and serve as a Christian witness.
9. Justification by
Faith
We believe that the way that man is
able to "get right" with God is through an act of God's love
by which He sent His Son Jesus to carry our sin and the guilt
for our sin. Jesus Christ sets us straight with God,
ourselves, our fellowmen, and our world. In Him we discover
anew our human rights. (John 5:1ff, 10:10) In many ways,
justification suggests a courtroom scene. Our conscience, like
the devil's lawyer, echoes God's law and testifies against us.
But then faith speaks, and overrules the accusation of that
"still small voice" within us. Sure, we're guilty. But Christ
is our righteousness. He pleads our case. And God the judge
declares us innocent. This is not a game God plays with men.
It's based on justice and mercy. For the Great Exchange has
taken place. Christ became a curse, that He might fill us with
His blessing (Galatians 3:13, 14). Christ became what He was
not-sin-in order to make us what we by nature are
not-righteous (II Corinthians 5:21). What an exchange-the
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us back to God!
10.
Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is the work of
God and the power of the Holy Spirit, making the believer pure
in heart and totally committed and dedicated to God. This work
is both instantaneous and gradual. It begins when a person is
saved and continues through life. A sanctified life begins
with an inner transformation under the power of the Holy
Spirit. As Christian believers born of the Holy Spirit, our
aim is to follow Christ. Yet even the holiest Christian knows
only too well that He still has a long way to go in reaching
perfection (Ephesians 4:13). It is at that point in life when
a believer renounces the desire to live for self and desire to
live totally for the glory of God. Christ indeed becomes Lord
of your life. The believer is then empowered by the Holy
Spirit, making him able to live a life of holiness. This does
not mean perfection of the believer, but purity of heart, soul
and mind. (Deuteronomy 30:6, Luke 1:74-75, Acts 15:8-9, I
Corinthians 6:11, Ephesians 4:13, 24, I Thessalonians 4:3.7,
James 4:8)
11. Gifts of the Spirit
We believe that the Holy
Spirit has given spiritual gifts to all believers for the
purpose of building up the body of Christ and bringing glory
to God. The gifts are to be exercised in love and emphasize
the need for unity. They point to Jesus as they are used. (I
Corinthians 12:3, 11, 18, 21-25, Ephesians 4:11-16)
12.
Sacraments
Sacraments are
signs to us of God's love. They point out and call out
attention to what he did for us. It is a sign that carries in
itself something of the reality to which it points. Sacraments
signify the living presence of Christ in His church.
Sacraments are also seals. In the sacraments God places His
seal of approval of everything Christ has done for us, and
says, "This is for real." The sacraments make clear that we
have a full share in Christ's saving work. As surely as we
feel the water of baptism on our foreheads so surely may we
believe that Christ cleanses us from our sins. As surely as we
see, handle, and taste the bread and the cup, so surely may we
believe that we belong to Christ. We believe that God ordained
two sacraments: The Lord's Supper and Baptism. The Lord's
Supper is received in remembrance of Christ's death for our
sins; the bread representing His body and the cup, His blood.
It is in remembrance of God's love and grace toward us, and
the love we must share with one another. (Matthew 26:26-28,
Mark 14:22-24, I Corinthians 10:16) Baptism is an outward
symbolic act signifying cleansing of sin. (Numbers 8:7, Mark
16:16, Acts 22:26). It is the sacramental representation of
our sharing in Good Friday and Easter. (John 3:5, Romans
6:3-4) At Discovery Church we baptize infants of believing
parent(s) in response to God's covenant of grace and of His
love to us. We also baptize adults who have never been
baptized before, when they make a public statement of their
faith to the body, and more importantly to Jesus. Baptism of
infants takes place through the sprinkling of water, and
adults may be baptized either by sprinkling or
immersion.
Summary
These are just a dozen basic
biblical beliefs that we hold to as a church and as a
denomination. There are many others that may have been
included in this dozen such as God's justice, God's mercy, the
origin of sin, true faith, providence, miracles, ascension of
Jesus, regeneration, covenant of grace, God's law,
etc.
If you have any
questions about any doctrine, or basic biblical belief, please
feel free to contact Pastor Paul or someone on the Leadership
Team.
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