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What We Believe
:: What We Believe :: Communion
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired, infallible,
authoritative, inerrant Word of God. We also believe that the
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are designed for our practical
instruction in faith and conduct. The Bible is our sole authority for
guidance in living the Christian life.
(2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1: 20-21; Psalms 19:7; Matt. 5:18)
The Godhead
We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three
persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit-and these three are
one God.
(Deut. 6:4; Gen. 1:26; Isaiah 6:8; Eph. 4:4-6; Matt. 28:19)
God The Father
We believe that God the Father possesses all attributes
pertaining to deity. The Father loved the world, sent His Son to die
for our sins, raised Christ from the dead, elects and chooses, draws
humanity to Jesus, and adopts believers in Christ as His very own
children, therefore becoming their heavenly Father.
(Eph. 1:3, 3:14-15; James 1:17; John 3:16, 6:44; Isaiah 53:4-5; Rom. 8:29, 9:11; Gal. 4:5,6)
The Person And Work Of Jesus Christ
1. We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal
Son of God, came into the world so that He might manifest God to
humanity, fulfill prophecy, and become the Redeemer of a lost world. To
this end He was born of the Virgin Mary, and received a human body
without ceasing to be God.
(John 1:1,14,18; Luke 1:30-35; Hebrews 4:15; Philippians 2:5-11)
2. We believe that in infinite love for the
lost, He voluntarily accepted His Father's will, became the divinely
provided sacrificial Lamb of God and took away the sins of the world.
(John 1:29; Rom. 3:25-31; 2 Cor. 5:14; Hebrews 10:5-14; 1 John 2:2)
3. We believe that He victoriously rose
bodily from the dead, defeating Satan, Hell, and death. Upon ascending
back to Heaven with all authority, Jesus was accepted by His Father and
is now seated on His right hand as a soon coming King.
(Matt 28:6; John 20:20; I Cor. 15:55-57; Col. 2:13-16, 3:1; Rev. 19:11-16)
4. We believe that Jesus is the Head of the
church, which is His body, and He does not cease to intercede and be an
advocate for the saved.
(Eph. I:22-23; 1 Tim. 2; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2)
God The Holy Spirit
1. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the
third person of the Godhead, being co-equal to the Father and Son in
all attributes pertaining to deity.
(Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:18)
2. We believe that in the work of redemption
He justifies, washes and sanctifies sinners in cooperation with the
Son; He regenerates unbelievers and indwells them at the moment of
salvation, thus baptizing them into the body of Christ and sealing them
until the final day of redemption.
(1 Cor. 6:11; Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:30)
3. We believe that through the Holy Spirit
God provides every believer power to live the Christian life. We
further believe that every Christian receives grace from God in the
form of spiritual gifts, which enables him/her to function as a
contributing member of the body of Christ.
(Rom. 8:9-11; Galatians 5:16-25; Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:7; Eph. 4:7-13)
The Personality Of Satan
We believe that Satan, the devil, is the prince of
demons and is declared adversary of God and humanity. However, when the
Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross, He limited the power of Satan and
guaranteed the ultimate triumph of God and His people.
(Eph. 2:2; I Pet 5:8; Rev. 20:10; Col. 2:13-15)
Salvation
1. We believe that no one can enter the
kingdom of God unless born again spiritually, and that the new birth of
the believer comes only through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son
of God.
2. We believe also that our redemption has
been accomplished through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and that
this redemption is by the grace of God, an unmerited gift, given in
love by God and not the result of any human works.
(John 3:7-18; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13; Rom. 4:4.5)
3. We believe that upon receiving the Lord
Jesus Christ by faith, the believer immediately passes out of spiritual
death into spiritual life, and into fellowship with God.
(John 1:12, 5:24)
4. We also believe that once this salvation is accomplished, we shall be kept saved forever.
(John 10:28-29; Rom. 3:24, 8:35-39; 2 Tim. 2:11-13; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:5, 8-9)
The Church
1. We believe that the Church is the body of
Christ with Christ as the head. We believe all who are united to the
risen and ascended Son of God are members of the Church, which is the
body of Christ.
(1 Cor. 12:12-27; Acts 2:42-47)
2. We believe that the explicit message of
our Lord Jesus Christ to those whom He has saved is to make Christ
known to the whole world and that this is the purpose of the Church
through the individuals within It. We believe Christians, individually
and collectively, are salt and light in society.
(Matt. 5:13-16, 28:18-19; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 5:11-21)
3. We believe that local churches, such as
New Community Church, gather together for practical instruction in the
Scriptures, for fellowship with God and with other believers, and for
corporate witness to the unsaved world. Our common spiritual goal is to
grow toward Christ's likeness.
(Matt 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:13-16)
Church Ordinances
1. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ
instituted the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper to be
observed by all believers until His return.
(Matt. 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 10:47-48)
2. We believe that the ordinance of baptism
is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience
symbolizing the believer's identification with the death, burial and
resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5)
3. We believe that the Lord's Supper is the
partaking of the bread and of the cup by baptized believers together as
a continuing memorial of the Lord's death until He comes.
(1 Cor. 11:23-28)
Eschatology (End Times)
We believe God, in His own time, will bring all things to their
appropriate end and establish the new heaven and the new earth. The
certain hope of the Christian is that Jesus Christ will return to the
earth suddenly, personally and visibly in glory according to His
promise. The dead will be raised, and Christ will judge humanity in
righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to the everlasting
punishment prepared for the devil and his angels. The righteous, in
their resurrected and glorified bodies, will receive their reward and
dwell forever with the Lord.
(Ephesians 1:9-10, Revelation 21:1; Titus
2:13; Revelation 1:7; 3:11; John 14:1-3; John 5:28-29; Matthew 25-41,
46; Revelation 20:10; Philippians 3:20-21; II Corinthians 5:10; I
Thessalonians 4:13-18)
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