Question 1

ABOUT THE BIBLE

Accepted Answer

We believe that though God has revealed Himself in many ways throughout history  (Heb. 1:1-4), He has made Himself and His will known  accurately and adequately  through the Bible. According to its own admission, the Bible is God’s own Word. God  superintended the writers of Scripture in such a way that, using their own personalities  and cultural surroundings, they recorded without error God’s message to man.   Composed by over forty authors over a sixteen-hundred year period, with complete  unity and accuracy, reflecting a single divine perspective, the Bible is God’s  authoritative Word to all people (Psalm 19;  Mark 4:1-11; Luke 24:27, 44;  John 5:39,  10:35;  Acts 1:16; 2Tim. 3:16-17; 2Peter 1:3-4; Heb. 1:1-4, 4:12-13).

Question 2

ABOUT GOD

Accepted Answer

We believe that there is one eternal, infinite, self-existent, unchanging, sovereign God  (Deut. 6:4; Psalm 90:1-2; Dan. 4:34-35; John 5:24), who has revealed Himself as three  distinct Persons:  the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three persons are fully God,  yet have forever communed equally as only One God (Matt. 28:18-19; Mark 12:29;  John 1:14; Acts 5:3-4; 2Cor. 13:14). God is absolutely holy, completely righteous,  always loving, full of glory. He is the creator of all that has or will exist, and is the source  of all life (Gen. 1:1; John 1:1-5).

Question 3

ABOUT JESUS CHRIST

Accepted Answer

We believe that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully human (Heb. 1:3, 2:14-18; John  1:1-3).  We believe He was born of a virgin, that He lived a perfect life, that He died on  a cross as a payment for the sins of all people, that He actually rose from the dead and  ascended into heaven (Matt. 1:16; Heb. 4:15; Acts 13:26-40).  We believe that one day  He will return to earth to rescue His followers, punish those who oppose Him, and reign  over heaven and earth (2Thess. 1).

Question 4

ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT

Accepted Answer

We believe that the Holy Spirit (whose name appropriately describes both His  character and His essence) possesses the characteristics of a person rather than an  impersonal force. He has intelligence (1Cor. 2:10-11), feelings (Eph. 4:30), and a will (1Cor. 12:11). As a person, He can be lied to (Acts 5:3), outraged (Heb. 10:29), or worshiped and reverenced (Ps. 51:11). Yet, the Spirit is Himself fully God, and is called  such by the writers of Scripture (Acts 5:3-4; 1Cor. 6:11), and is associated with the  Father and the Son (Matt. 28:19; 2Cor. 13:14). The Holy Spirit is now restraining sin and  rebellion against God in the world (2Thess. 2:6-7), as well as convicting individuals of  their guilt and need for Christ (John 15:5-11).  We  believe that all Christians are  baptized and indwelled by the Holy Spirit at the moment we believe in Christ (1Cor.  12:13), and that we are empowered, guided, instructed and changed by the Spirit as  we yield our lives to Him (1Cor. 6:19; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 5:18).  We  believe that the Spirit  sovereignly gives each believer gifts for the strengthening and encouraging of the  Church, and that all gifts are at His disposal to give to whomever and whenever He  desires (1Cor. 12:11; 1Peter 4:10).

Question 5

ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS

Accepted Answer

We  believe that all people are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), but having  been born alienated from God, all have done wrong and gone wrong (Isaiah 53:6; Eph.  2:1-3). We believe that all of us have earned eternal separation from God, and that not  one of us is able to save ourselves from this fate through our own efforts (Eph. 2:8-9).

Question 6

ABOUT SALVATION

Accepted Answer

We believe that we can be rescued from death and given the gift of an eternal  relationship with God only by putting our faith in Jesus Christ—that is, by trusting in His  death for us as a full payment for all our sins, and in His resurrection as proof that He is  the Lord of all (1Cor. 15:1-8; Rom. 5:8; Matt. 20:28; 1John 2:2).

By Christ alone can we be reconciled to God (2Cor. 5:19-22; Rom. 5:10).  We  believe  that eternal life is a free and irrevocable gift, graciously given only by God to whomever  believes in Christ. Those who believe, God completely, instantly and forever forgives,  and credits to their account the righteousness of Christ (Eph. 2:8-9; 2Tim. 2:8-10).   Believers in Christ are secure in the promise of God that they will most certainly go to  heaven (John 5:24,10:27-30; Rom. 8:38-39; 1John 5:11-13).

Question 7

ABOUT THE CHURCH

Accepted Answer

We believe that the church is Christ’s “body” in today’s world, and that it is comprised  of all genuine Christians—those who have put their trust in Christ (Acts 11:21-26; 1Cor.  1:2). Jesus is the head of His body, the shepherd of His flock, who has supremacy in  everything in the Church (John 10:11-15; Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18). We recognize many  local expressions of the Church, and teach that Redeemer’s is but one small part of the whole Church, consisting of all believers not only on earth but also in heaven. The  Church exists to glorify and worship God, to build itself up in the faith, and to reach out  with the Good News to a lost world (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14; 4:12-13; Matt. 28:19-20).

Question 8

ABOUT ORDINANCES

Accepted Answer

We recognize two continuing ordinances which Jesus commanded and the early  church practiced:  Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

We believe that Jesus instituted baptism as the means of publicly professing faith in  Him, and that, although baptism has no power to save, it is the first step of obedience  expected of every believer in Christ (Rom. 1:16; 1Cor. 1:17; Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38).

We believe that Jesus instituted the practice of the Lord’s Supper to help us vividly  remember His death for us, and directed us to participate in this act of worship  regularly (1Cor. 11:23-26).

Question 9

ABOUT ANGELIC BEINGS

Accepted Answer

We believe that angels are created beings, and though they were originally created  holy, some have become evil opponents of God (Job 38:6-7; Mark 12:25).  Good  angels exist to carry out the will of God, and to serve and protect those who are heirs  of salvation (Heb. 1:14). Fallen angels (or “demons”) are led by Satan, the arch-enemy  of God and man (Matt. 25:41, 12:24). We believe that he is active in the world, seeking  to discredit and dishonor God, to deceive all mankind, and to oppose those who seek  to do God’s will (Gen. 3:1-7; John 10:10; 1Thess. 2:18, 3:5; 1Peter 5:8).  We believe  that Satan’s doom was sealed when Jesus died and was raised, and that our power  over him rests in our submission to Christ, His Spirit and His Word (Matt. 4:1-11; Eph.  6:17; 1Peter 5:9; Rev. 12:11).

Question 10

ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

Accepted Answer

The Christian life is meant to be one full of joy, freedom, love, peace, wonder, and  every other good thing in God (Gal. 5:22-23). We believe that as we delight ourselves  in God, we will find our deepest fulfillment in life. As followers of Jesus, we are called  to a life of Spirit-empowered obedience, and that when we disobey, we will experience  God’s loving discipline (Matt. 18:15-20; Gal. 6:1; Heb. 12:4-13). We also believe that  God gives every Christian spiritual gifts as He decides, through which God clearly  works, and which believers are to use to strengthen the Church and display His love  and power in the world (1Cor. 12:1-11; 1Peter 4:10).

Question 11

ABOUT MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY

Accepted Answer

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or  female. These two distinct, complimentary genders together reflect the image and  nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and  one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We  believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur between a man and a woman who  are married to each other (1Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). Further, no sexual activity should occur outside of a marriage.

We believe that any form of sexual activity outside of marriage (including adultery, sex between consenting but unmarried partners, homosexual or bisexual behavior, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew  15:18-20; 1Cor. 6:9-10).

We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity, as those made in the image and likeness of God (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated, and are not in accord with Scripture, nor the convictions of Redeemer’s Fellowship.

Question 12

ABOUT FUTURE EVENTS

Accepted Answer

We believe that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, in fulfillment of  prophecy, to save His own, redeem Israel, and judge the earth (Acts 1:11; 2Thess. 1:6 10; Isaiah 63; Rom. 11:25-26). Though the timing is disputed among believers, the fact  of the rapture is indisputable (1Cor. 15:50-55; 1Thess. 4:13-18). We affirm that though  we as believers are destined for trouble and persecution (1Thess. 3:3-4; 2Tim. 3:12),  we will never experience any of God’s wrath (1Thess. 1:10, 5:9; 2Thess. 1:5-10).  We  believe that both heaven and hell are real, and that every person will spend forever  either in joyful fellowship with God, or in agonizing separation from God, based on  their response to Jesus Christ in this life (Rev. 19:20, 20:10-15, 21:1-22:5).

Statement of Faith