Some Basic Principles

1.  God – there is only one God, eternal supreme spirit, creator of the universe, and giver of life.  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – three personalities in one, with each having specific functions to accomplish the overall will of God

(Ephesians 4: 6).

2.  Jesus – was the incarnation of God in the flesh.  He showed us how to live a life pleasing to God, and sacrificed Himself for all of mankind by dying on the cross to take away all sins.  He conquered death and was resurrected after three days and lives today at the right hand of God the Father and in the lives of individual Christians.  Jesus is the only living savior of mankind and the only way to God.  Jesus is truth and life - the ultimate reality (John 14:6).

3.  Holy Spirit – the Spirit worked with God in creation and has continued to do the work of God throughout the ages.  The indwelling Spirit is promised to every Christian (Acts 2:38).   The Spirit always brings order out of chaos and never has the opposite effect.  The Spirit produces good “fruit” in the lives of growing Christians (Galatians 5: 22 – 26).

4. Bible – the 66 books of the Old Covenant (Old Testament) and New Covenant (New Testament) Scriptures make up the Bible and are complete and inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the will of God.  The Bible is the revealed word of God as Jesus Christ is the living word of God. We must study the Bible as individuals and as a corporate body to learn how to live like Jesus, to learn from the past, and to learn what God desires for us (II Timothy 3: 16 – 17).

5.  Sin – sin is the breaking of God’s law, that is, what is defined by God as right and wrong, and is considered rebellion against God (I John 3:4 - 10).  Only Jesus has lived the perfect life before God.   When we willingly sin, this separates us from a holy and perfect God, which results in spiritual death, or eternal separation from God (Romans 6: 23).  The works of the sinful nature are obvious (Galatians 5: 19 – 21).  Every person is guilty of sin and is without hope if sin prevails.  But God has provided a way back to Him because of His great love.

6.  Salvation – the sacrifice of Jesus to take away or pay the price of sin for all mankind is God’s gift of love (John 3:16 – 20) to bring mankind back to him.  There is salvation or reconciliation to God in no one else or by any other means except in Jesus Christ. (II Corinthians 5:19, Acts 4:12). Accepting this gift of love, that is, having faith or trust that Jesus lives and will take away our sins, is the first step in coming back to God. Becoming a Christian or follower of Christ is accepting God’s gift of eternal life.  We can never repay the cost of sin, but Jesus has done that for us because of God’s grace.

7.  Christians – individuals become Christians the same way today as they did in the first century in response to what Jesus and His apostles taught.   Being “born again” requires faith or trust in, a commitment to, and a confession of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Lord. There must be a repentance or turning away of the past life of sin (Acts 17:30), followed by baptism or immersion in water as an identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus in response to His command (John 3: 3 – 8, Romans 6: 1 – 7).  Every Christian is a minister or priest of God in some fashion – and all Christians are the people of God

(I Peter 2: 9 – 10).

8.  Church – the church (or community) of Christ is the family or kingdom of God on earth and will never fade away (Colossians 1: 13 – 14).  Spiritually, the church is eternal and will be transformed by Christ living within to be what God wants.    The Lord adds each individual to the church after baptism, which is equated to birth in the spiritual family of God (Acts 2: 47).  Local congregations of the church work as the “body of Christ” on earth, serving God and mankind in various ways as Jesus taught us to do.

9.  Love – practicing, producing, and showing the “agape” or self-giving love of Christ is the ultimate goal of the Christian community or church (I Timothy 1: 5) in all forms of ministry (service). Love is the distinguishing mark of the church above all else (John 13: 34 - 35, Ephesians 4: 15 – 16).

10. Worship – as Christians, we meet every first day of the week (Sunday) to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in observing the Lord’s Supper, to encourage one another to greater acts of service, to sing praises to God, to pray together over needs and concerns, to offer our monetary contributions, and to teach and learn from God’s word and each other (Hebrews 10: 19 – 25).

11. Prayer – we recognize prayer to God, as a key link along with Bible study and fellowship with other Christians, to maintain our relationship with Him and to emphasize our dependence on Him as our Father.  Praise, confession, supplication, submission, and petition are expressed in our corporate and individual prayers on a continual basis.  Prayer is not limited to a certain place or certain time (I Thessalonians 5: 16 – 18).

12. Eternal Life – as Christians, we share the hope of eternal life which has been promised to all who have been born into God’s family.  Our hope is not based on this life alone but on the promises of God for a life after this physical existence, based on our faith in Jesus to bring us back (reconcile us) to God.  Because of the sure promise of God, we live life with joy, peace, and hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5: 1 – 5; Romans 15: 13).