Statement of Faith

We believe, the New Testament shows us God as Father. Jesus taught His disciples to pray “Our Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:9). This is the same God in the Old Testament but we believe there can be this intimacy with Him whereby we cry “Abba Father” (Romans 8:15). The Scriptures teach that if you say that you are a child of God and if His Spirit is in you then you can call God as Father. The Spirit will bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16). Jesus modeled this for us as He as the Son of God called God “Abba Father” (Mark 14:36). Believers of the Lord who received the Holy Spirit, who have been adopted into Gods family can call Him Father (Romans 8:15). Matthew’s Gospel shows us that we can be children to this Father as Jesus shows us that God can be our Father as he uses the words “your Father” (Matthew 5:9,16,48). The Epistle to the Ephesians tells us this God has beloved children, again showing us the intimacy and closeness that His followers can have with God as their Father (Ephesians 5:1). Jesus sets it clear; the only true God is the Father (John 17:1-3). James calls Him the Father of lights (James 1:17), we see Him as the Father of Israel (Jeremiah 3 1 :9), and we see that He can be a Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5) This is so comforting to know, that we can know God as Father if you are born of God and become a child of God (John 1:12,13).

Jesus Christ was fully man and fully God. He was a human being, a person, a man. The Bible calls Him “the Son of man” usually referring to His human likeness in the Old Testament (Daniel 7:13), but as a Messianic title in the New Testament. A good verse to support Christ Jesus as a man is in the first Epistle to Timothy “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ‘’ (1 Timothy 2:5). We also see something eye opening in the Scriptures. Jesus declared, “if you know me (Jesus), you know the Father” (John 14:7). He also took it further by stating, “if you see me (Jesus), you see the Father” (John 14:9). In these statements we clearly see His divine deity. The Father was in Him and He was in the Father. Jesus never spoke of His own authority but the Father gave Him the words and the Father was doing the works in Him and through Him (John 14:1 0). We see by His works that this was not an ordinary man but the God-man. God the Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I the Son of man am?” (Matthew 16:13). They answered, some say that He was John the Baptist, some say, Elijah, and others said, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. This is how far man can go in thinking of who Jesus is. Their answer suggests what some people in the world might say that Jesus is like John the Baptist…the greatest man born from woman (Matthew 11:11), or who ever lived, or a prophet like one of the greats but it takes something supernatural for someone to declare who Jesus is. Simon Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” and Jesus said, ”Simon Bar-Jona: flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father in heaven” (Matthew 16:16,17). This takes “revelation” from God the Father showing an individual who Jesus Christ really is.

The Holy Spirit is a gift. Jesus said, “How much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask Him’’ (Luke 11:13). We see the Holy Spirit in creation as the Spirit was moving (hovering) upon the face of the waters (Genesis 1:2). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. He comes to indwell the believer (emphasis, believer). and He is the Spirit of truth (John 14:17). He truly guides us into all truth. Whatever He hears from the Lord, He speaks and shows us things to come (John 16:13). He glorifies Jesus by receiving what is His and declaring it and showing it to us (John 16:14). He comes to comfort the believer (John 14:16; Acts 9:31). He comes alongside us to help us (thank you Lord!). In this comfort is a sense of encouragement not to give up, this is the work of the Holy Spirit. This is how God dwells in the believer by the Holy Spirit. We enjoy fellowship with God through the Holy Spirit. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit happens when a person “gets saved”. He produces Christ’s life in us by sanctification. He convicts of sin. An important part of receiving the Holy Spirit is for an individual to believe.

This usually happens when people are really thirsty spiritually and seeking for God and truth. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink, whoever believes in Me as the Scripture says, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37, 38). Truly believing is necessary for the Holy Spirit to indwell an individual. The Gospel must be preached, the individual must hear the word of truth. believe and trust in it for salvation and therefore will be sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).

We believe everyone is born into sin (Romans 5:12) because of Adam’s sin passed on to all the human race. Someone might say, why should they be guilty for the sin of Adam? We need to know, through Adam’s sin death entered the world and this death has passed on from Adam to everyone even to all who think they are not guilty of Adam’s transgression (Romans 5:14). If death passed to all, therefore sin has passed to all and everyone is still guilty of sin as sin separates man from God. The Bible says. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Everyone is guilty and is a sinner, this is necessary to know and accept for one to receive salvation. There needs to be the realization in a person’s heart that they are separated from God because of sin. A person needs to also realize that Jesus Christ paid for the sin of Adam and their sins on the cross. His blood was shed to forgive us of our sins and He died. Jesus Christ was then buried and rose again from the dead the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). A person must believe in this truth, turn away from sin, and confess Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9). This is a surrendering of one’s heart and life to the Lord, a receiving of the Lord Jesus Christ into their life and being “born again’- from above by God (John 1 :12, 13). There is no other way to be saved, there is no other name in which someone can receive salvation, it is only by and through the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). Jesus paid the price in order for us to be forgiven, it is through His blood that forgiveness happens (Hebrews 9:22; Romans 3:25; Romans 5:9). Salvation is a complete work of God and is just simply responding to God’s great offer of love. God loves us so much that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:1 6). Faith is necessary, and it is by God’s amazing grace that one can be saved (Ephesians 2:5,9-8)

There will be a moment, as fast as the twinkling of an eye, as the Bible calls “the last trumpet”. There will be a trumpet sound (Zechariah 9:14), and this moment when God will send His angels with the loud trumpet call to gather “His elect” from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other (Matthew 24:31). Jesus and Apostle Paul specifically talk about “this moment”. In that moment, something amazing will occur. Paul shows us “a mystery”, we shall not all die! but we shall be changed in a moment. This will be a glorious holy moment; the dead will be raised incorruptible (imperishable and immortal) to live and last forever (1 Corinthians 15:52). Paul goes into great detail regarding the coming of the Lord and makes it very clear that if you really believe that Jesus died and rose again (that you are in Christ), whether you are still living and remaining on earth or you have died in Christ (as a believer), by the word of the Lord when Jesus returns, you will be “caught up” in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17). The Bible makes it ever so clear that Jesus will come down from heaven and descend (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Daniel, in the Old Testament, saw this in a vision: Jesus, the Son of Man, coming in the clouds of heaven (Daniel 7:13). This is a prophetic word for one of the greatest events that will occur on this earth. Jesus makes it clear, there will be an “hour” when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those that are in the graves will hear His voice and will come out. Those that have done good will be resurrected to life, and those who have done evil will be resurrected to condemnation (John 5:25-29). This is why it is so important to hear the words of Christ, believe in Him, and receive eternal life.

Water baptism is a very important ordinance for one to adhere to. Water baptism does not save anyone, but we see individuals in the Bible who professed salvation that were baptized shortly after. Water baptism is really identifying publicly that you have already been saved by Christ.

You immerse yourself in the waters of baptism as a “symbol” that your “old” life and ways have been “crucified” and “died” with Christ (Romans 6). You have been changed by Christ; He has transformed your life from the inside out, and therefore you come out of the water as a “new” person in Christ. This is what water baptism symbolizes. As you go down and immerse yourself into the water, it is showing that your old life has been buried with Christ. As you come up and out of the water, it is showing that you have been saved and transformed by Christ into a new person. Water baptism is a very important ordinance for a professing believer to do. Jesus Christ shows us an example that even He was baptized (Matthew 3:13-17), so must we.

Water baptism is not only significant to the person being baptized, but it also testifies to his or her community what happened when their life was changed by Jesus. It confirms and strengthens the new believer’s commitment to live a godly life. It also gives the believer the opportunity to openly testify to others of his experience of having been crucified with Christ, buried with Him, and raised together with Him to walk in newness of life (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4-6). The significance of water baptism is clear when you understand the meaning of the original Greek verb baptidzo. It means “to immerse.” Immersion is a picture of burial. So, though some churches sprinkle or pour water in the baptismal ceremony, it is when a believer is completely submerged and then raised up out of the water that the significance is more clearly understood. The old man is dead and buried. A new man is raised up out of the grave, reborn to live a new life by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is important. Without first making Jesus Lord and believing that God raised Him from the dead, water baptism would have no purpose. Water baptism is not the baptism that saves. What cleanses us from sin is not the water but the precious blood that Jesus shed on the cross (see Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:22; Revelation 1:5). If you feel you’ve never properly buried your old, sinful nature and dedicated your whole self to the Lord, don’t wait any longer—find a place to participate in water baptism and get totally free!

The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ Himself. We need to always remember that Christ is our example, and He showed His disciples the importance and significance of the Lord’s Supper. Apostle Paul tells us that the same night in which our Lord was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks for it, broke it, and said, “Take, eat: This is my body which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). In the same way, Jesus took the cup and said, “This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:25). The Lord’s Supper is important to do because as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you are showing, proclaiming, and declaring the Lord’s death till He comes (1 Corinthians 11:26). At the same time, it is extremely important for believers who have been saved to take it. For one to take the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner, they can be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27). The believer who takes the elements must examine themselves whether they are truly in the faith (a believer) and examine themselves that they are in right standing before the Lord (1 Corinthians 11:27-28). There are consequences when a person does not do this (1 Corinthians 11:29-32). We need to remember the pain and suffering Jesus went through on the cross for our sins, and to take the Lord’s Supper without truly recognizing His painful sacrifice and eating and drinking the elements in a careless manner can bring judgment to an individual.

Why is church membership so important? One may argue and debate this. We at New Life Community Christian Church desire that everyone attending here have a “high level” of commitment. We know that the Lord will reward us for what we have done on this earth, so we want everyone who wants to be part of our church to become a “member” here to show a “high level” of commitment to the Lord by serving here. We desire to see you flourish in good works and deeds in which we were created for (Ephesians 2:10). God wants us to “walk” in good works, and no better place is there to see this played out than if you are a “part” of the local church. Membership puts you in a mindset that you are not alone; you need your brothers and sisters in Christ just as they need you. The Christian life was never meant to be in isolation. Therefore, we encourage everyone who wants to be a “part” of our church to become a church member here so you can be in constant “good works” and continually walking in these works in the church (Ephesians 2:10). We truly desire to see you be in a place where you are “thriving” spiritually. We also want you to be “accountable” to one another; it puts you on solid ground, and church membership will put you in a place where other church members will check up on you on a regular basis to see how you are doing and start caring for you, especially if you are not attending in a while or in a bad place spiritually. This is what comes out of church membership. There are no “cons” or “downfalls” in being a church member; there are only advantages and positive caring attributes when one is a member. You don’t have to be “nervous” about being a church member. Someone needs to hear that. Your commitment and accountability will go to a higher level, and pride will be removed from your life as humility will be raised through this act of accountability (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:6). Dedication sits at the core of church membership, and we at “New Life” are looking forward to seeing you become a member of our church family.

We at New Life have a biblical view on marriage. We believe God instituted marriage (Genesis 2:24). Marriage is between a man and a woman according to the Bible (Genesis 2:21-25). God desires for “love” to reign in their lives for one another and for them to care for one another and to support one another. The Bible makes it ever so clear that two believers are to marry one another (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). We have seen the consequences and ramifications that a couple can have if one is a believer and the other is not. Not only can this cause dramatic problems in their marriage of being “unequally yoked,” but this can also cause confusion to their kids if God would allow them to have children. Because we see and know that marriage is difficult (1 Corinthians 7:28) and takes much effort, we at New Life Community Christian Church will only marry believers and followers of the Lord. We will counsel the couple, teach the couple, and prepare the couple of what a godly marriage is supposed to look like. Marriage is to be a lifelong commitment of continually sacrificial love and respect between the man and the wife. There is a “cleaving” together through thick and thin, a “sticking together” no matter what happens (Genesis 2:24). Since God will never leave us nor forsake us, so should we (Hebrews 13:5). God loves marriage, and doing marriage God’s way always works. We desire to be committed to a higher standard of producing quality disciples, couples, men, and women for Jesus Christ. To God be all the praise and glory! Amen.