- Truth
- Essential and Non Essential
- Jesus and His Work
- The Holy Spirit and His Work
- The Bible
- The Gospel
Truth
Jesus builds his church on the foundation of truth. Paul says that the only foundation that can be laid for any endeavor seeking to glorify God is the foundation of Jesus Christ, and Him alone. Jesus’ own self disclosure consisted of being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the very embodiment of truth. We believe that the foundations of our faith, fellowship, and future must be built on the Word of God. We believe that truth and reality are synonymous and that the revelation of Jesus (the very cornerstone of theology) enables us to understand and respond to the real world around us in a God honoring and God centered way.
We highly honor the Word of God and submit to its place of preeminent authority in our lives and work. We cannot stress enough how incredibly dedicated we are to the Scriptures the Holy Spirit has inspired for our direction, sanctification, and enjoyment. The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and light to our path. The Bible is our highest authority, our most esteemed literature, the object of our study, and the rule and measure of life.
In the paragraphs below you’ll find a partial list of concise explanations that summarize what we believe concerning essential doctrine.
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Essential and Non Essential
City on a Hill holds fast and strong to essential Christian doctrine, but allows variation and leeway when it comes to non essentials within the realm of the faith.
Before we go into the details related to our beliefs in certain essential doctrines, or teachings, let me first distinguish between doctrine that is primary as opposed to other facets and aspects of our faith that can be classified as non-essential. Essential doctrine is comprised of classical or orthodox truths that supply the very life and meaning to what it means to be a Christian. These truths are not to be tampered with, altered, removed, or compromised. They serve as the very foundation our salvation depends on and our spiritual lives are matured by. These foundational essentials include and are not limited to doctrines such as the deity and person of Christ, the means of salvation, the gospel, etc. These, along, with others are the very bedrock of the genuine Christian faith which we, along with the church worldwide, unswervingly unite in for the purpose of representing an authentic faith that is Jesus centered and Bible honoring.
Let me explain this a little more clearly. 1 Corinthians 12 teaches us that the church of Jesus Christ is a body that consists of many differing, even though equally indispensible, body parts. We (the genuine church) are the body and Jesus is the Head giving direction and animation to the body. If you or I were to alter or tamper with the structural system of our anatomy (our bones), we would be unable to function properly, efficiently, or in a healthy manner. We would also fail to reflect a body in accordance with its intended design. Our bones hold us together! Like our bodies, if we compromise the structural systems of our faith (essential doctrines) we will be unable to function as a local church body and will fail to represent a body of believers chiefly governed by Jesus and His Word. Our doctrines (our Bible) hold us together!
Non essential teachings and practices are important but can take different shape and are open to alteration within the church at large. By using the term “non essential” when it comes to certain secondary teaching and practices within the church at large, we mean that even though neighboring bodies of believers emphasize different facets of the faith, or interpret various characteristics of the faith in a different light, it does not mean that we disunite from them as we would a community of persons compromising or altering essential truth claims of the Bible. These non essential practices and concerns include and are not limited to music, worship service dynamics, methods of evangelism, etc.
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What We Believe
Jesus and His Work
Jesus is God. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God who came to earth to perfectly glorify His father and redeem the elect of God through his substitutionary, sacrificial, and all satisfying death on the cross. He is co-eternal, co-equal, and cooperative with God the Father, and God the Spirit. (John 1:1, Rom. 9:5, John 10:30)
We believe that the purpose of all existence is for the glory and government of Jesus Christ. He is the creator of all things, the basis of all reality, the substance of all truth, the Savior of His elect church, the sole standard of sanctification, the messiah foretold by the prophets, united but distinguishable in the godhead, our object of faith and worship along with God the Father and God the Spirit. Jesus, even though eternally existing came to earth clothed in the garments of humanity, fully God but condescending to become fully man, born of the humble virgin Mary, baptized by the Holy Spirit of God with illimitable power, light, life, and purpose.
He is the source and sustainer of all existence. He is the only man who ever lived that holds the rights to supreme authority and dominion. He lived a perfectly righteous life fully explaining God in the context of our humanness. He died a perfectly planned but horribly brutal death to satisfy and atone for the sins of many and redeem His chosen from the grip of sin and death. Jesus is all that life is about. He is our everything in every way. All that was, all that is, and all that will be is for Him, through Him, and to Him.
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The Holy Spirit and His Work
The Holy Spirit is God. He is our Comforter, Friend, Teacher, Enabler, and Guide. He is God expressed personally and relationally in the work of conviction, sanctification, enlightenment, and empowerment. (John 14:26, Luke 12:12, Acts 1:8)
The Holy Spirit is a member of the triune, unimaginable, incomprehensible, all powerful, all encompassing, inexplicably awesome, absolutely wonderful, all reigning, all governing, always existing, never resting, relentlessly working Godhead. He, like Jesus, is distinguishable in person and purpose within the Trinity, but one in substance and nature. He is the promised Comforter, Friend, Helper, Mentor, and Teacher Jesus sent subsequent to His ascension to the right Hand of His incalculably amazing Father. He is at work in the earth subject to the will of the Father and Son, and activates grace, bestows gifts, empowers the elect, and enlightens Jesus’ church.
The Bible
The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible is inspired, inerrant, infallible, and the sole standard of authority in the church local and at large. The mission objective of the Bible is to glorify Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:15-16, Rom. 15:4, John 20:31)
Because our view of Jesus is illimitable, and is ultimately as Job says, "past finding out", our view of the scriptures has to be an immeasurably high view due to the credibility of their Author. We believe that the Bible is infallible: it cannot fail, inerrant: it does not error. The Bible is the measuring rod of truth meaning the reality contained in the Bible is the only unshakeable, immutable, and unalterable foundation of authority for all realms and arenas of life. The Bible is authoritative in that the founder and sustainer of life itself, Jesus Christ, attests to and substantiates the veracity and reliability of the Word of God as demonstrated in His own words contained in the Gospels. The Bible is completely clear in its predominant Christo-centric theme, and is absolutely comprehensible to become wise unto salvation and matured unto Christ-like conformity through the lifelong process of sanctification. The Bible is completely sufficient from start to finish in unfolding the extent of God’s revealed will to us.
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The Gospel
The Gospel is the predominant theme of The Bible. The Gospel is the power that saves God’s elect from death and an eternity without Him. The Gospel is the good news that Jesus came to die on the cross, go the grave for three days, rise from a tomb, and ascend to the right hand of the Father. (Rom 1:16, 1 Corin. 15:1-4, 2 Corin. 4:4)
