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WHO WE ARE Statement of Faith
WHO WE ARE Statement of Faith | Statement of Faith |
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Practical expressions of Christian ministry and the ethical life of the individual believer are to be the natural extension of their theological understanding. The following statement of faith forms the theological underpinning for Cornerstone's work and witness. The Scriptures We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible, authoritative Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, and the full and complete revelation of God’s will for man concerning matters of faith and practice. (II Timothy 3:16,17; Proverbs 30:5,6; John 17:17) The Godhead We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection’s. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; I Peter 1:2) The Person and Work of Christ We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His miracles, His sinless life, His vicarious and atoning death for the redemption of man through His shed blood, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His personal return in power and glory. (Matthew 1:20-23; John 1:1,14; Romans 5:8-10; Acts 2:22; Hebrews 1:3; II Corinthians 5:21; Acts 2:30-32) The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit, that He regenerates, convicts, moves to repentance, creates faith in and indwells all whom the Father has given to Christ. He is the believer’s Comforter and Sanctifier, baptizing each believer into the one body of Christ, and sealing each to the day of redemption. He guides the believer into all truth, and sovereignly gives spiritual gifts to each believer. Subsequent fillings may be given by the Holy Spirit for empowering of the individual, and edification of the body of Christ. (Titus 3:5; John 16:8; Acts 11:15-18, 13:48; Romans 8:9-11; I Peter 1:2; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13,14; John 16:13; I Corinthians 12:4-11) The Nature of Man We believe that all men have inherited a corrupted nature by the sin and the fall of Adam and Eve our first parents, from original righteousness, and that as a result all unregenerate mankind, apart from Christ, is now at enmity with God and inclined to evil, possessing nothing within themselves that would recommend them to God, and are utterly helpless to remedy this condition. (Romans 5:18-19, 8:8,7; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 11, 12) Justification We believe a man is justified by faith. We understand justification to be God’s legal declaration whereby the sinner is positionally regarded as not guilty and received into God’s favor as righteous. This justification consists of forgiveness of sins, and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. We also affirm that this doctrine of justification is the foundation upon which our salvation is laid, and is based on the work of Christ, given to men freely by grace and received by faith alone. Concerning this faith, we affirm that though it is distinct from repentance, faith cannot be separated or disconnected from repentance. Saving faith involves embracing Christ as Savior and Lord. True faith always and immediately begins to display the fruit of obedience. The process of sanctification, by which we are conformed to the image of Christ, begins certainly upon belief in Christ and continues until glorification. (Romans 4:5-8, 3:25, 22, 5:1, 3:21-24; Luke 13:3, 5; Acts 2:36-38; I John 4:20-5:5) Sanctification We believe that sanctification is a setting apart of the believer unto God (Romans 8:29-30). It consists of: Positional: Every believer, by his being in Christ, has a complete and holy standing before God. (Hebrews 10:10; Colossians 1:27) Progressive: Still, each believer lives in a present state that is imperfect. For the flesh wars against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, whereby a continual need arises for believers to put to death fleshly lusts. Therefore, he is in need of progressive sanctification by growing in grace into spiritual maturity. God, as a Holy and Righteous Father of all who are redeemed, chastens and corrects His children for their profit that they might be partakers of His holiness and bring forth the fruit of righteousness. (Romans 8:29; Hebrews 10:14, 12:10, 14; II Peter 3:18) Ultimate: Every believer will experience full and complete sanctification when he shall see the Lord and shall be like Him. (I Corinthians 15:46-49; Ephesians 5:25-27; Philippians 3:21; I John 3:2) Security of the Believer We believe that all believers are kept by the power of God, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, interceded for by Christ, and secure in Him forever. (John 6:37-40, 10:27-29; Ephesians 1:13-14, 2:8-10; Philippians 1:6; James 2:17; I Peter 1:5,9) The Church We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. The universal church, which is the body and the bride of Christ, is a spiritual body made up of all born-again persons, whose establishment and continuance is defined in the Scriptures and is composed solely of the regenerate. Furthermore, we believe in the visible church, which is the institution ordained by God, and administered by men appointed to leadership, for the equipping and maturing of the saints. This visible church is composed of all who profess faith and obedience to Christ, together with their children. (Ephesians 2:19, 5:23,27,32; Acts 2:38,39; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 4:11-12; I Corinthians 7:14; Acts 2:39) Baptism We believe in baptism as the outward physical sign of the inward spiritual condition of the heart. It is the covenant emblem of membership in the family of God. As a visible symbol of new union with God, baptism is to be administered after a credible profession of faith and a desire to trust and embrace the Lord Jesus. From the cleansing of the heart that baptism portrays, comes a new life of freedom that is no longer in bondage to sin. In the acceptance of the sign and seal of baptism by faith, the recipient receives assurances of the covenant promises given by God. Typically, we baptize by immersion, but just as cleansing modes varied in the old covenant, so also does baptism vary in method from church to church. Recognizing that the inward cleansing and new life is the real focus of baptism, liberty is given as to how the water is used. As an ordinance commissioned by Jesus to accompany the preaching of the gospel to all nations, baptisms are to be given in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and practiced by the church until the consummation of the age. (Acts 2:38, 22:16; Romans 6:3-7; 1 Corinthians 6:11, 12:13; Ephesians 1:13, 14, 5:25-27; Colossians 2:11,12; Titus 3:5, Matthew 28:18-20) The Lord’s Supper We believe in the communion of our Lord Jesus with individual members of His church. As a memorial service, believers celebrate the atonement Jesus secured for His saints at the cross. Instituted by Him the night of His betrayal, it is to be observed until His coming at the end of the age. The service uses two elements, bread and wine, that symbolize His broken body and shed blood. His shed blood purchased His church as He hung on the cross in substitution for His elect, bearing their curse of sin upon His broken body. The partaking of the elements of the meal symbolize the flow of spiritual nourishment from Christ to the believer, and signify the believer's covenant relationship to the Bread of Life. This ceremony should be frequently observed, as we celebrate our life in union with Christ and our personal relationship with Him. (1 John 1:1-4; Isaiah 53:4-12; Romans 3:23-26; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; Acts 20:28; John 6:35-58) The Great Commission We believe that Christ has commissioned His church to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing, and teaching whatsoever He has commanded. Therefore, it is the obligation of all believers to witness by life and by word to the truths of Holy Scripture and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind. Every believer should be a faithful steward of all his substance for the furtherance of the Gospel at home and abroad, living his life in such a manner as to not bring reproach upon his Savior and Lord. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 10:11-17) Things to Come We believe in the imminent, bodily return of the Lord. Jesus Christ will receive all believers to Himself. This includes His own who are alive and remain unto His coming, and also all who have died in Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the unsaved. God has appointed a day when He will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ. Each person will be required to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they have done, whether good or evil, the just to the resurrection of eternal life, and the unrighteous to the resurrection of eternal damnation. (Acts 1:9-11; I Corinthians 15:50-54; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:46; II Corinthians 5:10; John 5:28,29; Acts 17;31; Romans 2:16; 14:10,12; Revelation 20:12-15) |