What We Believe:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” – John 1:1-3
We believe just what God’s Word says: God created all things. Heaven, earth, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and as the crown of creation He made man.
As John tells us throughout His Gospel, our God is a triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit.
“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:4-5
Our God is a God of life. And this is How He made men: to be children of life and light. There is no source of life apart from the One, true God, and apart from God there is only death and darkness.
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.”
Even though we were made through such life and made for life, we fell from God’s image and glory when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Ever since this fall into sin, all mankind has lost the light and life of God. We fell into sin. Now, instead of worshipping and following God as creator and the light and life of the world, man does not know God and, when left to his own devices, man will actively rebel against God and refuse God and His Word. This is a problem! Apart from God there is no life, so we are left dead in our sinful flesh.
As Paul says in His letter to the Romans as he quotes the Psalms,
“‘No one is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good.Not even one.’ ‘Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’ ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’ ‘There feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’” – Romans 3:10-18
Taught throughout the entire bible is this horrible truth: ever since the fall men are unrighteous, are foolish, are constantly deceiving, constantly acting evil. They do not live under God, the creator and giver of life, as they should, and they do not live in love toward neighbor as they should but constantly go after their own desires at the detriment to others. And now in this sin and having separated ourselves from God, who is the only source of life, we are destined to die.
But God, our loving creator, does not leave us in this sin and death.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” – John 1:14
God the Son, the Word of God, who we were created through and who is the source of life, took on human flesh and dwelt among us. But the question is why? What does His dwelling among us do for us?
“Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” – John 1:29
“So must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:15-16
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” – John 10:11
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” – Romans 3:22-25
Our God took on human flesh in order to die in our place.
Yes, all mankind has fallen short of the glory of God, has loved evil and his own desires instead of loving God and fellow men. In separating ourselves from God, we deserved death.
But Christ died in our place.
Now all who believe in Him and His death and resurrection receive life instead of death. The only questioned then is: “How do we receive this wonderful life of Christ!?”
“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. These things have I spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” – John 14:23-26
First, of course, is the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God which tells us this great news of salvation: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And Jesus promises in John 14-16 that the Holy Spirit will be with us and work in us faith as we hear and read the Word of God.
But this isn’t the only way we receive life and salvation!
God wants us to be sure that He is giving us life through Christ, and so He gives us several ways in which we can be absolutely sure that He is working in our lives to save us and create and maintain faith in us.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” – Romans 6:3-5
“He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ, our savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” – Titus 3:5-7
First, we are brought into the very life of Christ through our Baptism, where the Holy Spirit creates faith in us and we are named with God’s very name and receive His very life and resurrection.
“The Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
“Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day.’” – John 6:53-54
Second, we are sustained and nourished in faith in Christ and in His life through the Lord’s Supper where we eat and drink His body and blood given for us for the forgiveness of sins.
Because this is such a wonderful gift, we take the Lord’s Supper very seriously and take Jesus at His Word that it truly is His body and blood. Paul has more to say about this Supper in 1 Corinthians 10 and 11.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.” 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
“When you some together, it is not the Lord’s Supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal.” – 1 Corinthians 11:20-21
“Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 11:27
“For if anyone eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died.” – 1 Corinthians 11:29-30
Eating and drinking the body and blood of our Lord also involves confessing that we have all things in common with those we are communing with: we who are many members are one body in the Lord Christ. This is why we practice closed communion. Our prayer is that all would be instructed and become members of the church and communion with us, so please ask Pastor Mullins about instruction and membership.
Lastly, God wants to make sure the Gospel is proclaimed consistently and faithfully, so He sent pastors into the church in order to accomplish this.
“And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, the teachers, to equip the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.” – Ephesians 4:11-12
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.’ And when He said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” – John 20:21-23
God wants us to be so sure of our salvation under Him that He continues to send His messengers to forgive sins and be a physical voice proclaiming the Gospel in Christ’s Church.
These are the central points of what we believe.
Trinity is here to make disciples of Christ so that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of salvation under Christ, that we would not die in our sin but live under Christ unto all eternity.
We pray that you will reach out to us further and that we will see you in worship.
