WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?

The word Gospel means “good news,” so when we talk about the gospel, we’re simply telling the good news about Jesus! It’s a message from God saying, “Good news! I’m sending my son, Jesus, to save you from the penalty, power, and presence of sin!”

The Gospel is the power of God for salvation through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, saving us for the purpose of glorifying God and participating in his mission.

We believe we have been saved from the penalty of sin...

• We believe we were an enemy of God because of our sin and rebellion against him, deserving his wrath (Lk. 3:21-22; Rom. 1:18-32; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3).

• We believe Jesus is the Son of God who is fully God and fully man and that he lived his life fully submitted to God the Father (Jn. 1:1-18; 5:19, 30; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-19).

• We believe Jesus died on the cross for our sins according to the Scriptures justifying us before God and reconciling us to God (Rom. 5:6-11; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:17-21).

• We believe Jesus rose again on the third day and appeared to many people (1 Cor. 15:4-8).

• We believe Jesus ascended to the right hand of the Father and sent his Spirit to convict the world of sin, righteousness & judgment (Jn. 16:7-11; Acts 2:32-34).

• We believe the Holy Spirit has made us alive in Christ and we are now no longer condemned, but children who are loved by God as Father, submitted to Jesus as Lord and sent and empowered by the Spirit for his mission of making disciples (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:1, 14-17; Eph. 1:1-2:10)

We believe we are being saved from the power of sin...

• We believe that the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from dead now lives in us and we have access to the power of God to overcome sin and Satan today (Jn. 14:12-14, 20:21-22; Rom. 8:2-11).

• We believe it is God’s will that we be sanctified – set apart to do his will (Rom. 6:19, 22; 1 Peter 1:13-25; 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19-20; 1 Thess. 4:3).

• We desire to obey God and continue to grow in becoming more like Jesus and accomplishing his mission (Jn. 8:42, 14:15; Eph. 4:11-16).

• We believe we have all we need to make this a reality - his Spirit, his word & his church, and we intend to steward all of this for his glory (Eph. 1:2-22; Col. 1:27-29; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-11).

We believe we will be saved from the presence of sin...

• We believe Jesus will one day return and will make an end to sin, suffering, evil and brokenness (Matt. 16:27; 24:27, 44; Acts 1:11; 2 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 19:1-20:14; 22:7, 12, 20).

• We believe there will be a new heaven and a new earth (Is. 65:17, 66:22; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-22:5).

• We believe he will judge the living and the dead and all those who put their trust in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection on their behalf will enjoy being in God’s presence forever in the new heaven and new earth (Acts 10:42-43; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5; Rev. 20:11-21:8).

• We believe all those who trust in something or someone other than Jesus for their life and justification before God will be separated from God forever (Matt 7:21-23, 25:41-46; Jn. 3:16-18, 14:6; Acts 4:12) .

• We believe it is our job as the Church to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls and to display through our lives the foretaste of the future so that people will hunger for it and put their faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8; Rom. 10:14-16; 1 Pet. 2:9-12, 3:15).