What We Believe
The words of Scripture contained in the Bible are God's infallible Word and are sufficient for our lives.
The God of the Bible is the sovereign creator of all things and as such has authority over all things. He is perfectly holy and just! He is also perfect love and grace. He designed all things to bring Him glory.
God's highest creation is man and woman! He provided all that was necessary for them and their descendants to live for His glory in perfect joy. Man and woman rebelled against God's design seeking to rule over themselves and brought sin into God's creation. As a result all creation was given over to enslavement to sin. This includes man and woman's willful continuation in rebellion against God rendering them unwilling and incapable of living according to God’s design. The ultimate consequence of sin is eternal condemnation under the righteous judgment of God for eternity.
Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh as the remedy to man and woman's ultimate dilemma due to sin. He is both 100% man and 100% God. He lived up to God's divine law in every way fulfilling God’s righteous requirement. He then offered His perfect life as a sufficient sacrifice for the sinfulness of all mankind providing a way of being reconciled to God forever.
Mankind's greatest need is to be rescued and reconciled to God! This is the meaning of salvation. Salvation is not deserved nor can it be earned by anyone. It is a gracious gift of God based upon the person and work of Christ's perfect life and death. All who repent of their sins and trust in the person and work of Christ on their behalf will be saved.
God has provided a community for all who are in Christ in order to live out the gospel in this world. This community is called the church who is given expression through local gatherings of believers committed to one another for the purpose of living out the gospel. All who profess Christ and obediently follow Him through the waters of baptism as an outward expression of their faith are united to both the universal or invisible church and the local or visible church.
All who are in Christ seek to grow in their faith as God progressively conforms us to the image of Christ until the day when Christ comes again to rid God's creation of all sin. This is the blessed hope of all who believe!
OCS