THE ESSENTIAL BELIEFS OF NEW LIFE
New Life Community Church is an Evangelical Christian church and while we hold fast to the essentials of the Christian faith, we allow room for personal conviction and conscience in areas that seem less clear in Scripture and are not crucial to salvation, witness, or unity. Therefore, concerning our faith we embrace the axiom, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in all things love.” Our beliefs reflect the unambiguous teachings of the Scriptures and the witness of historic Christian orthodoxy being entirely consistent with the Nicene Creed of 381 AD and the “Five Solas” of the Reformation (see footnote).
The “Five Solas” (sola being the Latin word for alone) of the Reformation are: 1) Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone): This affirms the Biblical doctrine that the canon of Scripture alone is the sole authority for all matters of faith and practice; 2) Sola Gratia (Grace Alone): This affirms the Biblical doctrine that justification is by grace alone and that God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary, but the sole efficient cause of salvation; 3) Sola Fide (Faith Alone): This affirms the Biblical doctrine that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone; 4) Solus Christus (Christ Alone): This affirms the Biblical doctrine that salvation is found in Christ alone and that His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God the Father; 5) Soli Deo Gloria (for the Glory of God Alone): This affirms the Biblical doctrine that salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God for His glory alone. It affirms that as Christians we must glorify Him always and must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for His glory alone.
WHAT WE BELIEVE ABOUT . . .
THE SCRIPTURES
We believe in the full inspiration, inerrancy, infallibility, and sufficiency of the Christian Scriptures in their original form, and we hold the Scriptures to be the sole and final authority for all matters of Christian faith and conduct.
GOD
We believe in one God and King, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; distinguishable, yet indivisible.
JESUS CHRIST
We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life and performed miracles that attested to His deity. He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures, was raised bodily from the dead, was seen of many witnesses, and then after forty days ascended into heaven, where He now sits as our Advocate at the right hand of the Father. Furthermore, we believe in His imminent and personal return in power and glory at the end of this age to judge the living and the dead.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, to convict people of sin, righteousness and judgment, and to regenerate, indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service.
MANKIND
We believe that mankind was originally created in the image of God, but because of the fall, sin and death have passed to all people, leaving all in a state of sin and separation from God.
SALVATION
We believe that people can be saved only through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit and personal faith in the resurrected Christ who was crucified for our sins.
THE ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH
We believe that baptism and the celebration of communion by believers with a good conscience are ordinances to be observed by the church during this age.
THE CHURCH
We believe that the true universal Church is composed of all such persons who, through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, are spiritually united together in the Body of Christ. Furthermore we believe that only those who are thus members of the true universal Church should be eligible for membership in the local church. We further believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Church and that every local church has the right, under Christ, to govern its own affairs with the guidance of Biblically qualified elders.
THE RETURN OF THE LORD
We believe in the imminent personal return of our Lord Jesus Christ and that this "Blessed Hope" should have a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer.
THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead: of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord; of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment.
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