Waterbrooke Statement of Faith
GOD’S WORD –
We believe that the Bible Is the infallible Word of God inerrant in the original manuscripts and Is our singular authority in all matters of faith, doctrine and Christian living. (II Timothy 3: 16; II Peter 1 :20, 21)
GOD’S NATURE & EXISTENCE
We believe in one God, eternally existing as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1: 1, 26; Matthew 28: 19; John 1: 1, 3, 4:24; Acts 5:3, 4; Romans 1:20; Ephesians 4:4-6; II Corinthians 13:14)
God the Father
We Believe in God, the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that God concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of people, that God hears and answers prayer, and that God saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (John 3:16, 17; John 4:24; John 17:5)
God the Son – Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, being fully God and fully man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in His sinless life, His miracles and teachings, substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into Heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
God the Holy Spirit
We Believe in the Holy Spirit, coexistent with the Father and Son sent to convict the world in regard to sin, righteousness and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that the Holy Spirit is our abiding helper, teacher and guide. He equips believers with gifts both natural and supernatural for the building up of the church and the furthering of God’s kingdom. (John 14:26; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:14-17; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11; Ephesians 1:13, 14)
GOD’S CREATION
We believe God created the universe and all that is in it. In His graciousness, He created man and woman in His image, but they chose to sin and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death, which is separation from God. We believe that all humans since Adam are born with a sinful nature and become sinners in thought, word, and deed and, apart from Christ, remain in spiritual separation from God. (Genesis 1-3; Romans
3:23-25; 5:12-18; I John 1:8; Jeremiah 17:9)
GOD’S PROVISION OF GRACE
We believe sinful man would have remained in a state of guilt and separation from God, but God, in His grace, love, and mercy, sent Jesus Christ as an atoning sacrifice to pay our debt, which in and of ourselves we could not pay. We further believe that all who trust God fully and who come by grace through faith to a saving acceptance of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit, and move from a state of separation from God to a state of sonship becoming children of God, and thus, heirs of His kingdom. (Isaiah 53; Matthew 20:28; John 1:12-13, 3:3-5, 3:16; Romans 3:24-26, 5:1-8; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9)
GOD’S PEOPLE
The Church
We believe that there is one true church universal, comprised of all people who acknowledge Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord and innumerable local manifestations of the larger body. The Scriptures command the local church to devote itself to worship, prayer, and the teaching of the Word, seeking to present the Gospel to all in order to make them disciples and followers of Christ. Believers, who are walking in fellowship by both Christ’s command and example, should participate in regular observance of the Lord’s Supper, remembering His death and resurrection until His return. Likewise, new believers, upon their profession of faith, should follow Christ in the act of baptism. We follow the New Testament practice and example of baptism by immersion for those confessing Christ as their Lord and Savior. It is an important celebration and public testimony of their new life in Christ. The Bible also commands believers to be devoted to fellowship and authentic community life, leading and serving one another through the discovery and use of their spiritual gifts and the faithful stewardship of all that they are and have, seeking to reach full maturity in Christ. We further believe that Christians should live for the glory of God and the well being of others – that their conduct should be exemplary before the world. The Church, united and living in Christ, is the visible representation of God’s Kingdom on Earth. (Mark 1:9-10; Acts 2:40-47; Romans 12:4-6; I Corinthians 1:23-26: Ephesians 2:19-22; 4:12-16; Hebrews 10:24-25; Galatians 3:28)
Christian Living
We believe that the life of the Christian is defined throughout the New Testament, but especially in Jesus’ commission, his summation of the Commandments, and His hope that people might know we are Christian because of our love for each other. far from being a salvation based on our works, the work of the Spirit in the heart of the believer and a realization of the depth of our sin (from which we have been saved) will spur the Christian on to good works – loving because He first loved us. The Christian life should be lived boldly, but humbly – not thinking too highly of oneself – but honestly and in faith, mindful of the standard by which we will be judged.
In all ways, the Christian life should point to Him, whether in speech, action, thought, or intent; there should be nothing in our speech or actions which ignores, discredits, shames, minimizes, or contradicts the work that Christ has done in us and desires to do through us. (Acts 1:8; Matt 22:37-40; John 13:35; Rom 12:3)
Christian Marriage
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the Image and nature of God. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, Waterbrooke, its pastors, and staff, then, recognize only marriages between a biological man and a biological woman, and shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We also believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. (Gen 1 :26-27; 1 Cor 6: 18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4; Gen
2:18-25)
GOD’S IMMINENT RETURN
We believe in the person and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; the just to everlasting joy with· God and the unjust to everlasting punishment, separated from God.
(Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; I Corinthians 15; II Corinthians 5: 10; Revelation 20: 11-15; I Thessalonians 4:16-17)