The Bible, God’s word to us, is central to our relationship with God and each other. While there are some areas where sincere Christians have Biblical latitude to agree to disagree (Romans 14:1-15:7; 2 Timothy 2:23-24; Titus 3:9), the Bible makes clear that certain truths are essential convictions of the Christian faith. Real Church believes the following to be essential truths to living the Christian faith.

 

About God

 

God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and majesty. God exists as the Holy Trinity, in three distinct persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God passionately desires a relationship with us and towards this end continually invites us into a relationship of faith, friendship, learning, and service. God alone is deserving of our adoration. (Genesis 1:1; John 14:6-9; 15-17; 16:7-15; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 4:9-10)

 

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About Jesus

 

God expressed himself in human form through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God. He is the perfect reflection of God’s character and glory. Born of the Virgin Mary, he lived a sinless life and offered himself as the one and only perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by living a sinless life, yet dying as a sacrifice for us on the cross. All who believe in him are declared righteous on the basis of this propitiation. He rose physically from the dead, ascended to heaven and will return again to earth to reign forever as King. There is one God and one mediator between man and God, the man Jesus Christ. 1 Timothy 2:5

(Colossians 1:13-23; 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Matthew 22:36-40; 1:18-25; John 1:1; 8:40,58; 11:33; 14:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-8; Acts 1:9-11; 10:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Romans 5:8-10)

 

 

About The Holy Spirit

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The Holy Spirit, sent from God to live inside all who believe in Jesus Christ, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower the power for Christ-like living, understanding spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. The believer receives the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation. The empowering of the Holy Spirit, the promise of the Father, is available for every Christian. (Acts 1:8; 2:4; Romans 5:5; 8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 3:16; 4:3-4; 5:18; John 14:26; 16:7-14)

 

 

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About The Bible

 

We believe that God speaks to us in the Bible, which is completely without error. Daily we seek to understand God’s message and apply it responsibly to our lives. The Bible is our standard and authority in all we say and do. We believe that God inspired the authors of the Bible and they are therefore completely trustworthy. The Bible is the final authority on all matters to which it speaks. We believe that God’s unchangeable Biblical message ought to be presented in relevant and contemporary ways, free of religious jargon so it can be understandable to the people of our community. (Matthew 5:17-19; 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:14-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2; Peter 1:16-21; 2 Peter 3:14-18; Joshua 1:7-8; Acts 17:11; Psalms 19:7-11; 119:9-16,105)

 

About Salvation

 

All people are created with dignity and value in the image of God, to live in a close relationship with God. All people were created as eternal beings.  We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin(which is Hell) or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation (which is Heaven). Through our sin (failing to live by God’s moral standards), we break our intended relationship with God. On our own we all fall short, and experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship. We see the effects spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. However, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationship with God and others. Through Christ’s atoning death on the cross, we are redeemed. Salvation comes to people on the basis of God’s grace through faith in Jesus alone, not by any works we could do ourselves. We receive the free gift of forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting of our sin and believing in Jesus Christ. Good works and a holy life, although totally unable to save us, are the natural product of repentant, believing people. (I Peter 2:24; 3:18; Romans 3:9-28; 6:23; 10:9-10; John 3:16; 5:24; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8; James 2:14-26)

 

About Baptism

 

Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. It is also a step of obedience based on God’s commands and allows us to follow the example of Jesus, who submitted himself to baptism to “fulfill all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:18-20, Acts 2:41, 8:12, Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12)

 

Love God

Love Others