Our basic beliefs are in agreement with historic Protestant Christian beliefs and experience which are founded on the Gospel – the New Testament Good News that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ’s finished work on the Cross alone.  These essential beliefs are grounded in Jesus Christ and His teachings, as found in and supported by clear and plain statements in the Bible.  In addition to these essential beliefs, we also hold other important, but secondary biblical teachings and other Bible-based practices concerning lifestyle and behavior.  In these areas of less important beliefs, we believe that there should be a great deal of freedom and understanding among Christians according to personal study, conviction and growth.  We do not insist on imposing our position in these matters on other Christians, especially in the areas on which Christian churches have traditionally held dissimilar views.   In essential beliefs we have unity.   “There is one Body and one Spirit . . . there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all.”  Ephesians 4:4-6               In less essential beliefs we have liberty.   “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters . . . .  Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?  To his master he stands or falls . . . .  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God . . . So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God.”  Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22   In all other beliefs we have charity.   “If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge . . . but I have not love, I am nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:2   Gospel Life Community unites with other Christian churches in holding to these fundamental beliefs:   1.  We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.   2.  We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.   3.  We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.   4.  We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.   5.  We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling we are enabled to live godly lives and by whose supernatural gifts we are empowered to serve our church and our community.   6.  We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.   7.  We believe that those who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord have been saved by Jesus and renewed by the Holy Spirit and they form the one true Church of Christ.   OUR PRIMARY TEACHINGS   The Story of God and Man    The Bible is not about religion or philosophy, but about relationship. God created man to live in perfect relationship with Him and to rule His kingdom on earth as His surrogate “image.” God’s earth kingdom was lost to humanity because of Adam’s disobedience, and human beings became disqualified from fulfilling the destiny that God originally set for them; but they can be restored to God’s eternal kingdom now because of Christ’s perfect obedience.                                                              Gen. 1:27-28; Rom. 5:12; Eph. 1:4-5; Rom. 5:18-19   God - Creator and Heavenly Father      Man was created by a wise, powerful and loving God for an intimate relationship with Him and for ruling the earth as His surrogate. Man was created in God’s image so he could exercise his earth dominion authority in a godly manner. Adam failed to perform his responsibility and as a result, humanity is separated from God and disqualified from fulfilling God’s royal destiny for humankind. In spite of this, God never stops loving sinful man as a Father and He desires to restore him completely to His family and kingdom.                                                                                              Gen. 3:1-13; Jer. 31:3; 1 John 3:1 Jesus - The God-Man        Only a person who is both God and man could  bridge the separation between sinners and God. Jesus Christ, God’s eternal Son, is the promised Messiah, who became a man to be the Second Adam. Jesus died on the cross for all sins and rose on the third day from the grave to ransom sinners and open the way for them to be restored to God’s kingdom.                                                                 John 1:14; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Acts 4:12   Man and the Fall     Because of unbelief in God’s word, man was deceived into believing Satan’s lies. Instead of continuing in freedom, he was enslaved by Satan. By sinning, man chose to be separated from God, to live independent of His love and life-giving power. This separation disqualifies man from earth rulership. Apart from God, man can only live in opposition to God’s original plan for him. Every human being has inherited this condition from Adam (“Original Sin” or the “sinful nature”) and it controls what he thinks, feels and does. Without God’s intervention, man is powerless to change his course. Jesus Christ came to set us free by giving us a new spirit. This spirit that the Holy Spirit births in the believer is meant to live only in liberty.                                          Gen. 2:16-17; Gen. 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12; Psalms 51:5; Rom. 7:18   The Penalty for Sin     The penalty for sin is eternal death.            Rom. 6:23   Jesus - Savior of the World         Jesus Christ died on the cross to satisfy and maintain God’s justice and to demonstrate God’s unconditional love for sinners. Because Jesus paid for the penalty of all sins on the cross, once for all time, God forgave all our sins – past, present and future. We are restored to a right relationship with God – no longer considered as guilty and condemned – when we believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as our Savior and Lord.                                                 2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 53:4-5; Eph. 1:7; Col. 2:13-14; 2 Cor. 5:19                                                                                                              Acts 10:43; John 3:16-18   The Good News      Salvation is God’s free gift to sinners who are unable to obey His law and, therefore, undeserving of eternal life. God gives this gift to us through His Son, Jesus, who came to suffer the penalty that we deserve in order for us to receive the life that we don’t deserve. We receive salvation by believing in Jesus as our risen Savior and declaring to the world that He is our Lord.                                                                           Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:4-9; Rom. 3:27                                                                             Rom. 3:28; Rom. 3:21-26; Romans 10:8-10   Salvation by Faith  We receive God's gift of salvation by believing in what Jesus did for us and inviting Him to come into our lives as our Savior and Lord.  This is known as being born again. Those who receive Jesus by faith are no longer under condemnation.                                                                                            John 1:12, 13; Rev. 3:20; Rom. 8:1   The Righteousness of Christ      Through the obedience of Jesus all men will be made righteous and given eternal life.                                                                                                                                    Rom. 5:18-21   Assurance of Salvation    God wants me to know that I receive eternal life when I receive Jesus Christ by faith. Since I don’t earn salvation by my performance, I don’t lose it whenever I sin. God promised to keep me saved and secure in my relationship with Him because He planned for me to do good things, not out of fear but out of my love for Him.                                                                   1 John 5:13;John 5:24; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 8:31-34                                                                                                    John 10:27-29; 1 John 5:11-12   The Holy Spirit        The Holy Spirit is the divine agent for the fulfillment of the New Covenant. This covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus Christ on Calvary, thus opening the way for the Holy Spirit to write God’s law in man’s heart. The Holy Spirit guarantees the new believer’s complete restoration to God’s kingdom by living in him. The Holy Spirit fulfills God’s promise of a full life in Jesus Christ by empowering the believer for witnessing and giving him special abilities (spiritual gifts) for service and exercising his earth dominion authority.                                                                                       Eph. 1:13-14; Titus 3:3-5; John 14:17                                                                                                          Gal. 5:22-23; 1 Cor. 12:7-11   Discipleship God saved me for a grander purpose than merely avoiding eternal punishment. I was saved so I could be restored to God’s original purpose for humankind – ruling earth. In the place of Adam, I now have Christ to rule with me. After my legal restoration to God’s Kingdom, I am called to undergo a process of growth, maturity and equipping for my royal duties in this life and for eternity. The process involves increasing levels of commitment as my value system changes, until Jesus becomes my first priority in life, above all of the things of this world.                                              John 8:31; 13:34-35; 15:8; Luke 14:26,27,33; Matt. 16:24-26   Baptism        Jesus commanded His disciples to baptize people when they believe. Baptism by immersion symbolically depicts the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. By being baptized the new believer publicly declares his salvation in Jesus and his new life with Him. Baptism is also the means by which new believers openly join God’s church and enter His service.                                                                                        Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:3-8; Acts 2:41-42   The Lord’s Supper The Lord’s Supper is the symbol of the completed Messianic work of Jesus Christ. His blood represents Christ’s payment for the forgiveness of all sins. His broken body represents the ransom that Christ paid for the healing of our diseases. Christians are commanded to join together in this hallowed commemoration of our salvation through Jesus Christ alone. Every time we participate in communion, we are reminded that we now live under the New Covenant era.                                                                                                   Luke 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26   Spiritual Community       Believers will grow and serve in a spiritual community (the Church).                                                                                                                                      Acts 2:42-47             a.         For teaching - Discipleship             b.         For fellowship - Community             c.         For sharing the Gospel (with signs and wonders - Evangelism             d.         For blessing each other and their community - Ministry             e.         For joyously praising God together - Worship   Christian Stewardship      We believe that we are God's stewards, entrusted by Him with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources. We are responsible for their proper use. We acknowledge God's ownership by faithful service to Him and our fellow men, and by  giving tithes and offerings for the proclamation of His gospel and the support and growth of His church. Stewardship is a privilege given to us by God for nurturing us in love and giving us victory over selfishness and covetousness.                                            Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15; 1 Chron. 29:14; Deut. 12:6; Mal. 3:10-12;                                                                               1 Cor. 6:19,20; 1 Cor. 9:9-14; 2 Cor. 9:6,7   Spiritual Warfare     The warfare that royal ambassadors fight is against spiritual powers. So, they are spiritually equipped and empowered to fight and win from a position of victory – the victory that Christ won at Calvary for all humanity. Believers are given authority over demonic forces, so they can assert the victory that Christ already gained over Satan and his kingdom. We fulfill our destiny as earth rulers by overthrowing Satan from his control of human hearts and souls. Believers engage in spiritual warfare in order to open the eyes of those who have been blinded by Satan, so they can understand the Good News and receive forgiveness and citizenship in God’s kingdom.                                                               2 Cor. 10:3-5; Luke 10:19; Matt. 10:1; Eph. 6:10-18   Christ’s Second Coming  Jesus promised to return someday, “when everything is ready,” to be with His followers. The day will come, soon, when we will welcome Jesus back to earth with joy and celebration. For now, let us rejoice in the certainty of our hope in Jesus Christ and diligently work to fulfill our mission of sharing the Good News of the Kingdom.                                                                                                                    John 14:1-3; Isa. 25:9   The Resurrection of the Saints  The bodies of the believers who die will rise from the grave to life when Christ returns. The “transformed” bodies of both the dead and living saints will be “immortal” and “incorruptible.”                                                                                              1 Cor. 15:50-55; 1 Thes. 4:13-17   Unity of the Body of Christ          We believe that the Body of Christ should be recognized as one entity, undivided by man-made structural and doctrinal distinctives of Christian denominations, and that all believers are united by “one Body and one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father.”  For this reason we do not view members and congregations of other churches or denominations as opponents in a contest for new converts, but rather as fellow-workers to work with and to pray for in the advancement of God’s Kingdom and in the warfare against God’s enemy.                                                                                        Eph. 4:4-6; 3:6; 5:30; 1 Cor. 12:12-27   Ambassadors of Christ    We, who have responded to Christ’s call to follow Him, are the Body of Christ, His chosen people, His holy nation – a royal priesthood. We have been commissioned by Jesus as His royal ambassadors – His Kingdom representatives on earth. We have been tasked to bring His marvelous light – the Good News of the Kingdom – to this dark and dying world. We have been re-born by the Holy Spirit for this very important life-mission. As citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, we have no priority greater and more urgent than this divine imperative. Christ Himself invites us to join Him in restoring lost earth to His eternal kingdom. This has been, and will always be, at the heart of His Messianic persona and must also be at the core of our earthly existence. Nothing matters more than the Kingdom of God and its revelation and fulfillment in our lives and our world. All other things are secondary.                                                                                                    John 20:21-22; 2 Cor. 5:18-20;                                                                                  1 Peter 2:9; Matt. 16:16-19; Matt. 5:13-16