STATEMENTS OF FAITH

We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, with supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The Holy Bible is God’s revelation of Himself to man and is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth – without any mixture of error – for its matter. All Scripture is totally true, trustworthy, relevant and applicable. God’s Word will remain to the end of the world, it is the true center of Christian union and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. (Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 36:1-32; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 15:4; 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21)

There is one and only one living and true God. He is a spiritual and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of all. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all-powerful and all-knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (Matthew 5:16, 45; 6:1, 4, 8, 9; James 1:17 / John 1:1; 14:9 / Genesis 1:2; John 4:24; 14:16-20; 2 Peter 1:21)

God as Father reigns with loving and providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God, by adoption, through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His relationship and attitude toward all humanity.   (Genesis 1:1, 2:7; Ex 3:14, 34:6; Lev 22”2; Deut 6:4, 32:6, Isa 43:3,15; Mt 6:9, 7:11,28:19; Mark 1:9-11; Jn 4:24, 5:26, 14:6-13; Acts 1:7; Rom 8:14-15; Gal 4:6; Eph 4:6; Col 1:15; 1 Tim 1:17; Heb 11:6; 1 Pet 1:17; 1 Jn 5:7)

We confess Jesus as Lord and believe that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and that only by Him only can a person be saved. We believe that He was born of virgin, lived a perfect life, died for our sins, arose from the dead. We believe that He makes intercession for us at the right hand of God the Father, has given believers the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that He is coming again in glory.   (John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:13-22, 1 John 4:9, John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:18, Rom 10:9-10)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person of God who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment; He is the agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.   (John 16:8–11; 2 Cor. 3:6; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Rom. 8:9; Eph. 5:18)

Humans are fearfully and wonderfully created in the image of God, but all have fallen short of God’s perfect standard, have sinned, deserve the penalty of death and hell, and are in need of salvation. (Gen. 1:26; Rom. 3:10, 3:23 5:12-19; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:18-19)

Salvation involves God redeeming humans and is offered freely to all who receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. Jesus Christ lived perfectly, died, was buried, and was resurrected as the perfect propitiation for our sins. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Salvation is God’s loving, free, gift. Grace through faith alone saves. No works can save any human.  (Rom. 3:10, 3:23, 5:8, 6:23, 10:9-15; JN 3:16-18, 4:16; Eph. 2:8-10; 4:18-19)

We believe that the church is made up of born again believers. The church exists as the Body of Christ at large and operates through the local church. New Life Church is an independent/autonomous church that freely cooperates with The Southern Baptist Convention and other partnerships. The two ordinances of the church are Believer’s Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  (Mt 16:15-19, 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-47, 5:11-14, 6:3-6, 13:1-3, 14:23,27, 15:1-30, 20:28; Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 3:16, 3:16, 12; Eph 3:8-11, 5:22-32, Col 1:18, 1 Tim 2:9-14, 3:1-15, 4:14, Heb 11:39-40; 1 Pet 5:1-4; Rev 2-3, 21:3)