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Example Community Church is a non-existent church dedicated to being an example of how a church is present online using Faithlife.com and related tools.
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Statement of Faith
The Bible: We believe that the Bible, in its entirety, is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16), recorded by godly men under the direction of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21), and it is without error in the original manuscripts. We also believe that God has supernaturally preserved the integrity of the Scriptures, and therefore we submit to the Bible as the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice.
The One Triune God:
We believe that there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4), who is eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Though one being, we believe that God exists eternally in three co-equal persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 13:14). Each of these persons possess the same attributes and perfections worthy of the same honor, confidence, and obedience.
The Father: We believe in God the Father, Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1-31), the eternal, sovereign, personal spirit (John 4:24). We believe He foreknows all that will come to pass (Isaiah 46:9-10). We believe He works all things according to His eternal decree and for His own glory (Ephesians 1:11). His designation as Father refers both to His role within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind (Ephesians 4:6: Romans 8:14).
The Son: We believe in the full deity and eternal existence of Jesus Christ who took on flesh through the virgin birth so that He might reveal God to man (Luke 1:30-35; John 1:18). We believe He is fully God (John 10:30; Colossians 2:9) and fully man (Philippians 2:5-8). We believe that He came to save a lost world (John 3:16; Mark 10:45) and through His life, death, and resurrection, He reconciled and redeemed sinful man to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ (Luke 24:36-43), that He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9), and that He is at the right hand of the Father perpetually interceding for His people (Hebrews 4:14-16). We believe that He is coming again (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
THE SPIRIT We believe in the full deity and eternal existence of the Holy Spirit, and that He indwells every believer (John 14:16-17). At the moment of salvation a believer is baptized with the baptism of the Holy Spirit which unites all believers to Christ in one body (1 Corinthians 12:13). We believe the Holy Spirit ministers to believers by regenerating them, making the old new (Titus 3:5), empowering them with gifts to serve the local body (1 Corinthians 12:1-7; Romans 12:4-8) and guiding them in truth and in the instruction of the Word (John 16:13). Concerning the lost, we believe the Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:7-11).
Man: We believe man was originally created in the image of God free from sin (Genesis 1:26-31), but that he fell through sin (Genesis 3:1-6). We believe with the original sin of Adam came both physical and spiritual death (Romans 6:23). This death then spread to all mankind (Romans 3:23; 5:12) leaving us in a state of total depravity in need of the grace of God to restore what sin had broken (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Salvation: We believe that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:4-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19). We believe salvation is received as the gift of God by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7). We believe that a believer’s salvation is eternally secure being sealed by Holy Spirit Himself who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it (Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Church: We believe in one, true, universal Church, the body and bride of Christ, composed of all who are united to Christ in faith (1 Corinthians 12:27). We believe the Church began at Pentecost (Acts 2) and is to be seen as distinct from Israel. Christ is the head of the Church (Ephesians 1:22-23), and He has entrusted the Church with (1) exalting the glory of the Lord in worship, (2) evangelizing the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:18-20), (3) equipping believers for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16), (4) encouraging one another to love and good deeds, and (5) edifying the body to maturity.
We believe in the autonomy of the local church in submission to the Lord and the Word of God. We believe the Biblically prescribed mode of leadership in the local church consists of godly leaders in the form of elders and deacons. We believe that the local church, in obedience to Christ, should practice the ordinances of believer’s baptism and communion. We observe communion every Sunday in an open format, meaning we welcome all believers in Jesus Christ to join us in celebrating what the Lord accomplished on the cross. We practice believer’s baptism in obedience with the Lord’s command (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 16:33). We believe baptism is an external symbol of the internal reality of a believer’s union with Christ’s death and resurrection. While baptism is not necessary for salvation, we believe it is a step of obedience every believer should take.
Christian Life: We believe that a believer is complete in Christ. We believe that at salvation a believer is positionally sanctified, set apart as holy unto the Lord. We believe that at glorification, a believer will be perfectly sanctified, finally free from the presence of sin. We believe that between our salvation and our glorification a believer is progressively sanctified. We believe that while a believer’s salvation is complete in Christ he needs to grow daily in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:17). We believe the Christian life should be marked by a grace fueled pursuit of obedience to the Lord through daily striving to put off the things of the world as we are continually being conformed into the image of Christ (Colossians 3:1-17; Romans 8:28-29).
Angels: We believe God created an immeasurable number of sinless, spiritual beings known as angels who are before the throne of God. They are “ministering spirits, sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). Satan, who was the mightiest angel by rank and appearance, sinned through prideful rebellion against his Creator. A great number of angels followed him in his fall becoming themselves fallen angels, or demons (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Jude 1:6).
End Times: We believe the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the rapture of the Church. This will be marked by the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16; Titus 2:13). The seven-year tribulation will follow characterized by judgment on the whole earth with no flesh surviving but for God’s mercy. We believe that at the conclusion of the tribulation Christ will return to the earth in power and glory to establish the Millennial Kingdom. During this literal, one-thousand year reign of Christ on earth Satan will be bound, the curse that now plagues the earth due to the Fall will be lifted, and Israel will realize God’s covenant promises (Ezekiel 37:21-28; Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24-25; Isaiah 11:9; Romans 8:19-23; Revelation
