What We Believe

We hold with joy to the Christian Faith taught in the Bible and affirmed in the ancient creeds of the Church (the Apostles’ and Nicene). We have no formal statement of Faith. The following describes central Christian convictions.

The Bible – both Old and New Testaments – is the Word of God. Inspired by God, written by people, it is the only perfect rule for real life with God, what to believe, and how to live.

God The one true God, Creator of all things, is perfect in every way. He is worthy of our worship, trust, obedience, and love because he is good, perfect, holy, and love. He exists eternally as three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Creation and Sin God created everything there is. In his creation, he has special love for the earth and human beings (made in his image). Designed to live with him and for him, we are naturally alienated from God and under his condemnation. This is because we rebel against his just rule, substitute other things for God in our lives, and do not live with each other the way he wants us to. Still, he did not give up on us. Out of love, he gave his Son to this world.

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He lived in full obedience to God, demonstrated what life was designed to be, and offered the perfect obedience to God we never could. He died for us on the cross and dealt with the stain, consequences, and penalty of sin. God raised him bodily to new life and gave him ultimate authority at his throne, where Jesus is our Priest and Advocate.

Holy Spirit The Spirit is God’s presence and power in us. He was sent to open our lives to Christ. The Spirit lives in us – teaching, guiding, gifting and enabling us to live the special lives God calls us to.

Salvation – forgiveness of sin, adoption into God’s family, eternal life with him – comes through grace and not our own efforts. To experience real life with God we must turn to Christ and trust him as Savior and Lord. To those who receive him, Jesus gives the right to become God’s children.   He is working to make us more like Jesus, and will complete that when Christ comes again.

The Church God’s design for our life includes others. It involves us being in covenant relationship with his people in a community called Church. Life in this community is part of our experience of and response to Jesus’ good news.

The Future Jesus will return to this earth to rule and make all things new. He will be judge of all. Those who live in resistance to God, saying no to Jesus Christ, will be judged to eternal separation from God and his new creation. Those who trust and love Jesus and are changed by his grace, he will take through resurrection into eternal life and the new heavens and new earth.

Freedom God gives us a large measure of freedom, allowing for significant differences of opinion on matters not central or essential to our faith. It is our privilege and responsibility to seek God's will and to live in submission to God's Word. In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.

Another expression of our faith is found in the following 'brief' statement of Covenant Affirmations

How Do I Become A Christian?

Receive Christ

How can a person welcome Jesus into their own life, have their sins washed away, and enter a restored relationship with God?

The Bible makes it clear: salvation (getting it right with the God who made us) is a gift. It is not something you earn by checking the boxes on some to-do list of good works. Because it is a gift, it cannot be earned. It can only be received. And it only comes with Jesus. It is received by faith (belief, trust, dependence) in Jesus. That faith is faith in Jesus. In some ways, we might say that Jesus himself is the gift. This all begins by praying and asking Jesus to be the one who forgives you (is your Savior) and is the leader of your life (your Lord). This step of faith means you are admitting you have sinned against God and that you are sorry for your sins.

To receive Jesus means asking him to help you live a new and changed life that honors him. You don’t have to know a lot of fancy religious terms. Just tell him that you know you have sinned. Express your sorrow over your sin and ask for the forgiveness that comes through the price Jesus paid when he died on the cross.

Then invite Jesus to enter your life and to lead you from this moment on, all the way into eternity. In the Bible we read this: to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. You can express this prayer in your own words, or you can use the following prayer:

Dear God, I need you, that maybe I think I need you more than I have ever realized before. I want to admit my sins. I have thought things, said things, and done things that do not please you. [At this point, you might want to specify some of the sins you are sorry about.] I realize that my sins cause me to be distant from you. They cause me to even be under a death sentence. I have also come to know you sent Jesus, your only Son, to pay the price for my sins by dying in my place. Jesus, I thank you for paying the price for me. I need your forgiveness, and I want you to enter my life and become my leader from this moment on. Thank you for all you have done and all you will do in my life. Amen!

When you have said this prayer, you can know be confident that you are now in a restored relationship with God and that all of your sins are forgiven. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”. — 1 John 1:9  “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” — Psalm 103:12 “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” — Romans 10:9

Next Steps

• If you’re part of a Bible believing church, please make sure you let them know you just made this great step of faith.
• If you’re looking for a church home, we invite you to join us here at FirstCovGR.  We have two services on Sunday at 9:00am and 10:30 am.