The Christian Life

The Christian Life
We believe God has called every Christian to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in his or her life: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.”  (Gal. 5:22,23 NIV). We believe the life of every Christian should be marked by love (Matt. 22:37-40; 1 John 4:7), holiness (1 Pet. 1:16), and compassion (Phil. 2:1-4), yet realize there will be times when even Christians stumble and fall (Rom. 7:18-25). When we do fall into sin, 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (NKJV).” We believe that each Christian is undergoing the process of sanctification, the lifelong journey of being set apart for God and being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. Perfection does not come in this life as some believe (1 John 1:8), but only after we are glorified and in the presence of God for all eternity. We believe that each believer is given at least one spiritual gift at the moment of salvation, most are given more; nobody is given all of the spiritual gifts.  (1 Cor. 12:7-11; Rom. 12:6-8) It is God’s design for the church body to be interdependent upon each other.  The spiritual gifts that we receive are to be used for God’s glory and the building up of the body of Christ, the church. (Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Pet. 4:10,11) As Christians, our chief end is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”