Full Statement of Faith

Shoreline Community Church

Statement Of Faith (Our beliefs)
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ‘He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” ~ John 3:16-18 NKJV

The Authority Of Scripture
The Scriptures and the Scriptures alone are the authority for what we believe. We believe the Bible, as transmitted in its original Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek texts, is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16). We believe that the Holy Spirit superintended all writings of Scripture (2 Pet. 1:20,21), using the human authors’ own literary styles and personalities to convey God’s Word in their own unique way. We affirm the miracles of the Bible and believe, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16,17).” We believe the Scriptures are able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ (2 Tim. 3:15). The Bible should be understood through the literal, contextual, grammatical, and historical methods of interpretation, and applied to our everyday lives under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Doctrine Of God
“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut. 6:4,5 NIV). We believe God is the sovereign creator of heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1), One in essence, three in persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that each person of the Godhead is distinct, demonstrating the attributes of a unique person (Luke 3:22; John 11:35; Eph. 4:30), yet in a mysterious way the three remain One God. The three persons of the Trinity are co-eternal (Ps. 90:2), co-equal as to their deity (Col. 2:9), power and glory, but different in role (2 Cor. 13:14). God is perfect in all His attributes with each attribute being interchangeable with all the others. Everything He does is in accordance with His good and perfect will (Rom. 12:2).

The Doctrine Of The Father
We believe that God the Father is one in essence (being) with the Son and the Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4), yet different in role (John 10:29; 1 Thess. 4:8). The Father is the sovereign ruler of the universe, creator (Gen. 1:1), sustainer of all things by means of His Son Jesus Christ (Col. 1:17) and by the power of His Holy Spirit (Gen. 1:2). We believe that God the Father concerns Himself perfectly in the affairs of humanity (2 Cor. 1:3,4), demonstrating His fatherly affection for His children Israel (2 Cor. 6:18) and for those adopted in Christ (Eph. 1:5). The Father is gracious and extends His common grace to both the righteous and unrighteous (Matt. 5:45).

The Doctrine Of The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God (John 1:1) and fully man (Phil. 2:6-8). We believe that He is one in essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4), but different in role. We believe in the virgin birth of Christ (Luke 1:34-37), His sinless life (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5), His substitutional death on the cross for our sins (Eph. 2:16), His burial and resurrection on the third day (Matt. 28:5,6; 1 Cor. 15:4). We believe that Christ ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11) and sits at the right hand of God the Father (Acts 2:32,33) in the position of power and authority, from where He shall come again to judge the living and the dead. We believe Christ’s death on the cross atoned for our sin (Rom. 3:25) and satisfied the demands of our righteous and holy God. Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb of God (John 1:29), the Lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5), the Messiah of Israel (Luke 22:67-70; John 10:23-26) the Mediator between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5). He is the Prophet (Acts 3:22), Priest (Heb. 4:14-16), and King (John 1:49); the Head of the Church (Col. 1:18), the Savior (2 Tim. 1:10) and Redeemer of His people (Titus 2:14). He is our Reconciler with God (Col. 1:19-20) the Heir of all things (Heb. 1:1,2), the Judge of all the world (2 Tim. 4:1); and the exact representation of God the Father (Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3). We believe that Jesus Christ will come again to set up His kingdom (Rev. 22:20). All the Bible points to Christ and our need for Him. History is “His story.” Acts 4:12 says: “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 NKJV)

The Doctrine Of The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is one in essence with the Father and Son (Deut. 6:4), yet different in role. We believe the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son (John 14:26; 16:7) to convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment (John 16:8-11). He is called the Spirit of Christ (Rom.8:9; 1 Pet. 1:11) and also the Spirit of truth (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit has been active in creation (Gen. 1:2), revelation (Is. 61:1-3) empowerment (Ex. 31:2-6), and inward renewal (Ps. 51:10-12). The Spirit regenerates (John 3:5-8), baptizes (1 Cor. 12:13), enlightens (Eph. 1:17,18), teaches (John 14:26), sanctifies (Gal. 5:16-18), seals (Eph. 1:13,14), counsels (John 16:7), and transforms the lives of believers into Christ-likeness (Gal. 5:22,23). The Holy Spirit is the Comforter (John 14:16 KJV) who helps us in our weaknesses by interceding for us when we are too weak and discouraged to pray (Rom. 8:26,27). The work of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus by showing His disciples who He is (John 16:7-15). We believe the Holy Spirit empowers each believer for ministry (Acts 1:7,8) and is the giver of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:6-8;1 Cor. 12:7-11; 1 Pet. 4:10,11).

The Doctrine Of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26,27), but Adam’s willful sin in the Garden of Eden involved the representation (Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 15:22) and fall of all humanity with him. Mankind is totally depraved; this doesn’t mean that man is as bad as he can possibly be, but rather that the fall has affected every aspect of our being.  As a result of the fall, the human race lost its position of innocence and was expelled from the Garden of Eden. From that time on, each person has been born with a sin nature (Ps. 51:5) and is subject to aging, disease, and death. Being spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-4), mankind is inclined to sin and is alienated from God apart from the intervention and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Being sinners by nature (Rom. 8:5-8) and by choice, people are in desperate need of a Savior (Rom. 3:23). Only Jesus (through the virgin birth) bypassed the sin nature, lived a sinless life and qualified to be our Redeemer.  Mankind’s only answer to sin is to have faith in the redemptive work of the Second Adam – Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:22,45) who has brought salvation to those who by grace through faith receive Him (Acts 16:31; Eph. 2:8-9).

Marriage: We believe that marriage is ordained by God to be between one biological man and one biological woman. God’s design for marriage is that it last for a lifetime (Gen. 2:23,24).

The Doctrine Of Satan
We believe that Satan is a real and personal being, a fallen cherub (Ezek. 28:14-17) who led some 1/3 of the angels in rebellion against God (Rev. 12:4). We believe that Satan is a created being (Ezek. 28:13), a creature, and does not possess the divine attributes of omniscience, omnipresence and omnipotence. He is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). Satan is angry and living on borrowed time, he is trying to inflict as much damage as he can on the human race in the little time that he has left (1 Pet. 5:8). Although Satan can harass and torment believers in Christ, he cannot possess born-again Christians (1 John 4:4). Satan’s end will be the lake of fire when he is cast into it by the Lord at the end of the Millennium (Rev. 20:10).

The Doctrine Of Salvation
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9). Salvation is a gift from God (Rom. 6:23), purchased by the blood of Christ (Acts 20:28) when He died on the cross for our sins (Rom. 5:9; 1 Cor. 15:3). Salvation is received by faith apart from any works of the law, human merit, or religious ritual (Tit. 3:5-7). Nobody would receive Christ as Savior and Lord without the Holy Spirit first doing a work in the human heart. (John 1:12,13; 6:44, 64-65; Acts 13:48) As a result of our regeneration, we are born-again (John 3:3,5; 1 Pet. 1:3,23), justified in God’s sight (Rom. 3:23,24), sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:30), forgiven of our sins (1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 2:2), delivered from our guilt (Psa. 103:11,12), reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18), saved from God’s wrath (Rom. 5:9), adopted into God’s family (Eph. 1:5), given access to God (Eph. 2:18), and, in Christ, we have peace with God. (Rom 5:1) Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”  (2 Cor. 5:17)

We believe there are three aspects to our salvation:

• Justification [Past tense] ~ This is the moment God declares the guilty sinner “not guilty.” (Rom. 8:29,30).  Most believers refer to this moment as the moment of their salvation. Through “justification” we are saved from the penalty of our sin.
• Sanctification [Present tense] ~ This is the lifelong process of being set apart for God and becoming more like Jesus (Phil.2:12). The sanctification process begins at the moment of regeneration and continues throughout the rest of our lives on earth.  Through sanctification we are delivered from the power of sin over our lives.
• Glorification [Future tense] ~ This is the consummation of our salvation when sin will be absent, and we will be in the presence of the Lord for all eternity (1 John 3:2). At the moment of glorification, we will be delivered from the presence of sin.

NOTE: We believe in a sovereign God, however the sovereignty of God does not eliminate or minimize human responsibility (Acts 2:38).

The Doctrine Of The Church
We believe the New Testament church (Gk – ekklesia ~ “the assembly” or “the called-out ones”) is made up of believers in Jesus, bought by the blood of Christ and called out of the world (Acts 20:28). We believe the church is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:27), a living organism with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself as the Head (Eph. 5:23). The church is called: the bride of Christ (Rev. 21:9), the family of God (1 Pet. 4:17), the elect (2 Tim. 2:10), the company of the redeemed (Gal. 3:14), and the people of God (1 Pet. 2:10). Though fragmented by denominations, true believers in Jesus Christ are united by “one Spirit into one body” (1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:4-6). We believe that the local church is autonomous and retains authority for its own affairs. We believe in the priesthood of all believers (1 Pet. 2:9), every believer has equal access to God through faith in Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:5). We believe the church body is to encourage one another through fellowship (Heb. 10:25), help the poor (Gal. 2:10), build one another up through discipleship and the teaching of God’s Word (Eph. 4:11-13), assemble regularly in worship, hold each other accountable in the biblical faith (1 Cor. 16:13;1 Pet. 5:8,9), and to engage in local (Acts 1:8) and world evangelism (Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:18-20). We believe that a plurality of elders is the Biblical model for the spiritual leadership in the local church.  The role of the deacons is to assist the elders in leadership as the “ministers of mercy” who administer to the physical needs of the local church body. If led by the Lord, the deacons will also assist in meeting needs requested by individuals in our local community. We believe Jesus commanded His church to practice the two ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

The Return Of Jesus Christ
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in the air to receive the dead in Christ along with all the true believers who are alive at His coming (1 Thess. 4:13-18). We believe in a literal millennium (Ezek. 40-48) that follows “the time of Jacob’s trouble” – the Great Tribulation (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 7:4).

NOTE: We understand there are differing opinions on eschatology among devout believers. Although holding to the importance of our Pre-Millennial position, it is our belief that the body of Christ should not divide over differing opinions when it comes to gray areas of theology; especially when it comes to eschatology (the study of the end times).

Eternal Security
Once a person experiences the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (John 3:5,6; Titus 3:5-7), we believe the new believer is saved for all eternity (John 3:16,36; 10:27-30). Salvation and the eternal security of the true believer are based upon the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. (1 Pet. 1:18-21) Eternal security does not mean that Christians won’t struggle at times in their spiritual walk (Rom. 7:18-25), but rather, “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6 NKJV). Eternal life and the eternal security of the believer that comes with it begins immediately at the moment of salvation and continues throughout all eternity.  (John 3:36; 5:24; 6:40, 47; 17:3; 1 John 5:11-13)

The Eternal State
When a Christian dies, we believe that his or her body goes to the grave (Sheol) while spirit/soul go immediately into the presence of the Lord without any interim period (2 Cor. 5:6-9; Rev. 7:9-10). At death, the soul of the unbeliever goes into hades to await judgment day (Luke 16:19-31; Rev. 20:11-14). At the return of Christ, we believe the dead in Christ will rise, spirit and soul being reunited in their glorified body to be with the Lord forever (1 Thess. 4:16-18). We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the believer and the unbeliever (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15). The believer will rise to everlasting life and blessing while the unbeliever will rise to everlasting punishment and be “shut out from the presence of the Lord and the majesty of His power” forever (2 Thess. 1:9 NIV; Mark 9:47,48). We believe God judges the eternal destiny of people based upon their relationship with Jesus Christ.  “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

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.”

The Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus commanded His church to practice the two ordinances of believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Communion).

Believers Baptism
At Shoreline Community Church, we baptize only believers who have received Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  We believe Scripture indicates that the mode of believer’s baptism should be by immersion (Acts 8:36-39). Baptism by immersion is a visible, outward declaration of our faith in Jesus Christ and symbolizes our identification with His death, burial, and resurrection. Water baptism is a picture of the cleansing we receive by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. We encourage every believer to follow the Lord in water baptism soon after coming to faith in Him. (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 10:48; 16:14-15; 16:31-34) There are times at Shoreline Community Church where we do baptisms by sprinkling or pouring, but only when people cannot be baptized by immersion because of medical reasons or age.

NOTE: Child Dedications are done at the request of parents for children who are too young to put their faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized. Child Dedication is not baptism or christening, it is a prayer of dedication for the child. It is also a prayer of commitment for the family and the congregation to do all they can to raise the child up in the training and instruction of the Lord. (1 Sam 1:10,11).

Communion
Communion (or the Lord’s Supper) symbolizes Christ’s broken body and shed blood on the cross at Calvary (Matt. 26:26-29). The Bible says, “…the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.  In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor. 11:23-25) We believe that just as food and drink strengthen us for our physical journey through life, so we are strengthened for our spiritual journey to heaven as we feast upon Christ and His Word (John 6:53-57); this is illustrated symbolically whenever we participate in the Lord’s Supper. In celebrating communion: 1) We look backward to the cross of Christ; 2) We look inward and examine ourselves to see if we are right with God and right with others as far as it be possible with us; and 3) We look forward proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes again (1 Cor. 11:26-28). The communion table at Shoreline Community Church is open to all born-again believers in Jesus Christ who are in a right relationship with Him.