The Church @ West Cobb - Loving God - Loving People

In essential beliefs, we have unity.
"There is one Body, and one Spirit... there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all..." (Ephesians 4:4-6)

The Trinity
The full deity and humanity of Christ
The spiritual lostness of the human race
The substitutionary atonement and bodily resurrection of Christ
Salvation by faith alone in Christ alone
The physical return of Christ
The authority and inerrancy of Scripture

In non-essential (or non-central) beliefs we have liberty.
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgement on disputable matters... Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his master he stands or falls... So then each of us will give an account of himself to God . . . So whatever you believe about these things, keep between you and God." (Romans14: 1,4,12,22)

In all beliefs, we have charity.
" . . . If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith that can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all." (1 Corinthians 13:2)

The Scriptures
We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice. Men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit to record precisely the words, which God intended. The Bible is the complete written record of God's revelation of Himself to man. The Bible is to be interpreted in a normal and literal way. This means that history, grammar, and contexts are the guidelines for proper interpretation. Ultimately, the criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ, the Spoken Word of God in the flesh, and the rest of the Bible itself. (Psalm 19:7-9, Matthew 5:18, John 17:17, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21)

The Godhead
We believe in only one living and true God, eternally existing in three equal persons, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and posses precisely the same attributes. However, they are distinct in office and activity. God is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. (Genesis 1:26, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19, 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Peter 1:2)

The Person and Work of God the Father
We believe God the Father is Spirit reigning with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and flow of human history according to His purpose and grace. In His nature He is, among other things, completely holy, all powerful. All-knowing, omnipresent, eternal, transcendent, immutable, self-sufficient, self-existent, wrathful, just, gracious, good, merciful and loving. He is totally sovereign in all that has or shall come to pass. This in no way causes Him to be the author and approver of sin, or to abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. He is Sender of His only Son, Jesus Christ, As the Father of the elect; He is also their provider and disciplinarian. (Psalm 139:1-18, 145:8-9, Isaiah 40:18-31, Jeremiah 32:17, Matthew 3:17, 6:30-32, John 3:16, Acts 17:29, Romans 1:18, 3:26, 11:33-36, Galatians 3:26, Ephesians 1:3-6, Hebrews 12:5-13, 1 John 1:5)

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is eternally existent Son of God. (John 1:1, 8:58) He became man without ceasing to be God. (John 1:1, 14) He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23-25), in order that he might reveal God to man and redeem sinful man. While He was fully human, He had sinless human nature and lived a perfect life. We believe that He accomplished our redemption though his death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. (Romans 3:23-25) Our redemption and salvation is guaranteed by His literal, bodily resurrection from the dead. (Romans 4:25, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4) The Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where as High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy for His people. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. (Hebrews 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25, 1 John 2:1-2)

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that God, the Holy Spirit, is that person of the trinity who restrains evil in the world, and convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgement. He also regenerates (brings life to those who are spiritually dead) those who receive Christ as Savior, baptizing them at the moment of salvation in the Church, the Body of Christ. He indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, and bestows on them spiritual gifts. As they are yielded to Him, He overcomes the power of the sin nature, beautifies their character with the fruit of the Spirit, and empowers them for service. He helps believers to pray, interceding for them in time of need. It is the Spirit's ministry to lead, instruct, and fill (or control) believers as they are yielded to Him and steadfast in the study of Scripture and in prayer. He transforms yielded believers into Christ-likeness. (John 3:8, 7:37-39, 14:12, 16-17, 16:7-11, Romans 8:1-13, 26-27, I Corinthians 12:4-13, Galatians 5:22-23, Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18)

Angels and Satan
We believe that angels are powerful spiritual beings who were created in a sinless state to be God's servants and messengers. They presently exist in both fallen and unfallen states. The fallen angels include Satan and his demons. Unfallen or good angels attend God's presence and glory, and will eventually carry out His divine wrath. They carry messages to His children, and protect and encourage them. They do not reproduce, so there are the same number now as when they were created. They occupy different orders and ranks. (Daniel 10:12-14, Luke 1:26-28, II Corinthians 10:3-5, Ephesians 6:11-12, Hebrews 1:13-14, II Peter 2:4, Revelation 7:11-12, 18:1)

We believe that Satan became the enemy of God and the people of God by his own prideful choice, and is thus the originator of sin. We believe he led our first parents, Adam and Eve, into sin and now rules as the god of this world. He seeks constantly to blind the minds of both believers and unbelievers to the truth of God and His Word. He tempts, lies, accuses, deceives, and seeks to destroy all who open themselves up to him, and refuse the protections of Jesus Christ. He was judged at the cross, and ultimately he will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity (Genesis 3:1-19, Isaiah 14:12-14, Matthew 4:1-11, Hebrews 2:14, I Peter 5:8, I John 5:19, Revelation 20:10)

Creation and the Fall
We believe that all things in heaven and on earth were created by God and exist by His power and for His glory. We believe the Genesis account of creation as being neither allegory nor myth, but a literal, historical account of the direct, immediate, creative acts of God. (Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:16-17)

We believe that man was created innocent and in the image and likeness of God, but that he sinned, bringing both physical and spiritual death to himself and to his posterity. We believe that man has inherited a sinful nature, and therefore is alienated from God and under His wrath. Man is incapable of redeeming himself, and is in need of salvation. The sanctity of human life is evident in that God created man in His own image, and that Christ died for man; therefore, every human being, born and unborn, possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (Genesis 1:27, 2:17, 3:19, Psalm 139:13-16, Romans 3:10-12, 5:12, 17-19)

Salvation
We believe that every person is lost in sin apart from Christ and in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ died as a full and sufficient payment for the sins of the entire world, and as a substitute for all people. Christ's shed blood is the only provision by which an individual may be delivered from the wrath of God. We believe that salvation is a gift of God and is received by man only through personal faith in Jesus Christ. True faith is more than mental assent. It involves trust, and is evidenced by repentance, newness of life (regeneration), and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We believe that man is justified by grace through faith alone, apart from human merit works, ceremonies. (John 3:36, 6:37, 1:27-30, Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39, Ephesians 1:13-14, Philippians 1:6, 1John 5:13)

Sanctification
We believe that sanctification, which is a setting apart of an individual unto God, is positional, progressive, and ultimate. Positionally, it is already complete, since the believer is in Christ and is set apart unto God as Christ is set apart unto God. Since the believer retains his sinful nature, however, there is need for progressive sanctification (or spiritual growth) whereby the Christian matures in grace by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, the process of sanctification will be completed when the child of God is taken to be with Christ. (John 17:17, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:17, Ephesians 5:25-27, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 10:10, 14, 1 John 3:2-3)

The Church
We believe that the universal church, the Body and Bride of Christ, is made up of all true believers of this age. We believe that the church began at Pentecost and that a believer is placed into the church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe that the church is distinct from Israel. (Acts 2:1-4, 11:16-17, Romans 11, 1Corinthians 10:32, 12:12-13, Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27)

We believe that the local, visible church is an assembly of professing believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purpose of worship. Study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, and prayer, thereby to be equipped for Christian service and evangelism. Every believer is a priest, and there is no justification for a clergy-laity distinction. (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:42-47, Ephesians 4:11-16, 1 Peter 2:5,9)

The Ordinances
We believe that Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper, which are to be observed by believers until He returns. (Matthew 28:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe that water baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience publicly announcing and symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. We also believe that baptism is a New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament ceremonial washing. A believer is baptized once to symbolize the once for all inward washing away of sins which takes place at salvation. (Acts 8:36-38, Romans 6:3-5)

We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's death by which He established the new Covenant, the elements being symbols of His body and blood. Every Christian has a right and an obligation to partake of the elements of the Lord's Supper, but participation should be preceded by solemn self-examination. The Lord's Supper serves as a New Testament fulfillment of the Old Testament Passover Feast. (1 Corinthians 11:20-34, Matthew 26:26-29)

Civil Government
We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society; that civil leaders are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed, except in things opposed to the will and the coming King of Kings. (Exodus 22:28, Proverbs 21:1, Daniel 3:17-18, Matthew 22:15-22, Acts 4:19-20, 5:27-29, 23:5, 1 Timothy 2:1-3, Titus 3:1)