Our Beliefs
Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, who is the Son of God. He is the second person of the triune Godhead, consisting of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are all equal as a single deity, but have distinct roles. He has always existed (John 1:1-5) and has no beginning and no end (Revelation 21:6).
He came as a man 2,000 years ago, born to the virgin Mary through supernatural means. Fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah 53, he endured the hardships of life, being tempted in every way, just as we are (Hebrews 4:15), yet He lived a sinless life. His earthly ministry was to the Jews (God’s people) calling them to repentance and proclaiming that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand if they accepted Him as their Messiah (Matthew 15:24). They rejected Him and He was crucified on a cross. Three days later, He rose from the grave, proving He was sent from God and opening up salvation to anyone who believes in Him (1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
He offers eternal life freely to anyone who humbly comes to Him (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).
He is the only way to heaven. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6).
He will return again, this time as a roaring lion (Revelation 5:5), bringing judgment upon the earth (Revelation 19:11-14) as well as delivering His children, who are those who have put their trust in Him (John 1:12).
Jesus
Salvation
(The Gospel)
John 3:16 says, “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.”
What does this mean?
Everybody has sinned (done wrong) and deserves punishment for it. There is no amount of good that we can do to wiggle our way out of it and earn God’s favor (Romans 3:23). For example, if you commit a crime, a just law system requires that you are punished. You cannot get out of jail by doing something good in its place. Because God is the epitome of perfection and goodness (Deuteronomy 32:4), he has the right to serve us our punishment, which is to be separated from Him. As a result, we are doomed… rather, we would be doomed. God loves us, however, and wanted to provide us a way out since we are helpless to earn our way to heaven.
His way out for us was sending Jesus. He bore the penalty that we deserve for our sins, yet He never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21). Imagine you are about to receive a prison sentence, and a man walks in and says that he will serve it for you. He has given you a second chance; essentially, he has given you a new life.
To be saved, we must recognize that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We then believe in our heart that Jesus is our Savior and as a result, we are saved forever (Romans 10:9). The moment you believe in this truth, you are considered “born again” (John 3:3) and forever kept in God’s hands (John 10:28). You will never be separated from God, whether on earth or in heaven (Romans 8:38-39). As a deposit and guarantee that we will never be separated, God actually comes to dwell inside of us through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14), who also gives us the power to start living a godly life (Galatians 5:16).
Salvation is simple, but not easy. If it were easy, everyone would believe. It is difficult because it requires a humble heart and contrite spirit to recognize that we are in desperate need of a Savior (Psalm 51:17) and there is only one name that saves— Jesus. This is why He says in Matthew 7:14, “Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Sanctification is the process of growing as a believer in Christ Jesus. From the moment we are born again in Christ until the moment we physically die, we are on a journey of transformation to be like Jesus. Paradoxically, we become dual-natured (our fleshly bodies vs. the Holy Spirit who now lives within us).
First, it’s important to establish what it means to have the Holy Spirit within us. We are given a new nature and identity. God no longer sees your sins; instead, He sees the perfection of Jesus when He looks at you (Romans 5). This truth sets you free! Your identity is fully in Christ, forever and ever (Ephesians 4:30; 2 Corinthians 1:20-22). Additionally, the Holy Spirit empowers your new nature to desire to resist sin and live by the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Second, however, this doesn’t mean you will automatically stop sinning. That’s because you are living in your flesh-suit even though your spirit is perfectly sanctified (Hebrews 10:10). Practically speaking, we all experience this. We struggle with certain temptations and even fall into sin-cycles over and over again. It is critical to recognize that this doesn’t mean you aren’t saved or that God stops loving you. This is part of being a believer and growing in spiritual maturity.
Third, you now have the power to overcome sin. You don’t have to accept defeat and be stuck in sin-cycles. With your new nature (the Holy Spirit living within you), sin has no dominion over you and you have the ability to conquer it! Of course it will take time, but you can live a life of freedom.
One way that I like to explain sanctification is using the idea of dual-citizenship. I (Alina) am a dual-citizen of the United States and Finland. I grew up in the US, however, so all of my customs and culture are American. That is what I am used to. But, if I wanted to start embracing my citizenship as a Finn, I would possibly start by moving to Finland, learning the language, participating in national holidays, and spending time with people who can teach me more about being a Finn. It requires a huge shift of perspective in life. It’s a completely new identity than being American.
Comparatively, imagine being American is your sin-nature. Being Finnish is your new Christ-nature. Learning a whole new way of life doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a lifelong process. Where the analogy breaks down is as believers, we don’t have to strive to “be good.” We don’t try to change our lives in our own wisdom and effort.
Instead, we abide in Christ through prayer, reading the Bible, and connecting with other believers and allowing the guidance of the Holy Spirit to transform us. He will start showing you areas of your life where you can grow, and you can choose to listen and grow spiritually or not. That is the process of sanctification.
Sanctification
This diagram represents the 3 phases that we will experience: past, present, and future.
(Past) Before we are saved, we have only one nature, which is our sin.
(Present) After we are saved, we have 2 natures— our old nature and our new spirit. We can sin, but also overcome sin now.
(Future) Once we physically die or Jesus returns, we will be perfected/glorified and only have one nature again— but this time we will never sin and only live in obedience to God.
As Christians, we presently live in a paradox because with God, there is no space and time. We are already sanctified, yet while on earth, we are still experiencing the process.
The Bible
The Bible is where we can find objective truth for life. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible is God’s guidebook for us, within which He provides us with everything we need to know.
It is God’s Word and is meant to be read, studied, and taught with utmost care. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” The Bible is a double-edged sword, and many people will incorrectly use it to support their worldview and desires; rather, the Bible is meant to transform us and our desires (Romans 12:2). It is critical, as Christians, to know God’s Word so that we can stand firm and not be deceived by the waves of culture and tactics of the enemy.
Spirituality
What we see in the physical realm is merely a reflection of reality. We believe that the spiritual realm is the true reality (2 Corinthians 4:18) and that there is a spiritual battle constantly occurring. We cannot see it with our eyes, yet we are all soul and spirit surrounded by angels and demons (Ephesians 6:12; Revelation 12:9). Many people are ignorant to this, which results in apathy, defeat, and emotive reactions against one another instead of focusing on the real enemy.
The real enemy is Satan and his demons. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
The spiritual world is in constant battle because Satan does not want us to be with God (1 Timothy 4:1). He wants to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10) and keep us from experiencing the joy of life that Jesus provides. This is why it is critical that we pray, encourage other believers, and abide in Christ. We are soldiers in a spiritual fight, and we cannot let our guard down. Paul writes about this spiritual battle in 2 Corinthians 10:1-6; we do not war flesh against flesh. Much of the battle occurs in our minds, so it is important to combat it with truth from the Word of God when the enemy throws darts of doubt, fear, and worry.
The Bible makes it clear: “for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Furthermore, we are advised to put on the armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-20).
We do not have to be afraid of Satan’s plans of oppression because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us by faith in Jesus Christ, who has overcome evil (1 John 5:4-5; John 16:33). He has supplied us with everything we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3) and fight Satan’s wicked plans (1 John 5:18-20; Luke 10:17-20).
We do not believe that a Christian can be possessed by Satan/demons because we are already indwelled with the Holy Spirit (1 John 4:4; Colossians 1:3; Mark 3:20-26; 1 Corinthians 6:19), but we do believe that a Christian can be oppressed by Satan/demons (Matthew 4:1-11; James 4:7; Ephesians 4:26-27).
All in all, the Christian life is a spiritual battle that shouldn’t be underestimated. When we have this perspective, we can see beyond what’s happening in the physical realm and realize there could be something going on in the spiritual realm.
To be technical… our hermeneutical views (interpretation of the Bible) are
pre-millennial (waiting for Christ’s literal 1,000-year reign on earth)
dispensational (God deals differently with His people throughout the ages)
pre-tribulation rapture of the Church (Christians will be caught up in the air [harpazo] with Christ before the Tribulation).
To explain…
We believe that Jesus is returning for a literal 1,000 year reign. His return, known as The Day of The Lord, starts with the rapture of the Church, leads into The Great Tribulation, and ends after the millennial reign where heaven and earth will pass away and be replaced with a new one (2 Peter 3:8-10; Revelation 21:1). This is our blessed hope as believers (Titus 2:13).
His first coming was to bring the Messianic kingdom to Israel (Matthew 15:24), but the nation of Israel rejected their Messiah (Matthew 23:37). God used His rejection and death to accomplish the cleansing of our sins (Hebrews 9:26) in order to reconcile anyone who believes, not just Israel, back to God (John 3:16).
His second coming will accomplish rescuing His children (those who believe in Him) from this world (Hebrews 9:28), judging the unbelieving world, and establishing His perfect kingdom (Revelation 21:4).
This period of time before Jesus’ return is an opportunity for people to believe in Him for eternal life. This window of time will shift, however, when Christ raptures the Church (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11). All believers will receive glorified bodies and stand in front of God at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) known as the Bema Seat. This is where believers will be judged for rewards (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
The rapture signifies the start of a seven-year period of God’s wrath upon the earth, called The Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21; 1 Thessalonians 1:10) in which the anti-Christ will be revealed as a man of peace, deceiving many (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). During this time, the believers who were raptured will be in heaven (John 14:3). Those left on earth will endure great hardships but will still have an opportunity to believe and be saved for eternal life (Revelation 20:4).
After those seven years, Jesus will defeat the antichrist armies and cast the Beast and false prophet to the lake of fire (Revelation 19) and bind Satan to a bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1-3). That is when He will implement His 1,000 year reign on earth (known as the Millennial Kingdom) bringing down with Him the believers who were raptured and resurrecting the believers who were killed during the Tribulation along with the Old Testament saints. He will give the authority to rule and reign, according to His perfect judgment, to His faithful servants (Revelation 20:4-6; Matthew 25:21) who have fought the good fight and ran the race of faith (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
After His 1,000-year reign, Satan will be released for a short time and deceive the nations once again as a final test. His opposition will be no match because God will defeat him once and for all, sending him to the lake of fire. After this is when the Great White Throne Judgment will occur and every non-believer will be judged according to what they did, ultimately being cast into the lake of fire as well (Revelation 20:7-15).
Eschatology
(Beliefs about the end times)