Statement of Faith

THE BIBLE

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. It is the very Word of God, inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts. It is complete, and sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and the final authority for all matters of faith, practice, and life. 

 

THE TRIUNE GODHEAD

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection. God is the Creator and Ruler of all things and is the center of our worship. God the Father sovereignly rules over all that he created and continues to care for and sustain in providence all that exists. The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and is truly God and truly man. He is the advocate and mediator between God and man. The Holy Spirit glorifies the Father and the Son, convicts the world of sin, regenerates hearts, indwells all believers, gives gifts to men and women, and guides believers in obedience to the truth. 

 

HUMANITY

We believe that every person, from the moment of conception, is created in the image of God. We believe that God created Adam and Eve, humans as male and female, and ordained marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. We believe Adam and Eve sinned, thereby incurring a physical, spiritual, and eternal death. We believe that as a consequence, all human beings are born sinners by nature and by choice, and are therefore under condemnation from birth.

 

ATONEMENT

We believe that Jesus Christ, by the sovereign foreknowledge of God the Father, offered himself as the substitutionary atonement for sin. All who put their faith in him alone, and not works, are granted eternal life. Justification is by faith alone for the forgiveness of sin, removal of guilt, imputation of divine righteousness, and promise of future resurrection.

 

SALVATION

We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The elect of God will hear and believe the gospel. Christians will necessarily bear good fruit by the power of the Holy Spirit, pursue repentance and godliness, and remain eternally secured by the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

RESURRECTION

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, where he sits in glory, having accomplished redemption, and awaiting the time of his return.

 

THE CHURCH

We believe in the universal Church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are the body. Local churches consist of believers, baptized in a credible profession of faith, assembled for worship, fellowship, and service. We believe the primary mission of the church is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, with an aim to make and mature disciples.

 

THE ORDINANCES

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the local church, believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe water baptism by immersion in the name of the triune God signifies spiritual union with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection. We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to remember and proclaim his death until he comes again.

 

LAST THINGS

We believe in the physical return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His Millennial Kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the justified to eternal glory, and the unjust to eternal conscious punishment.

As a church that recognizes and values the work of God throughout history, the teaching elders of Tri-City Bible Church are in essential agreement with earlier Christian creeds and confessions. The particular historic confession that best expresses our theological commitment is the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith (exceptions: 22:7-8, 26:4).

 

POSITION STATEMENTS

 

SIGN GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Scripture teaches that there is one baptism of the Holy Spirit that occurs at the time a person is converted (Acts 2:38; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:13),   immersing the believer into the body of Christ (Romans 12:4–5; 1 Corinthians 12:12). 

We distinguish between spiritual gifts distributed to believers to equip them for ministry (1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:7–13; 1 Peter 4:10–11) and the miraculous sign gifts which were used to authenticate gospel messengers during the foundational period of the church (1 Corinthians 13:8–10; 14:20–22). 

Therefore, we hold that miraculous sign gifts are not operative today (1 Corinthians 1:22; 13:8-10). While this position is not a test of fellowship with those who disagree, no one will teach or practice anything in connection with their duties at the church or school that is at variance with our position.

 

THE ATONEMENT

Scripture teaches that sin must be paid for (Romans 6:23; 1 Peter 1:18-19). When Jesus Christ died, he suffered as the sinless substitute in the place of, and on behalf of, all whom the Father gave him (John 6:39) before the foundation of the world. Christ’s death paid the just penalty, and satisfied the wrath of God for sin in full. Furthermore, it was the means by which he imputed his active obedience in order that the sinner would be counted as righteous as Christ himself before the judgement seat of God. This double imputation of sin to Christ, and righteousness to the sinner is freely available to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord to be saved (Matthew 20:28; Romans 3:21; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 10:13). Christ’s death was not merely a statement against evil or an expression of love, but a payment that completely satisfied God’s demand for justice. Christ’s death was necessary for several reasons:

 

First, sin alienates us from God (Ephesians 2:12). Those who are slaves to sin cannot please God (Romans 8:5–8). Jesus Christ's death made peace with God for all who put their faith in him (Colossians 1:20–21).   Christ came, not just to provide us with a godly example, but to die on our behalf and to be the exclusive way to adoption and acceptance by the Father (Galatians 3:13).

 

Second, God is holy (1 John 1:5). God's holy character requires that sin be punished (Romans 3:4, 24–26). Sin makes us the objects of God’s wrath until the penalty of sin is paid (Romans 1:18; 6:23). By laying down His own life, Jesus paid the price on our behalf, satisfying God’s demand (John 10:17, 18; 2 Peter 2:1). This payment was made, not to Satan, but God, who crushed him for our sin (Matthew 20:28; Isaiah 53:5).

 

Third, the presence of sin renders us helpless (Romans 3:10–12). We cannot save ourselves (Romans 3:20, 28). We do not have the will or ability to offer anything acceptable to God on our own behalf (John 1:13; Ephesians 2:1–5). We not only suffer from the guilt and penalty of Adam’s original sin, but also from the effects of our own sinful nature and actions (Romans 5:12–15; 6:6; Romans 3:23). God, who is rich in mercy, sent Jesus Christ to die in our place, so that He might be righteous in dealing with sin by becoming sin for us, while at the same time imputing His own righteousness to those who believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:23–26).

 

GENDER AND MINISTRY OFFICES

Scripture teaches the value, dignity, and equality of all people, as created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26–27; 9:6), male and female. We affirm the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:6) and the responsibility of every Christian woman and man to take an active role in edifying the church (Romans 12:4–8; 1 Corinthians 14:12; Ephesians 4:11–13). For that purpose, the Holy Spirit distributes ministry gifts to believers without distinction of any kind (Ephesians 4:7–13; 1 Corinthians 12; 1 Peter 4:10–11). That reality imposes the responsibility on every believer to fulfill ministry consistent with God’s grace. Scripture distinguishes between ministry function and church office. While upholding the necessity of mutual respect and affirmation as those subject to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:17–21),  we understand that the biblical office of elder/pastor is restricted to qualified men (1 Timothy 3:1–7; Titus 1:5–9).

 

HUMAN SEXUALITY

Scripture provides an unambiguous declaration of God’s enduring creative intent for image bearing, gender, sexual identity, and marriage (Genesis 1:27, 2:24; Matthew 19:4–5). Humanity, created and not evolved, came from the hand of God with only two gender distinctions, male and female, together displaying the image of God, and emerging from one flesh with the unique physical capacity to reunite as one flesh in complementarity within a marriage.

 

God’s creation design and intent for marriage as expressed in Genesis 2 is therefore exclusively between one man and one woman. Marriage symbolizes the exclusive love of Christ for His Bride, the Church. Within this monogamous context, intended to be lifelong, sexual intimacy is a glorious blessing from God. 

 

We affirm the worth and relevance of human gender and sexuality, and of sexual intimacy in marriage. Scripture clearly teaches that non-marital sex, homosexual sex, same-sex romantic attraction or relationships, and gender identification incongruent with one’s genetic sex all violate God’s generous intention for human relationships (Leviticus 18; 1 Corinthians 5-6). Such practices misrepresent the nature of God Himself, and therefore are sinful under any circumstance.

 

Scriptural mandates for sexual practice are an enduring expression of His love and protection of our human identity (Matthew 19:5–9; Ephesians 4:11–13; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–8).   We therefore humbly submit ourselves to his Word. Members of our community will neither practice nor propagate positions or activities at variance with this position.

 

CREATION

God (Genesis 1:1, 26; Matthew 3:13-17) created everything (Genesis 1:1; John 1:3; Hebrews 1:10) out of nothing (ex nihilo) in six literal days (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11; Hebrews 11:3), and presently sustains and governs it (Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:3). The created order is not a product of evolution, but of divine fiat, being on the order of thousands and not millions of years old, with humankind being created directly by God. Furthermore, all human life is created by God, and therefore sacred because every person bears the image of God, and we defend, protect, and value all human life, believing that abortion and euthanasia are murder.

 

BIBLICAL INERRANCY

The Short Statement of the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy is a helpful reference in the Church’s defense of, and teaching on, inspiration and inerrancy of God’s Word. All pastors of Tri-City Bible Church and faculty of Tri-City Christian School are required to affirm the Chicago Statement in addition to the Statement of Faith and Positional Statements each year.

1. God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired Holy Scripture in order thereby to reveal Himself to lost mankind through Jesus Christ as Creator and Lord, Redeemer and Judge. Holy Scripture is God’s witness to Himself.
2. Holy Scripture, being God’s own Word, written by men prepared and superintended by His Spirit, is of infallible divine authority in all matters upon which it touches: it is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it affirms; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; embraced, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises.
3. The Holy Spirit, Scripture’s divine Author, both authenticates it to us by His inward witness and opens our minds to understand its meaning.
4. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in all its teaching, no less in what it states about God’s acts in creation, about the events of world history, and about its own literary origins under God, than in its witness to God’s saving grace in individual lives.
5. The authority of Scripture is impaired if this total divine inerrancy is in any way limited or disregarded, or made relative to a view of truth contrary to the Bible’s own; and such lapses bring serious loss to both the individual and the Church.

We believe that the books of Scripture should be interpreted as literally accurate, considering figurative language when demanded by literary context. The illuminating work of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:9-12) enlightens the believer in harmony with the total teaching of Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:13; Ephesians 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:15).