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What We Believe

What We Believe

The Theological Distinctives of Lifewater Church

Along with our commitment to The Lausanne Covenant Statement of Faith, Lifewater Church holds to the following theological emphases:

- The Gospel of Jesus Christ is central for our motivation and practice.

- The continuing presence of the Holy Spirit equips and empowers believers.

- All believers are sent on Jesus’ mission to make disciples.

THE GOSPEL - The Gospel is the good news that God himself has come to rescue and renew all of creation in and through the work of Jesus Christ. In greater detail, it is the good news of what God has graciously accomplished for sinners through the sinless life, sacrificial death, and bodily resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ, namely our forgiveness from sin and complete justification before God; this gospel is also the foundation for our confidence in the ultimate triumph of God’s kingdom and the consummation of His purpose for all creation in the new heavens and new earth. This Gospel is centered in Christ, is the foundation for the life of the Church, and is our only hope for eternal life; this Gospel is not proclaimed if Christ’s death and bodily resurrection are not central to our message. This Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which people are sanctified; it is the truth of the Gospel that enables us to do what is pleasing to God genuinely and joyfully and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ. The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. (Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46–47; John 3:16–18; Romans 1:16–17; Romans 1:18–25; 1 Corinthians 1:18–25; 2:2; 15:1–4; 2 Corinthians 4:1–6;9:13; Galatians 1:6–9; Ephesians 1:7–10; Colossians 1:19–20; 2 Timothy 1:8–14; 2 Peter 3:11–13; Jude 1:3–4)

THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE - We recognize and rest upon the necessity of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit for all life and ministry. The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son, whose primary ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth). The Spirit permanently indwells, graciously sanctifies, lovingly leads, and empowers all who are brought to faith in Christ so they might live in obedience to the inerrant Scriptures. The model for our reliance upon the Spirit and our experience of His indwelling and empowering presence is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who was filled with the Spirit and entirely dependent upon His power for the performance of miracles, the preaching of the kingdom of God, and all other dimensions of His earthly ministry. The Holy Spirit, who indwelt and empowered Christ in like manner, indwells and empowers all who belong to Christ through spiritual gifts. He has bestowed spiritual gifts for the work of ministry and the building up of the body of Christ. Although there are different understandings of the nature and function of these gifts, we recognize they are divine provisions central to spiritual growth and effective ministry and are to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to biblical guidelines. (Matthew 3:11; 12:28; Luke 4:1,14;5:17; 10:21; John 1:12–13; 3:1–15, 34; 14:12; 15:26–27; 16:7–15; Acts 2:14–21; 4:29–30; 10:38; Romans 8:9;12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 12:7–13; 12:28–31; 14:1–33; 2 Corinthians 1:21–22; Galatians 3:1–5; Ephesians 1:13–14;5:18)

MISSIONAL CHURCH - Lifewater Church embraces a missionary understanding of the local church and its role as the primary means by which God chooses to establish his kingdom on earth. The church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond its own community to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world as a whole; thus mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church. We are called to make Christ known through the Gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring His lordship to bear on every dimension of life. The primary way we fulfill this mission is through the equipping of the saints for ministry in our local church and seeking to make Jesus known in our local communities. Our aim is that Jesus Christ would be more fully formed in each person through the ministry of Lifewater Church and that God would empower us to share the good news of Jesus Christ in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and families, sharing in and celebrating His redemptive work together. We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it, but with humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, to engage it boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ. (Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5–25; 28:18–20; Luke 4:18–19; 24:46–47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14–15; 2 Corinthians 10:4–5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11–16; 2 Timothy 4:1–5; Hebrews 10:23–25;1 Peter 2:4–5, 9–10)

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