Statement of Faith

 

Summary Statement of Faith

    • We exist to give real hope to real people facing life in the real world.
    • We affirm the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God, as truth for every generation and as the standard for all ethical and moral decisions in faith and life.
    • We believe God has revealed Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the Hebrew-Christian Scriptures and has made Himself known through the incarnation of Jesus the Christ.
    • We celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the central event of history and the sole ground of hope for human redemption.
    • We teach that man comes into a right relationship with God, not by religion, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Leader of our lives. Real hope is in Christ alone and is accessed by faith alone.
    • We affirm that authentic faith in Jesus will evidence itself in a “new life” which seeks full devotion to Jesus Christ. Obedience to the teachings of Christ found in the Sacred Scriptures lead to freedom expressed by loving service to God and others, and spiritual fruitfulness is normative as empowered by the Holy Spirit.
    • We invite seekers to become finders. We encourage finders to become keepers who demonstrate a great commitment to the great commandment (loving God and loving your neighbor) and the great commission (as you go, share your hope with everyone).
    • We seek to build community where God is honored as people are invited to belong and become, to now and be known, to serve and be served, as well as celebrate and be celebrated.

 

We of Troutdale Community Church are convinced of and are deeply committed to the following basic biblical truths:

  1. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the verbally inspired Word of God, are inerrant in the original writings, and are the only standard and authority for our belief and behavior. We believe in the veracity of God’s Word and have deep conviction that His Word is always vindicated which is consistent with the very nature of the Sovereign Lord (history and prophecy bear testimony to this). (Psalm 19:7; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)
  2. There is but one living and true God, existing eternally in three distinct persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19)
  3. God the Father as the Eternal Creator orders and directs everything according to His own purpose and pleasure. He is graciously involved with mankind. He hears and answers prayer, and He has designed and established the means of redemption. (John 5:19-24, 16:23-27; Ephesians 1:3-14)
  4. God the Son, Jesus Christ, is the eternal Son of God and the virgin-born Son of Man. As true God and true man, His death is the permanent sacrifice and payment for our sins. He was raised bodily and ascended into Heaven. He presently intercedes for us as our High Priest and Advocate until His personal return to this earth to establish His Kingdom. (Matthew 1:18-25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, 12:28; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 7:23-28)
  5. God the Holy Spirit has been active in creation, in the inspired writing of the Old and New Testaments, in Jesus’ earthly ministry, and in the work of salvation. Presently, He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He gives new life to those who place faith in Christ’s atoning death and resurrection. He is the spiritual life of the believer, causing him to know the indwelling of the risen Christ. He is the author, source, and direction of power for the life-long process of spiritual growth. (Genesis 1:2; John 16:4-15)
  6. Satan is a personal being and the author of sin. He provoked the fall of man and seeks constantly to counterfeit the works and truth of God. As the archenemy of God, he is destined to eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Ezekiel 28:14-15; Matthew 4:1-11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 12:10, 20:10)
  7. Man was created directly in the image of God to enjoy an intimate relationship with Him and to fulfill God’s purpose on earth. All men are sinners, by nature and practice, and are spiritually dead – separated from God forever, apart from salvation through Christ. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7, 3:1-24; Romans 1:18-32, 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 6:23)
  8. Jesus Christ died for our sins as the only qualified sacrificial substitute. His death and resurrection paid mankind’s penalty of spiritual death, making possible man’s forgiveness. All who believe solely in Christ for salvation are born again by the Holy Spirit and are made spiritually alive. Those saved in Christ are the children of God eternally. They are empowered by the Holy Spirit to practice righteous living, and they can again enjoy an intimate relationship with God through Christ. (John 1:12, 3:16, 14:6, 5:24; Romans 8:11;  Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:4-10; 1 John 1:1-10, 5:11-13)
  9. True believers in Jesus Christ belong to the universal Body of Christ, His church, and are directed by God’s Word to be baptized in water (immersion is our position) as a public profession of salvation and to become an active participant in a visible local church community. Believers are to fellowship regularly around the Lord’s Table (Communion) as instructed in the Word. The local church corporately, and its individual members, are responsible to Christ as the Head. It may engage in associations for common ends, which do not exercise authority over the local assembly. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 12-14; 2 Corinthians 8:1-19; Ephesians 5:23; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Peter 2:4,5,9,10)
  10. Every human being will experience bodily resurrection.Every believer in Jesus Christ at death passes immediately and consciously into Christ’s presence there to await the body’s resurrection and reuniting with the soul at Christ’s coming to rapture the church and will, with all believers of all ages, remain forever with the Lord in this glorified state. Every believer, furthermore, will also appear before Christ to give an accounting and receive rewards. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12)Every unbeliever will remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment at the Great White Throne, when the soul, reunited with the resurrected body, will be cast into the Lake of Fire to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. (Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Luke 16:19-26)
  11. At Christ’s second coming to earth, our Lord will return in visible form and in glory to this world, accompanied by all His saints, to subdue all His enemies and to set up His kingdom and to reign on the earth with his saints. (Isaiah 35:4-10; Daniel 7:26-27; Revelation 19:11-20:6)