OUR BELIEFS
God is the Creator of the world in which we live. He is eternal, meaning that He has always existed and He always will. He exists in three forms, all at the same time: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.
Mankind (all human beings, male and female) was made in the spiritual image of God. Mankind was made to give God glory – to be living and walking reminders that He exists. Because of sin, an innate predisposition to disobey God, we fall short of that standard. Our sinful attitude separates us from God. We can’t have a right relationship with God on our own; we need to be forgiven of our sin. This forgiveness is only possible by believing that Jesus’s sacrificial death on our behalf at Calvary was for each of us, individually.
Eternal life is promised to all of us. We have two possible destinations when our lives end on Earth: Heaven or Hell. The difference between destinations doesn’t depend on whether you were a “good person” or a “bad person;” it depends on whether or not you have asked Jesus Christ to accept the penalty for your sins. If you have, you are as sure to live forever in Heaven as if you were there right now!
Jesus Christ is the only Son of God the Father. He came to this Earth in human form more than 2,000 years ago, lived a sinless life, and died a sacrificial death for every sin that mankind had committed up to that point and would ever commit thereafter. He then rose from the dead and now resides in Heaven with God the Father. He has promised to return to Earth to establish a Kingdom here, and all who have accepted a relationship with Him (or, as we often say, those who are “saved,” or “born again”) will be part of that Kingdom.
Salvation is a gift from God to man. Because man can never make up for his sin by doing good works, accepting and trusting Jesus Christ’s death, burial and resurrection as a substitute for sin is the only way man can be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life with God begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. And because eternal life with God is through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Just as salvation cannot be obtained by good works, neither can it be maintained by good works. Salvation is maintained by the grace of God.
The Holy Spirit is the presence of God here today, as described in the second chapter of the New Testament book of Acts. Becoming a more mature Christian involves allowing the Holy Spirit to take control over every aspect of your life. It’s a long and difficult process (in fact, it never ends!) because even after we’re saved, we retain our sinful nature. When we become more familiar with the Holy Spirit, He provides us with power for living, an understanding of God’s ways, courage to share His love with others, and guidance to live righteously on earth.
The Bible is God’s Word for His people. It was written over the course of centuries by human authors under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is inspired by God (meaning it reflects God’s heart for how we should live, not the opinions of its human authors) and is absolutely true in all respects. The Bible is God’s standard, and we experience more success in our spiritual lives as we conform our lives to its teachings.
The Church (capital “C”) is the fellowship of all Christians around the world. All men and women who have sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as Lord (ruler) and Savior (salvation-maker) of their lives are members of, “the Body of Christ” and, “the Family of God.”
The church (small “c”) is also the most common term for an individual body of Christian believers – like LIGHT CITY. More than just a building, a church is a community of faithful men and women united to worship God together and make Him known to others in a variety of ways.
Baptism is a ritual, or sacrament, practiced in Christian churches to demonstrate that an individual life has been transformed by salvation through Jesus Christ. It is not a substitute for salvation, but a public declaration and recognition that salvation has already transformed an individual life. We believe baptism can only be made by a man, woman or child with the capability of understanding what salvation means. We call it, "believer’s baptism" or, "water baptism," because it involves immersion in a body of water. There is nothing wrong with dedicating an infant or young child to God, but it doesn’t take the place of that child’s eventual need to make his or her own decision for Jesus Christ.
The Family is God’s foundational institution for human society. Marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only within the confines of marriage. Marriage is a covenant between one man, one woman, and God.