WHAT WE BELIEVE

CORE BELIEFS

The following are the core beliefs of LifeSpring Church  based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible.  All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

When it comes to doctrine, culture, preferences, traditions, lifestyles, politics, behavior, etc.,   Life Spring takes a “closed-hand/open-hand” approach.  The closed hand hangs onto the non-negotiable tenets of Christian orthodoxy. The open hand, however, allows room for differences when it comes to secondary matters; we liberally allow freedom for conscience and wisdom to guide where the Bible is silent. The open hand fosters unity among the diversity of expressions found in the Life Spring’s community of believers: Democrats and Republicans, public and home-schoolers, carnivores and vegans, etc...

Our desire is to simultaneously heed the Bible’s commands:

To have sound doctrine (1 Timothy 4:16; Titus 1:9, 2:1)
To love our Christian brothers and sisters (1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:7-21)
To avoid unnecessary division (Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 1:10, 12:25; Titus 3:10)

STATEMENT OF FAITH


The Holy Bible

The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26).

The Trinity

There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and co-eternal (I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11).

The Person of Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. He is the only man ever to have lived a sinless life. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the cross for mankind and thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory. (John 1:1,14, 20:28; I Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 2:5).

The Virgin Birth

Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the Virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God (Matthew 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35).

Redemption

Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Gen. 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).

Regeneration

For anyone to know God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential (John 6:44, 65).

Salvation

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22).

Repentance

Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation (Acts 2:21, 3:19; I John 1:9).

Sanctification

Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (I Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; II Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, II Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11).

The Blood

The Blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death
(I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29).

Jesus Christ Dwells in All Believers

Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead (John1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelation 3:20).

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the Church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5,2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6).

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters. (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11,12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; II Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10).

Wholeness

Believers are positionally and legally right with God through faith in Christ. The sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit indwelling the Christian provides emotional healing and maturity through a process (Rom. 12:1-2; I Thess. 5:23; I Peter 1:15-16).

The Church

The church is the eternal purpose of God and serves as the instrument to spread the kingdom of God throughout the earth by the preaching of the gospel and the transformation of the nations. We embrace all five gifts of Ephesians 4:11 as being active and operative in the Church today. We believe through Christ the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham is realized in the new creation made up of both Jews and Gentiles as one new body (Eph 2:11-22; 3;11; Gal 3:7-9; 3:16; 5:15-16).

Second Coming

We believe the kingdom of God is active in the earth today and continues to increase to fill the whole earth until Christ literally and physically returns for a mature church. We believe there will be a resurrection of the saved and the lost when Christ returns, the one to everlasting life and the other to everlasting damnation (Rev. 20:11-15; John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15).

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