Salt Church Core Beliefs
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God
There is one and only one living and true God. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and mankind. God is Father to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of mankind from sin. Jesus gave us an example of how we should live as His followers. God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God who dwells in those trusting in Jesus Christ following salvation. He reveals truth (counselor) resulting in conviction of sin leading to repentance. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in obedience to God’s laws in every aspect of life. The Scriptures
The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Mankind
Man and woman was created by the special act of God on day six of creation, in His own image, and is the crowning work of His creation. By his/her free choice mankind sinned against God and brought sin into the world and human race. Mankind can now choose life or death. Death by rejecting the sacrifice Jesus paid on the cross for their sin, or accepting this free gift of grace and forgiveness resulting in salvation. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole person and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood shed on the cross, obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and glorification. Simply put, God saves people from the penalty of sin (eternal death, forever separated from God), continues changing them spiritually to look more like Christ, and after death on earth, they will forever be with Him in heaven. God’s Purpose of Grace
Election is the gracious purpose of God, according to which He regenerates, sanctifies, and glorifies sinners. …All true believers endure to the end. Those whom God has accepted in Christ, and sanctified by His Spirit will never fall away from the state of grace, but shall persevere to the end. The Church
A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a local body of believers who are associated by covenant faith in Jesus Christ and seeks to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. This church is an autonomous body. The New Testament speaks also of the church as the body of Christ, which includes all of the redeemed of all the ages. Baptism & the Lord's Supper
Believer's baptism is commanded by Jesus and we fulfill this by immersing a believer in water. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the sinful life, and the resurrection to newness of life in Jesus Christ. The Lord's Supper (communion) is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members memorialize the death of Jesus and the salvation offered to us as a result, and the anticipation of His second coming. Last Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. Jesus Christ will return personally and visible, the dead will be raised and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to hell. The righteous will receive their reward and will dwell forever in heaven with the Lord. Evangelism & Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations, to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort. Stewardship
God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions. The Christian & the Social Order
Every Christian is under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in his own life and in human society. The Christian should oppose every form of greed, selfishness, and vice. Religious Liberty
Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. A free church in a free state is the Christian ideal. Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is the unity of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. God has ordained the man as the spiritual leader of his family as priest, provider and protector. If a woman is a single mother of children, she assumes this role until she is married. Parents have the sole responsibility to teach their children to trust in God. It is the role of the church to assist and support them in this endeavor.
