What We Believe
Even though Riverzedge is very non-traditional in style, we are deeply committed to the timeless truth of Jesus and the Bible. We are a Christ centered, Bible-believing, non-denominational church who loves God and people.
Summary of Beliefs
"Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God, the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son." - 2 John 9
Anyone familiar with historic Christian doctrine will find that the statements below fall in the center of evangelical theology ("evangelical" means theology derived from the evangel, or the Gospel; in other words, it's biblical theology rather than speculative theology rooted in man-made tradition). We try not to be hard-nosed about matters on which Scripture is not clear, and we're not dogmatic about matters where honest, Bible-based believers have held divergent views. We want our core beliefs to be centered in Jesus and His message as found in and supported by the clearest passages of Scripture. More obscure doctrine or teachings with less support are left to individuals to sort out on their own - we take no "official" position in these areas.
As a church we have no written doctrine or creed except for the Bible itself. However, in order to help people get to know us better, here's a summary of what we believe…
The Bible
The Bible is God's completely true Story about who he is, what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do. It was given by God to human writers and so reflects their backgrounds, styles, and use of language. The Bible is the final authority on all matters to which it speaks.
God
There is one God, who exists as three persons living in perfect community - Father, Son, and Spirit. God created everything and sustains everything by his life. He is holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, unchanging, and full of mercy and grace.
Real Life (salvation)
We are connected to God in only one way - by choosing to accept the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation God offers to us by Christ's life, death, and resurrection. If we ask him to, God treats us as if we were Christ, because he treated Christ as if he were us. God's gift of grace makes us his adopted sons and daughters. There is nothing we can do to deserve this life - it is all a gift of God, and our job is simply to receive it. When we do, God begins the process of changing our hearts and minds from the inside out and making our characters more and more like Jesus'. And as we have been reconciled to God, we also have hope for being more fully reconciled to other people.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, God's Son, became fully human when he was born to the Virgin Mary. He was fully human and fully God. He lived a perfect life in place of our imperfect lives; died, as our substitute, the death we deserved to die because of our selfishness; and physically rose from the dead. He offers us full life by the promise of his own resurrection. He then ascended into heaven and today is our representative, intercessor, and advocate with God the Father.
Holy Spirit
We experience the full life and presence of God in our relationship with God the Spirit, who convicts us of sin, points us to Christ, and applies Christ's work to our lives. He gives gifts and power to the church and he is the one who creates biblical community in the church. He reveals truth and guides our lives, individually and together.
Human destiny
Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. For all mankind, there will be a resurrection into the spiritual world and a judgment that will determine the fate of each individual. Unbelievers will be separated from God into condemnation. God's judgment will reveal His justice in consigning them to perpetuate in eternal retribution their own rejection of God. Believers will be received into eternal communion with God and will be rewarded for works done in this life.
The Church
If we are in relationship with Christ, we are part of the church. The church is universal, but is always expressed locally. The church is the visible and local demonstration of the new community Christ came to create. The Spirit leads our community life as we are devoted to worshiping God, understanding and applying the Bible to our lives, offering connection to others, living life together, serving our community, and using our Spirit-given gifts to serve Christ and others. The church is made up of imperfect people who are responding day by day in all their relationships to God's stunning grace.
The main responsibility of the church is to offer connection to people outside of relationship with Christ by offering Christ's full life and helping those who respond to become people who follow Christ with their whole hearts.
Faith and practice
Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where Scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in those areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible.
Conclusion
We believe this is an accurate summary of what Scripture teaches. All members of Riverzedge should refrain from advocating doctrines that are not included in this Statement of Faith in such a way as to cause dissension. We desire the local expression of Jesus's body at Riverzedge to be a radiant example of love, grace, and unity.