These are our Core Beliefs at EastPoint Church and are therefore foundationally precious to what the vision and mission of EastPoint Church gathers for:
– The Bible is the ultimate authority for the Church. It is the Word of God to all of us. It is complete, perfect, and absolutely inspired by God. It has no errors and its truths are not from man, and yet God used men to write it. They were carried along and inspired by the Holy Spirit. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21.)
– There is one and only one God and He exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father has primarily chosen to reveal Himself in the Bible. He is the Creator of all things, Sustainer of all things, and the Sovereign Ruler of all things. He will bring all things to pass through His good and mighty pleasure through His Son Jesus Christ. We affirm that it is God alone who saves from sin all who come to Him through Christ Jesus. (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 145:3; John 14:6-7; Acts 17:24-28.)
– Jesus is the Son of God. He is equal to God in Divinity, and is the second person in the Trinity. He alone is fully God and fully man. Jesus came to Earth born of the Virgin Mary, and conceived by the Holy Spirit. Living a perfect and sinless life, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law. Then He died upon the cross, was buried, rose from the dead, and ascended into Heaven. In His death He defeated sin, hell, Satan, and death. We proclaim that Christ paid for our sins and liberated us from the wrath of God that was rightfully and justly upon us because of our rebellion against God. The entire Bible points to Jesus and He is the most precious and famous person who ever lived on Earth. (John 1:14-18; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-23, 2:15; Hebrews 4:14-16.)
– The Holy Spirit is the third person within the Trinity. He is fully God and equal with the Father and the Son. Without Him, no man can come to saving faith, because He convicts men and women of their sins, regenerates their dead and unbelieving hearts, gives them understanding in truth, leads them in growth and maturity in the Christian life, bestows upon them unique and manifold gifts to make much of Jesus, and many other things that are beyond our understanding. The Holy Spirit Glorifies Jesus Christ as Lord. (Acts 2:37; Ephesians 1:13-14; Titus 3:5-6; 1 John 4:2.)
– God created Man in His image for the purpose of making much of His glory, but through Adam’s sin, all of Mankind is under the curse of sin. All are born into sin, love sin, choose sin over God, and are unable to be saved without Christ Jesus. Before the Holy Spirit works in an unbelieving person’s soul, they are under the wrath of God. God owes nothing to mankind. The only thing that man “deserves” is God’s wrath because of sin. In light of this Biblical reality, the grace of salvation through faith in Jesus alone becomes increasingly more sweet and precious because God lovingly and freely gives it to undeserving people. (Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-10.)
– Salvation is the free gift of God’s life giving power to unbelievers through faith. We affirm that not only is salvation (being freed from the bondage of sin for eternity and restored to a right relationship with God) a gift, but that faith (choosing to trust in Jesus over sin) is also a free gift from God; we believe that this makes salvation even more bright and sweet and also completely not of any man’s doing. In other words, we do not ‘earn’ or ‘merit’ our salvation in any way. It is all owing to the merciful, gracious love of God. All we bring is our sin and brokenness, and Jesus makes us new. (John 3:16-18; Romans 12:3; Ephesians 2:8-9.)
– The Church is the body of Christ. As the body, it physically represents Christ Jesus on the Earth both on a local and global scale. Much like our physical bodies represent us, The Church represents Jesus. This is why we believe that the Church is not “optional” for professing believers in Jesus, but it is essential. Jesus has covenanted to never leave His people therefore His people shouldn’t abandon each other either. (Mathew 28:20; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-30; Ephesians 1:22-23, Hebrews 10:25.)
– Response: There are only two responses. Either putting our trust and hope in Jesus, or denying Him and choosing sin. We either turn from our love of sin through repentance into a trusting relationship in Jesus Christ, or we turn away from Jesus Christ to a love for sin. The Holy Spirit overcomes rebellion in the darkest of hearts. No man is un-savable. No man is without excuse. We must respond. The time is now; God’s patience will not remain upon mankind forever. How will you respond? Will you confess your sins to God? Will you put your hope and trust purely in Jesus for your salvation? If you have questions, or you want to talk more about how to become saved please come talk to one of our staff on Sunday. It is the greatest decision you will ever make in your life! (Isaiah 55:6; Mark 1:15; Romans 1:19-23.)
* We affirm the Baptist Faith & Message, and see it as a more detailed expression of these core beliefs. Here is a link to an online version: http://www.sbc.net/bfm2000/bfm2000.asp
