God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:1,26-27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 1:1; Acts 5:3-4
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin as both fully man and God incarnate. He lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead bodily after three days to demonstrate his victory over sin and death. He ascended to heaven and will literally return again to earth to reign as King.
John 1:1-4, 14:9-10; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18, 22-23; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for the Savior, Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation, and provides them with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth and guidance in doing what is right. As Christians we seek to live under his control daily. The Holy Spirit also anoints and empowers Christians at different times and in different ways by his sovereign will and purposes, and always in agreement with the word of God.
Acts 1:8; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Romans 12:5-6; Galatians 5:25; 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 Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s word to all men. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any error in the original manuscripts and the final authority for Christian beliefs and practice.
2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalms 12:6, 119:105,160; Proverbs 30:5; John 8:31-32, 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13
Man was created in the image of God to have fellowship with Him and reflect his character, but man became alienated from God through sinful disobedience. As a result, all men are born with a sinful nature and choose to sin against God. Man is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through his own efforts.
Genesis 1:27; Psalms 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 18a; Isaiah 59:1-2; Ephesians 2:1-3
Salvation is a gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can man be saved from sin’s penalty. When we repent of our sins and trust only in Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12, 14:6; Titus 3:5-7; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1, 10:9-13; 1 John 5:13
People were created to exist forever. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence; therefore, every person will either exist eternally separated from God by sin in hell or eternally with God in heaven through forgiveness and salvation. Physical death seals the eternal destiny of each person.
John 3:15-18; Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41,46; John 5:24, 28-29; Hebrew 9:27-28
There is one true Church, the spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. Regardless of denomination, all those that repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are spiritually baptized into the body of Christ as members of His Church.
All members of the Church are called to faithful membership in a visible, local church, in which they devote themselves to worship, prayer, learning the truths of God’s word, fellowship and the observance of water baptism and communion. The local church is God’s chosen instrument for fulfilling the Great Commission – reaching the lost by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, growing them into fully devoted followers of Christ and equipping them to do the work of ministry.
Acts 2:38, 41-47, 14:23; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13,27; Matthew 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:11-16
Water Baptism is symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. In obedience to Christ and in following his example, believers are baptized by immersion as a public declaration of their new life in Christ and unity with His body, the Church.
Matthew 3:16-17, 28:18-20; Acts 2:41, 8:12; Romans 6:4-5
Communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is given to all believers by Jesus Christ to remember his sacrifice for us and to symbolize the New Covenant. The bread and wine or juice are symbols of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is not a means of salvation. Rather, it is a testament of a believer’s faith in the atoning work of the cross.
Matthew 26:26-28; 1 Corinthians 11:23-2
All the biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the edification of the church today and should be exercised in agreement with the Word of God. Every believer has been given one or more spiritual gifts for ministry.
Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 28-31; Ephesians 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians 14
True, saving faith produces a fruitful, God-pleasing life. By obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Holy Spirit, every believer should mature and be progressively conformed to the image of Christ. It is the duty and privilege of all Christians to work to fulfill the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20; James 2:14-18,24,26; Romans 8:2,4,13-14; Ephesians 4:22-24; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 1:6-7, 2:3-6; 3:5-10
We believe that every person must be treated with compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31) Any behavior or attitude towards any person that does not reflect the love of Christ for all people is unacceptable and will be confronted.
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably created each person as distinctly male or female (Gen. 1:26-31; 2:18-25; 5:1, 2). These two distinct and complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. To reject one’s biological gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person and is a sin against God.
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman, as biologically designed by birth, in a single, exclusive union, as defined in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4)
We believe that any form of sexual intimacy outside of marriage is sexually immoral and is sin against God. (1 Cor. 6:15-7:6; Eph. 5:3-7) Sexual immorality includes, but is not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual conduct, and pornography.
We believe that God offers forgiveness, redemption, transformation, and restoration to all who confess and repent from their sin and humbly ask for His forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 6:11)
We believe that to preserve the function and integrity of Iglesia de la Costa as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model, it is imperative that all persons employed or serving as volunteers in the church or it’s ministries, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22)
