“go and make disciples…”

our beliefs.

• GOD: We believe in the one true, holy, and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. He is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of people, to the glory of His name. We believe the one God reveals Himself as Triune: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable, eternally one in essence and power.

• JESUS CHRIST: We believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary. As ministering Servant, He lived, suffered, and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us, and by Him all people will be judged.

• THE HOLY SPIRIT: We believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He leads people to faithful response to the gospel and into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains, and empowers the faithful and guides them into all truth. As in the days of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit provides gifts to the members of the Body of Christ for the building up of the Church.

• THE HOLY BIBLE: We believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and practice. Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith nor is it to be taught as essential to salvation.

• THE CHURCH: We believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ. We believe it is one, holy, 2 apostolic, and catholic. It is the Body of Christ, the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is preached by those divinely called, and where the sacraments are duly administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship, the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

• THE SACRAMENTS: We believe the Sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are means of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening, and confirming our faith in him. Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion. We believe Baptism signifies entrance into the household of faith and is a symbol of repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new birth in Christ and a mark of Christian discipleship. We believe children of believing parents are the special responsibility of the Church and should not be denied the sign of the covenant as heirs of the Kingdom of God in Christian Baptism. Such children should be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of Christ, and by profession of faith confirm their Baptism. Baptism may be conducted by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling. While baptism is a once-in-a-lifetime gift, we recognize individuals may wish to renew their baptism. We believe that Holy Communion is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual manner until he comes. Children may receive the sacrament. Those who have not been baptized may receive Holy Communion, though they are encouraged to pursue baptism as quickly as possible. The sacraments shall be presided over by an ordained minister.

• SIN AND FREE WILL: We believe man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. In his own strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. We believe, however, 3 man influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.

• RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST: We believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself. The offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin, so that no other satisfaction is required.

• JUSTIFICATION AND REGENERATION: We believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified or accounted righteous before God only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with their will and affections. We believe, although we have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.

• GOOD WORKS: We believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow regeneration, but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment. We believe good works are pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ and that they spring from a true and living faith, for through and by them faith is made evident.

• SANCTIFICATION AND CHRISTIAN PERFECTION: We believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words, and acts, and are enabled to live in accordance with God’s will. Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as oneself. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously and should be sought earnestly by every child of God. We believe this experience does not deliver us from the infirmities, 4 ignorance, and mistakes common to humanity, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian must continue to guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory over every temptation to sin.

• THE JUDGMENT AND THE FUTURE STATE: We believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection of the dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless condemnation.

• PUBLIC WORSHIP: We believe worship is the duty and privilege of humanity who, in the presence of God, bows in adoration, humility, and dedication. We believe worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the assembling of the people of God for worship is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth. We believe the order of public worship need not be the same in all places but may be modified by the church according to the circumstances and needs of the people. It should be in a language and form understood by the people, consistent with the Holy Scriptures to the edification of all.

• CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE AND SEXUALITY: We believe marriage is a sacred institution created by God and designed for the union of male and female and exists as a sign of the union of Christ and the Church. Marriage is to be practiced in the church as between one man and one woman in a lifelong covenant. Sexual intercourse is to be protected by the marriage covenant, thus sexual relations outside of marriage is opposed to the will of God and detrimental to human flourishing.

• CIVIL GOVERNMENT: We believe civil government derives its just powers from the sovereign God. As Christians we recognize the governments under whose protection we reside and believe such governments should be based on, and be responsible for, the recognition of human rights under God. We believe it is the duty of Christian citizens to give moral strength and purpose to their respective governments through sober, righteous, and godly living.

Cornerstone Church is an independent, non-denominational church with a Wesleyan theological tradition.