WHAT WE BELIEVE AT CRCC

Scripture
We believe the Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, written.
As a "God-breathed" revelation, it is thus verbally inspired and completely without error
(historically, scientifically, morally, and spiritually) in its original writings. While God the Holy
Spirit supernaturally superintended the writing of the Bible, that writing nevertheless reflects the
words and literary styles of its individual human authors. Scripture reveals the being, nature, and
character of God, the nature of God's creation, and especially His will for the salvation of human
beings through Jesus Christ. The Bible is therefore our supreme and final authority in all matters
that it addresses.

Creation
We believe that the physical universe, the realm of nature, is the visible creation of God. It
declares God's existence and gives a trustworthy revelation of God's character and purpose. In
Scripture, God declares that through His creation all humanity recognizes His existence, power,
glory, and wisdom. An honest study of nature -- its physical, biological, and social aspects -- can
prove useful in a person's search for truth. Properly understood, God's Word (Scripture) and
God's world (nature), as two revelations (one verbal, one physical) from the same God, will
never contradict each other.

God
We believe in one infinitely perfect, eternal and personal God, the transcendent Creator and
sovereign Sustainer of the universe. This one God is Triune, existing eternally and
simultaneously as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. All three persons in the
Godhead share equally and completely the one divine nature, and are therefore the same God,
coequal in power, nature, and glory.

Person of Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is both true God (the second Person of the Trinity) and true man
(the Incarnate Son of God). We also believe in the great events surrounding Jesus Christ's life
and ministry, including:
His eternal preexistence
His virgin birth
His attesting miracles
His sinless life
His sacrificial death on the cross His glorious bodily resurrection from the dead
Hisascension into heaven
His present work in heaven as High Priest and Advocate.

He will return in glory to resurrect and judge all mankind.

Person of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity, is indeed a Divine Person,
coequal with the Father and the Son. We also believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in
salvation, a ministry which includes anointing and glorifying Christ, convicting men of their sin,
bringing about the regeneration of lost sinners, and indwelling believers and empowering them
for godly living and spiritual service.

Mankind
We believe God created mankind in His image and likeness (having rational, moral, relational,
and spiritual capacities) to fellowship with Him and give Him glory. Human beings are therefore
the crown of God's creation (possessing inherent dignity and moral worth), and thus distinct in
kind from all other life on earth. Adam and Eve, the first human beings, chose to rebel against
God and go their own autonomous way. As a result, all of mankind became separated from God,
the image of God in man distorted, and the sinful nature passed on to all their progeny. Because
of original sin (which includes both corruption and guilt), unregenerate human beings are
incapable of pleasing or commending themselves to God. The only remedy for mankind's pitiful
predicament is redemption through faith in Jesus Christ.

Redemption
We believe God has acted sovereignly to bridge the gap that separates people from Himself. He
sent His Son, born of a virgin, attested by miracles and by a sinless life, to bear the full penalty
for humanity's sin. Jesus Christ suffered and died in the place of sinners, thus satisfying the
Father's just wrath against human sin, and effecting true reconciliation between God and
mankind for those who believe. In the atoning death of Christ, both God's love and God's justice
are fully manifested. The righteousness of Jesus Christ in perfectly fulfilling the law of God has been graciously credited to all believers. Redemption is solely a work of God's grace, received
exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ, and never by works of human merit.

Justification
We believe justification is a judicial act of God's grace wherein He acquits a person of all sin and
accepts that person as righteous in His sight because of the imputed righteousness of Christ.
Justification is strictly a work of God's grace, apprehended through faith alone, and solely on the
account of Christ.

Resurrection
We believe Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, conquering sin, death, and all the powers of
Satan. The resurrection is God's historical affirmation and vindication of Jesus Christ's unique
identity, mission, and message. Historical evidence of the resurrection is manifest in Christ's
empty tomb, His many resurrection appearances, and in the emergence of the Christian church.

Jesus Christ now resides at the right hand of the Father, and lives to indwell all who recognize
their sinfulness, who repent, and who turn their lives over to His authority.

The Church
We believe the church is the spiritual body of Jesus Christ (its Founder, Head, and Shepherd) and
that it encompasses all true believers at all times and places. The function of the church is to
carry out the Lord's expressed will through the power of the Holy Spirit. One of the central
purposes of the church is to preach the Gospel (in both word and life), the good news that
humankind can find salvation from sin through faith in Jesus Christ. All people who have placed
their faith (confident trust) in Jesus Christ for salvation belong to the church and are, thus, the
people of God. This community of believers is made up of people who are neither perfect nor
sinless, but by grace their lives are coming more and more under the control of the Holy Spirit,
expressing His love, joy, peace, and other Christ-like qualities.

Future Things
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this earth, personally, bodily, and visibly to
establish his glorious reign in a kingdom that will never end. As the sovereign Lord, He will
resurrect and judge all humanity. Those who have received His offer of life through the Gospel
will go to eternal blessings in heaven; those who have rejected it, to eternal conscious torment in
hell. We look forward to the blessed hope, Christ's Second Coming in glory.

The Great Commission
We believe Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. And since Christ has commissioned His
people, the church, to go into all the world to disciple, to baptize, and to teach everyone
everywhere to obey His Word, we desire, by His grace, to play our part in reaching the world
with the Gospel of Christ.