Theology

Doctrine

These are the core beliefs of our church.  These beliefs are what we center our worship gatherings, our lives and our purpose around.

  1. We believe the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21)
  2. We believe God is one God existing in three Persons, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Matthew 28:19, 20)
  3. We believe that all people were created in the image of God to have fellowship with him but became alienated in that relationship through sin. As a result, people are incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through their own efforts. (Genesis 1:26,27, Romans 3:23; 5:12; 6:23)
  4. We believe that Jesus Christ died for the sin of the world, making available redemption from sin to life eternal to all those who believe in Him. (John 3:16; Acts 16:31)
  5. We believe that all true believers in Jesus Christ are kept eternally secure by the power of God making it impossible for them to lose their salvation (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39)
  6. We believe all Christians should live for Christ and not for themselves. By obedience to the Word of God and daily yielding to the Spirit of God, every believer should mature and be conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 12:1-2, Hebrews 5:11-12)
  7. We believe that the church is the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving him and by making him known to the lost world. (Matthew 28:18-20, Ephesians 3:8-12).

Distinctives

The following are the four core distinctives and truths which help dictate who we are as a church.

1. Reformed Theology

The core idea of reformed theology is that everything centers around God and his glorious grace.  We see reformed theology woven all throughout the entire Bible.  The five main tenets of reformed theology are:

Scripture alone- The Bible is the final authority in life and doctrine.  

Christ alone- Jesus is the only way of understanding/knowing God, receiving His favor and avoiding His wrath.

Grace alone- Salvation is achieved by God’s grace alone apart from any human merit.  We hold fast to the truths of election and predestinaton as gloriously beautiful acts of God’s grace.  (See Ephesians 1, Romans 8 and 9).

Faith alone- Faith is the non-meritorious sole means by which humans receive salvation as the free gift of God.

To God’s glory alone- Our family, work, hobbies, responsibilities, and everything else is ultimately all about God's glory and that he is the only one worthy of such glory.

2. Missional Living 

The goal of Christianity is not to go to heaven one day.  The big idea is that God has saved us so we can know him now and live for him now.  Our church is not trying to gather a bunch of people on Sunday mornings, rather, we are trying to equip people to live for God wherever they are. (Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 12:1-2)

3. Complementarianism

This is the idea that men and women are created equal in God’s image, but with different and distinct roles.  This is seen all the way back in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:18-24).  Adam and Eve were both created in the image of God, but Adam was the head.  In the New Testament, you see this distinction mainly in marriage (1 Corinthians 11:3, Ephesians 5:22-33) with the husband as the head of the women, and in church leadership where men are called to lead the church (Acts 20:17-35, 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9, 1 Peter 5:1-5).  Elders at Redemption Church are godly, qualified men who have been called by God to lead the church.

4. Spirit Empowered

Some churches say that the gifts have ceased, others say that some of the gifts have ceased and some others make the gifts the central theme and focus of the church.   Redemption Church holds to the truth that all the spiritual gifts are still alive and active and can be used as the Spirit sees fit.  However, the gifts are not the point.  The point is that God will empower and use his people to bless and love other people using spiritual gifts.  The main place where people use spiritual gifts are not on Sunday mornings.  Rather, we see Community Groups as a place for people to truly love and serve one another through their spiritual gifts.