Our Beliefs

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, who created the world in six days. We believe humanity, created in God's image, fell into sin, resulting in separation from God. Recognizing that there is nothing humanity could do to restore this broken relationship, God, in His love, sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a virgin, fully God and fully human, and lived a sinless life. He then willingly died on the cross, a sacrifice that paid the penalty for our sins, and rose again, conquering death, and ascended into heaven. We believe it is through faith in Jesus Christ, who He is and what He did, that we receive salvation, a free gift of God's grace. We believe the Scriptures are the inspired and authoritative Word of God, guiding our faith and practice. We believe the Holy Spirit empowers believers to live transformed lives, marked by obedience and love. We believe in the personal and imminent return of Jesus Christ, culminating in the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the restoration of all things.

The Bible: the Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore without error as originally given of God (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).

The one true God: existing eternally as three persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14).

The Lord Jesus Christ: His preexistence and deity (John 1:1-3), incarnation by virgin birth (John 1:14, Matt. 1:18-23), sinless life (Heb, 4:15), substitutionary death (2 Cor. 5:21), bodily resurrection (Luke 24:36-43), ascension into heaven and present ministry (Heb. 4:14-16), and coming again (Acts 1:11).

The Holy Spirit: His personality (John 16:7-15) and deity (Acts 5:3-4), and His work in each believer baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Cor. 12:13. Rom. 8:9), and filling (Eph. 5:18), to empower for Christian life and service (Eph. 3:16; Acts 1:8, Gal 5:22-23).

Man: his direct creation in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-28), his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death (Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 5:12), and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).

Salvation: a complete and eternal salvation by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work (Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

The Church: one true church, the body and bride of Christ (Eph 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Cor. 12:12-13), and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in the fellowship and work (Eph. 4:11-16).

Christian Life: a life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Rom. 12:1-2), manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Eph. 5:22-6:4), settling differences between Christians in accordance with the Word of God (1 Cor. 6:1-8), not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Rom. 12:17, 21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Eph. 6:18; Phil 4:6), including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the Elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord (James 5:13-18).

Ordinances: the Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ, which are (1) baptism of believers by triune immersion (Matt. 28:19), and (2) the threefold communion service, consisting of the washing of the saints' feet (John 13:1-17), the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 11:20-22, 33-34, Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (1 Cor. 11:23-26).

Satan: his existence and personality as the great adversary of God and his people (Rev. 12:1-10), his judgment (John 12:33), and final doom (Rev. 20:10).

Second Coming: The personal, visible and imminent return of Christ to remove His Church from the earth (1 Thess. 4:16- 17) before the Tribulation (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Rev. 19:11-20:6).

Future Life: the conscious existence of the dead (Phil. 1:22-23, Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and reward of believers (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Rev. 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matt. 25:46, Rev. 20:15).

The Charis Commitment to Common Identity is a summary of our biblical convictions, mutual commitments, and common practices. It is not intended to be a complete expression of what we believe and practice, nor is it intended to be the final expression of those beliefs and practices. Rather, it is a current expression of our ongoing quest to apply the unchanging truth of God’s Word to the constantly changing realities and needs of our world. It is formatted around three “clusters” as follows: 

1. The Center affirms our eternal loyalty to Jesus Christ, through whom we live and move and have our being;

2. The Evangelical Core outlines the convictions we share with those in the stream of historic orthodoxy and global evangelical communities that possess a high view of God and the Scriptures; 

3. The Charis Identity summarizes the perspectives and practices shared among Grace Brethren churches and leaders around the world.