What Bridge Church Believes
Bridge Church relies on the Bible as our authority for faith & practice. Among Christians there are open-handed issues & close handed issues. Open-handed issues are those things we may differ on, but do not have to break fellowship over.
Close-handed issues, are issues that the Bible speaks clearly on that we use as a foundation for faith & practice. Here are 10 foundational statements of belief for our church:
- About God God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has
eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
- About Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus 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
after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He
ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth
to reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
- About the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father
and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware
of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from
the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for
living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what
is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved.
As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.
- About the Bible The Bible is God’s Word to us. The Bible was
written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the
Holy Spirit. It is inspired by God and the supreme source of truth for
Christian beliefs and living.
- About Humanity People are made in the spiritual image of God,
to be like Him in character. Although every person has tremendous
potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience
toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from
God.
- About Salvation Salvation is God’s free gift to us. We can never
make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by
trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be
saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and
turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment
one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
- About Eternal Security Because God gives us eternal life through
Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity.
Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the
self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God
that gives us this security.
- About Eternity People were created to exist forever. We will
either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with
God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated
from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life.
Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
- About the Family God has ordained the family as the
foundational institution of human society. It is composed of
persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment
for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union
between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the
woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the
channel for sexual expression, and the means for procreation of the
human race.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and
heritage from the Lord. Parents are to teach their children spiritual
and moral values and lead them, through consistent lifestyle
example & loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical
truth.
- About the Last Things God, in His own time and in His own
way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His
promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly to the earth;
the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in
righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the
place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected
and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever
in Heaven with the Lord.