Calvary Elizabeth
“Looking to Jesus” Hebrews 12:2
Calvary Elizabeth shall be a non-denominational church. It shall seek to emphasize the spiritual unity of all true believers in Jesus Christ. It shall be the policy of this church to give preeminence to the preaching, teaching, and studying the whole counsel of God’s Word and to exalting the Lord Jesus Christ through prayer, worship, and service.
•We believe there is one living and true God (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 44:6; Jn. 17:3), eternally existing in three persons; the Father (Isa. 63:16; Eph.1:2-3), the Son (Matt. 1:20-21; Jn. 8:58; Rom. 1:1-4; Jn. 1:1-2), and the Holy Spirit (Jn. 14:16-18; 1 Jn. 5:7), equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all.
•We believe the Bible to be inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God, inerrant in the original writings (Heb. 4:12; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:21).
•We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 1:1-14, 18; 8:58; Col. 2:9; Phil. 2:5-6). In His virgin birth (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23), His sinless life (Heb. 4:15), His substitutionary – atoning death through His shed blood (Isa. 53:5-6; 1 Pet. 2:24,3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21), in His bodily resurrection (Lk. 24:15; Jn. 20:14; Jn. 21; Acts 4:33), in His ascension to the right hand of the Father (Mk. 16:19; Lk. 24:51; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Pet. 3:21-22), His visible, personal return in power and glory and the establishment of His Kingdom on earth (Jn. 14:3; Rev. 1:7, 19:11-16).
•We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, Who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (Jn. 16:7-13), and to regenerate (Jn. 3:5-8; Tit. 3:5), sanctify (Acts 13:2), to seal (Eph. 1:13-14, 4:30), and empower for ministry, service and witness (Acts 1:8) all who believe in Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ (Jn. 20:22; 1 Cor. 6:19), and that He is our abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide (Jn. 14:16-17; Jn. 16:13). We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures (1 Cor. 12:1-11), and that they are valid for today and are to be exercised within scriptural guidelines. We, as believers, are to covet the best gifts (Eph. 4:11-13; 1 Cor. 12:27-31), seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified (1 Cor. 14:12). We believe that love is more important that the most spectacular gifts, and without love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless (1 Cor. 13).
•We believe that all people are sinners (Rom. 3:23), by nature (Ro. 5:12), and choice (Gen. 3; Josh. 24:15) and therefore are under condemnation (Rom. 6:23); that God regenerates by the Holy Spirit (Jn. 3:5-8) and forgives those who repent (1 Jn. 1:9) of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (Ro. 10:9-13), and that by the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20), God enables said believers to live a godly life (Ro. 8:9, 14; Gal. 5:16-25).
•We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: a) full immersion water baptism of believers (Matt. 28:19-20; Mk. 16:15-16; b) The Lord’s Supper (Matt. 26:26-28; Mk. 14:22-24; Lk. 22:19-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). We believe that water baptism and communion (the Lord’s Supper) are open only to those who have received and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior (Matt. 28:19; Mk. 16:16; 1 Cor. 11:27-29). These ordinances are observed in obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ as acts of love and devotion and are not considered to be necessary for salvation (Acts 16:30-31; Ro. 10:9-11; Eph. 2:8). We also believe that the Lord Jesus Christ validated the ordinance of marriage (Matt. 19:4-5).
•We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ which is His personal, visible return to earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked (Matt. 16:27; Acts 1:9-11; Rev. 19:11-16, 20:11-15).
•We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church where all believers will meet the Lord in the air and be taken out of this world prior to the tribulation that will come upon the earth (Is. 26:20; Matt. 24:29-31; Lk. 21:34-36; Ro. 1:18, 5:9; 1 Thess. 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Rev. 3:10, 7:13-14).
•We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell and that all those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord, while those who reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord (Ps. 9:17; Matt. 25:31-34; Mk. 9:42-49; Lk. 12:5; Jn. 3:16-20; Rev. 14:9-11, 20:11-15).
•We believe in the creation and God as the Creator. We believe God’s plan for human sexuality is to be expressed only within the context of marriage, that God created man and woman as unique biological persons made to complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one male and one female sanctioned by the state and evidenced by a marriage ceremony. Accordingly, this ministry will not perform any marriage ceremonies between two individuals of the same sex. It will not condone or recognize such same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships even if the state passes laws that provide for recognition of such unions (Gen. 2:24; Matt. 19:4-6; Mk. 10:6-9; Ro. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9).
•We believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; and that we must have concern for the physical and spiritual needs of our fellowmen (Ps. 139:13-16; Is. 49:1; Jer. 1:5; Matt. 22:37-39; Ro. 12:20-21; Gal. 6:10).
•We believe worship of God should be spiritual (Jn. 4:23-24). Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship.
•We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give great place to music in our worship (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16).
•We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon the teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us on how He should be worshipped (2 Tim. 3:16-17, 4:1-2).
•We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshipping Him (Lk. 6:43-45; Jn. 13:35).
•We believe that the church government should be simplistic, rather than a complex bureaucracy, and that we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead rather than on fleshly promotion (Acts 6:3; Eph. 1:22).
•We reject the following beliefs or practices: a) Christians can be demon possessed (Matt. 12:24-30), b) five point Calvinism (i.e. a fatalistic Calvanistic view that leaves no room for free will; specifically, we reject the belief that Christ’s atonement was limited; instead, we believe that He died for all people; and we reject the assertion that God’s wooing grace cannot be resisted or that He has elected some people to go to Hell; instead, we believe that anyone who wills to come to Christ may do so) (Jn. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:9, 1 Jn. 2:1-2), c) positive confession (the faith movement belief that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man’s will) (2 Cor. 12:7-10), d) prophecy that supersedes Scripture (Deut. 13:1-4; Gal. 1:6-9), e) the incorporation of humanistic and secular psychology and philosophy into Biblical teaching (1 Cor. 2; 1 Cor. 3:19-20), the overemphasis of the spiritual gifts, experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical teaching (Deut. 13:1-4; Matt. 12:38-42; 1 Cor. 14:13-14).
•We believe that the ministry of evangelism and discipleship is a responsibility of all followers of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Ro. 10:9-15; 1 Peter 3:15).
•We believe we must dedicate ourselves to prayer, to the service of our Lord, to His authority over our lives, and to the ministry of evangelism (Matt. 9:35-38, 22:37-39, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Thess. 5:16-17; Ro. 9:14-15; Gal. 6:10).
•We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ and that all true believers are members of His body, the Church (1 Cor. 12:12, 27; Eph. 1:22-23).