Our Core Beliefs are intended to be a basis of fellowship. There will always be peripheral doctrines that committed Christians disagree upon, but the core beliefs of Christianity are non-negotiable. Below is a list of our core beliefs:

•     There is one true God
•     The Bible is the Inspired Word of God
•     Jesus Christ is the Son of God
•     The Fall of Man
•     The Salvation of Man
•     The Ordinances of the Church
•     The Church and Its Mission
•     The Holy Spirit
•     The Second Coming of Jesus

There is one true God

God is called by many different names because of the different dimensions of His personality, but God is one (Deuteronomy 6:4). God is super-dimensional and eternally self-existent (Jn. 8:54-59). God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He is the creator of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1&2). While God is one, He has revealed Himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).

The Bible is the Inspired Word of God

The Old and New Testament are verbally inspired by God, the only written revelation from God to man. The Bible is infallible and the authoritative rule of faith and conduct for mankind (II Timothy 3:15-17, I Thessalonians 2:13 & II Peter 1:21).

Jesus Christ is the Son of God

Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Son of God. The Scripture declares his virgin birth (Matthew 1:18-23); His sinless life (Hebrews 7:26 & I Peter 2:22 & I John 3:4,5); His miracles (Acts 2:22 & 10:37-38); His substitutionary death on the cross (II Corinthians 5:21 & I Peter 2:24 & I Corinthians 15:4); His bodily resurrection from the dead (Matthew 28:1-6 & I Corinthians 15:4); His exaltation to the right hand of God (Acts 1:9,11 & Philippians 2:9-11).

The Fall of Man

Man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). However, by a voluntary act of the will, Adam and Eve disobeyed God (Genesis 3:6). That first sin had several repercussions. Man was excommunicated from the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:23), a curse was pronounced (Genesis 3:14-19), the process of physical death began (Genesis 2:17), and man died spiritually (Romans 5:12-19). Sin separated humankind from God (Ephesians 2:11-18) and left man in a fallen or sinful condition (Romans 3:23).

The Salvation of Man

The only means of salvation is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12 & John 14:6).

He died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sins (I Peter 2:24). He offers each of us a pardon for our sins (Hebrews 9:26) and wants us to become children of God (John 1:12).

When we believe in the finished work of Christ, it triggers a spiritual chain reaction. We become the Temple of the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19). Our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev. 3:5). We become citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). We are given eternal life (John 3:16). We are adopted and become children of God (Gal. 4:4-7). Our sins are forgiven and forgotten (Heb. 8:12). We are credited with the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 4:4-5). We are born-again (John 3:3). God takes ownership of us (I Cor. 6:20). We receive an eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14 & I Peter 1:3-5).

The evidence of salvation is two-fold. The internal evidence is the direct witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16). The external evidence is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22, 23). We become a new creation (II Cor. 5:17) and are transformed into the image of Christ (II Cor. 3:18).

The Ordinances of the Church

• Baptism in Water - The Scripture teaches that all who repent and believe in Christ are to be baptized by immersion (Matthew 28:19). Baptism is a public profession of faith in Christ. It is symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It is a declaration to the world that we have died to sin and have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).
• Communion - The Lord's table consists of two elements: the bread and cup. Those elements are symbolic of the body and blood of Christ. Communion is a memorial of Christ's sufferings on the cross and a celebration of our salvation.

The Church and Its Mission

The Church is the body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:12-27) and has a three-fold purpose: To evangelize the world (Acts 1:8 & Mark 16:15-16), to worship God (I Cor. 12:13), and to equip for ministry (Ephesians 4:11-16 & I Cor. 12:28, 14:12).

The Holy Spirit

The nine fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) are the by-product of a Spirit-filled life and evidence of spiritual maturity. The nine gifts of the Spirit are different manifestations of the Spirit to build up the body (I Cor. 12:1-11). We are instructed to diligently seek the gifts (I Cor. 12:31, 14:1), but they must be exercised in an orderly way (I Cor. 14:26-33) in the context of love (I Cor. 13:1-13).

The Second Coming of Jesus

We affirm the bodily, personal, second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the Saints, the Millennium, and final judgment which will seal the eternal status of both saints and unbelievers based on their relationship with Jesus Christ. We affirm with the Bible the final state of the New Heaven and New Earth. 

For more information on our church polity (style of government) please see The Bylaws of Lifepoint Church. 

The Value of Being led by the spirit 

The Value of Being Biblically Based 

The Value of Being Passionate About Prayer

The Value of Being Grounded in Grace

The Value of Being Motivated by Love 

The Value of Being Authentic in Our Walk 

JESUS. One generation after another says good things about Him. People seem to want Jesus on their side. It’s been 2,000 years since He walked the earth, but Jesus is still talked about as much as ever. Cross necklaces and Jesus tattoos abound. Some wear Jesus t-shirts. He’s even admired by people who don’t call themselves Christians.

The Most Famous Person in History

By any sober evaluation, Jesus is the most famous person in history. No one has been more frequently painted, written about, or sung to. No person has affected human history as much as Jesus.

But who is Jesus really? It’s only fair to let Him speak for Himself. Jesus never wrote His own book, but He taught day after day in public, and several of His friends wrote down much of what he taught. What they recorded is our most reliable account of what Jesus really had to say about Himself.

More Than a Teacher

Jesus was a great teacher, no doubt. Everyone seems to agree on that. He’s likely the best teacher who’s ever lived, and many of His sayings are recognized and familiar: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” “Do not judge others, so that you will not be judged.” “Our Father, who art in heaven . . .” And the list goes on.

But Jesus didn’t think about Himself as just a teacher, and it’s significant that his friends each record him saying these things just once. There is only one thing that Jesus’ friends Matthew, Mark, and Luke record three times each: Jesus’ teaching that He was going to die and then rise again.

So His Death Was Planned?

Matthew’s 16th chapter is the first place we encounter Jesus explicitly talking about His death: “Jesus began to show His disciples that He must . . . be killed, and on the third day be raised” (vv. 21-23).

Then again in the next chapter, Jesus says that He “is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day” (Matthew 17:22-23).

Then a third time—this one in Matthew, chapter 20: Jesus said to his disciples, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem [the city where He was going to be killed]. And the Son of Man [talking about Himself] will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death and deliver Him over to the Gentiles [the non-Jewish Romans] to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day’” (vv. 17-19).

And again, both Mark and Luke also record Jesus clearly teaching about His death and resurrection at least three times each before He died—notably more than He teaches on any other subject! (See Mark 8:31; 9:9, 31; 10:33–34; Luke 9:22, 44, 51–53; 18:31–32.)

Why Did He Die?

The political leaders couldn’t find any real fault in Jesus, so why did they kill Him? The ultimate answer is that God wanted it this way and orchestrated the details to bring it about. That’s why Jesus knew it was going to happen.

But why in the world would God want that—and why did Jesus willingly comply? The reason is this: Because humanity as a whole—and every individual human being—has rebelled against God by not living how God, as our Maker, intended. Because of this, we all deserve to be punished forever—that’s the appropriate punishment for belittling a God who deserves infinite respect.

But in His perfect love, God found a way to save rebellious humans—without compromising His perfect standard of justice—by sending Jesus, who was His eternal divine Son, to

    share in our humanity
    live flawlessly in step with God’s intentions
    die to pay for our rebellion
    and finally rise again in victory over our failures.

This is what Christians call “the good news” or the gospel. The good news is that there is a way out of the punishment we deserve. And this way out is through both the most famous and also most spiritually attractive person who has ever lived: Jesus—the same Jesus who said that He came to earth “to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

Reprise

So why again did Jesus die? He died so that humans don’t have to spend eternity apart from their Maker but can be brought into a real relationship with Him by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice and enjoying the person Jesus is.

Getting Connected

Getting connected with Jesus isn’t something you can earn. You can’t do anything to gain His favor and get yourself right with God. The only thing you can do is something that really isn’t doing: Trusting that Jesus and His sacrifice are enough to take care of you.

Would You Like to Hear More?

If you’d like more info on Jesus—and there’s much more to say than can fit on this Web page—we’d love for you to check out our church, not because we have all the answers, but because we believe what Jesus’ friends wrote in the Bible is true. And the Bible is the source of all reliable information.

You could read the Bible for yourself, too. Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John would all be good places to start. Read the Bible online, or we’d love to give you a Bible.