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What We Beleive
We believe that in order to
preserve the function and integrity of White Rock
Christian Fellowship (WRCF) as the local Body of Christ,
and to provide a biblical role model to Church members
and the community, it is imperative that all persons
employed by WRCF in any capacity, all persons who are
members of WRCF, or who serve as volunteers, agree to
and abide by this Statement of Faith. This statement of
Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The
Bible itself, as the infallible, authoritative Word of
God, is the final authority concerning all matters of
truth, morality, and conduct. We also recognize the
value throughout church history of creeds and
confessions as man-made tools for articulating historic,
Christian doctrine and exposing false teaching. For
purposes of WRCF’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy,
and discipline, the Elders are the final interpretive
authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.
Biblical References:
Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22: 2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 4:14; 1 Timothy 3:15; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:1-9, 16; 4:3; 2 Peter 2:1, 3; 1 John. 4:1; Jude 1:3
We believe the Bible,
comprised of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments,
to be the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word
of God. In faith we hold the Bible to be inerrant in the
original writings, God-breathed, and the complete and
final authority for faith and practice. While still
using the individual writing styles of the human
authors, the Holy Spirit perfectly guided them to ensure
they wrote precisely what He wanted written, without
error, contradiction, or omission.
Biblical References:
Matthew 5:18; John 17:17; II
Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:18-19;
John 1:1; 2 Peter 1:21
We believe in one God, who is
Creator of all, who has revealed Himself in three
distinct Persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, yet who
is one in being, essence, and glory. God is eternal,
infinite, and sovereign. God is omniscient, omnipresent,
omnipotent, and unchanging. God is holy, just, and
righteous. God is love, gracious, merciful, and good.
Biblical References:
Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4,
32:4; Exodus 9:27; Psalm 18:30-31, 90:2, 93:1, 139:1-13,
147:5; Isaiah 6:3; Malachi 3:6; Matthew 28:19; Mark
12:29; Luke 3:22; John 4:24, 5:23, 10:30, 14:9; Acts
5:3-4; II Corinthians 13:14; 1 John 4:8; Ephesians 2:8;
Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; 1 Timothy 1:17; 1 Peter
1:3; Revelation 19:6
We believe in the deity of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God incarnate, God in human
form, the expressed image of the Father, who, without
ceasing to be God, became man in order that He might
demonstrate who God is and provide the means of
salvation for humanity.
We believe that Jesus Christ
was conceived of the Holy Spirit and was born of the
virgin Mary; that He is truly fully God and truly fully
man; that He lived a perfect, sinless life; that all His
teachings are true. We believe that the Lord Jesus
Christ died on the cross for all humanity as a
substitutionary sacrifice. We hold that His death is
sufficient to provide salvation for all who receive Him
as Savior; that our justification is grounded in the
shedding of His blood; and that it is attested by His
literal, physical resurrection from the dead.
We believe that the Lord
Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven in His glorified body
and is now seated at the right hand of God as our High
Priest and Advocate.
Biblical References:
Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7, 53:5-6;
Matthew 1:18-25, 28:6; Mark 14:61-62; John 1:1-3, 14,
29, 5:18, 8:58, 10:30; Acts 1:9-10, 16:31; II
Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15,
2:9; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:2-9, 2:14-15; I John 2:2,
5:20; John 1:1-18; Romans 5:9,8:34; Ephesians 1:7; 1
Peter 1:3; Hebrews 7:25
We believe in the deity and
personality of the Holy Spirit. He regenerates sinners
and indwells believers. He is the agent by whom Christ
baptizes all believers into His body. He is the seal by
whom the Father guarantees the salvation of believers
unto the day of redemption. He is the Divine Teacher who
illumines believers’ hearts and minds as they study the
Word of God.
We believe that the Holy
Spirit is ultimately sovereign in the distribution of
spiritual gifts. We believe that the miraculous gifts of
the Spirit, while by no means outside of the Spirit’s
ability to empower, no longer function to the same
degree they did in the early development of the church.
Biblical References:
John 3:5, 14:16-17, 26,
15:26-27, 16:7-15; Acts 1:8, 5:3-4; Romans 8:9, 14; I
Corinthians 2:10-11, 6:11, 19, 12:4-14; II Corinthians
3:18, 12:12; Galatians 5:16-18, 22-23; Ephesians
1:13-14, 2:20, 4:7-12, 30, 5:18-21; Titus 3:5
We believe the angels are
created as personal spirit beings who worship and
glorify God, serve Him, and minister to human beings.
Although all angels were originally created holy by God,
some followed the prideful lead of Satan and fell from
their position. Demons attempt to subvert the work of
God through such stratagems as temptation, accusation,
and deception.
Biblical References:
Psalm 148:2; John 8:44; 2
Corinthians 2:10- 11; 4:3-4; Ephesians 2:2; 6:12, 16;
Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:14; 1 Peter 5:8; 2 Peter 2:4;
Revelation 12:9-10
Man was created by God on the
6th day in His own image and is not the product of
evolution; he fell into sin through personal
disobedience to the revealed will of God; and as a
result, all mankind is sinful in nature and practice, is
unable to save himself, and faces eternal separation
from God.
Biblical References:
Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7, 18-24,
3:1-24, 9:6; Matthew 19:4; Mark 7:21-23; John 8:42-44;
Romans 1:18, 3:10, 23,5:1; Ephesians 2:1-3
Biblical References:
John 1:11-13, 3:16, 5:24,
10:28-30, 14:6; Acts 16:31; Romans 3:23-26, 5:8, 6:23,
10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 7:24-25; I
Peter 1:18-19; I John 5:11-13; Acts 3:19-21; Romans
10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
At death, the redeemed pass
immediately into the presence of Christ and there remain
in joyful fellowship until their bodily resurrection
unto life. The unsaved at death descend immediately into
Hades where they are kept under punishment until their
bodily resurrection and subsequent condemnation into the
lake of fire.
Biblical References:
Daniel 12:2; Luke 16:22-23,
23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 3:10, 11, 21;
Revelation 20:11-15
One of the coming great
events in the fulfillment of prophecy concerning the
church is the personal, bodily return of the Lord to
remove from the earth His waiting church and to reward
them according to their works.
Another event yet to come is
the seven-year period of tribulation during which the
judgments of God will be poured out upon the unbelieving
world. These judgments will climax with the return of
Christ in glory to the earth. He will destroy His
enemies and restore Israel to her land.
Christ will then establish
His thousand-year kingdom in which the saints will reign
with Him over Israel and all the nations of the earth.
At the close of the
thousand-year reign the unsaved dead will be raised and
committed to eternal punishment and the saved will enter
the eternal state of glory with God.
Biblical References:
John 14:2-3; Romans 14:10-12;
I Corinthians 3:11-15, 15:51-53; II Corinthians 5:10; I
Thessalonians 4:15-17; Titus 2:11-13; Revelation 3:10;
Daniel 9:27, 12:1; Jeremiah 30:7; Matthew 24:15-31,
25:31-46; II Thessalonians 2:7-12; Revelation 16:1-19,
21, 19:1-21; Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Isaiah 11:1-16,
65:17-25; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Revelation 19:11, 20:1-6;
Mark 9:43-48; I Corinthians 15:24-28; II Thessalonians
1:9; II Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:1-4,
22:5, 11
All who have placed their
faith in Christ are united together immediately by the
Holy Spirit in one spiritual body, the Church, of which
Christ is the Head. In addition, the members of this one
spiritual body are directed to associate themselves
together in local churches. These local independent
churches have been given the needed authority and
scriptural guidelines for administering that order,
discipline, and worship which Christ, the sovereign
head, has appointed. The biblically designated officers
serving under Christ and over the church are male elders
and deacons.
Biblical References:
Matthew 16:18; Acts 2:46-47;
I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18;
Hebrews 10:25; Acts 6:1-6; I Corinthians 14:40;
Ephesians 4:11-12; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; I
Peter 5:1-5
Two ordinances have been
committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord's
Supper. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer
in water in the name of the triune God. This ordinance
being a command of Christ is recognized as a
prerequisite for membership in the local church.
Likewise, the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for
commemoration of His atoning death. These two ordinances
are to be observed until the return of the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Biblical References:
Matthew 28:16-20; Luke
22:19-20; Acts 2:41, 10:47-48; I Corinthians 11:23-29
We believe that all human
life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human
life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions
including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or
mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition
from conception through natural death. We are therefore
called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
Biblical References:
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 127:3;
Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:4-5; Matthew 5:21-22;
Proverbs 31:8-9
We believe that racism, in
any form, is abhorrent to the Lord. We believe that
there is only one race, the human race, created on the
6th day in the image and likeness of God. As bearers of
God’s image (the imago Dei), all deserve equal
treatment, compassion, love, kindness, respect, and
dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes
directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and
are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of
the Church.
Biblical References:
Psalm 139; Acts 3:19-21;
Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Mark 12:28-31;
Luke 6:31
We believe that God
wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or
female. These two distinct, complementary genders
together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection
of one’s biological sex or of the existence of
complementary genders is a rejection of the image of God
within that person.
We believe that the term
“marriage” has only one meaning: The uniting of one
biological man and one biological woman in a single,
exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe
that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a
man and a woman who are married to each other. We
believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual
activity be engaged in outside of marriage.
We believe that any form of
sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication,
homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, gender change,
bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful
and offensive to God.
Because God has ordained
marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship
between a man and a woman, under God, White Rock
Christian Fellowship will only recognize marriages
between a biological man and a biological woman.
Further, the Elders, Deacons and staff of White Rock
Christian Fellowship shall only participate in weddings
and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman.
The facilities and property of White Rock Christian
Fellowship shall only host weddings or wedding
receptions celebrating the marriage of one man and one
woman. We believe that in order to preserve the function
and integrity of White Rock Christian Fellowship as the
local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role
model to its members and the community, it is imperative
that all persons employed by White Rock Christian
Fellowship in any capacity, as well as ministry leaders
and those who serve as volunteers agree to and abide by
this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality.
We believe that God offers
redemption and restoration to all who confess and
forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness
through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must
be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and
dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes
directed toward any individual are not in accord with
Scripture, nor the doctrines of White Rock Christian
Fellowship, and are to be repudiated.
Biblical References: