What We Believe

God: God is the only one and true living God, completely perfect, and existing eternally in three distinct persons (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit).

God The Father:

Reigns with providential care over all of His creation, His creatures, and the flow of human history according to the purposes of His grace.

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1; See also Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 64:8).

"He said to them, It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His authority" (Acts 1:7; See also Ephesians 4:6; Timothy 1:17).

God The Son:

Eternal Son of the Father, Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. As God incarnate He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. After living a perfectly sinless life He died upon the cross, the just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures, and is now at the right hand of the Father as our Intercessor. He will come again to consummate His kingdom establishing perfect righteousness and peace.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14; See also Psalm 217; Isaiah 53:1-2). 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:1-3; See also John 17; Galatians 4:4-5).

God the Holy Spirit:

Fully divine, He was responsible for inspiring holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables people to understand the truth of the same. After the ascension of Jesus Christ, He was sent to indwell, guide, teach, and empower all followers of Christ; as well He was sent to convince the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.

"The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2; See also Psalm 139:7-10; Joel 2:28-32).

"In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:13-14; See also Romans 8:14-16; 2 Peter 1:21).




ManKind:

Mankind is the crown of all God's creation, created as male and female in His own image. Originally mankind was created innocent and enjoyed perfect personal fellowship with God. In disobedience man fell from God's grace and thereby inherited both physical and spiritual death. Consequently, all people are born with a sinful nature, are separate from fellowship with God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Then God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (Genesis 1:26-28; See also Genesis 3; Psalm 1).

"And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him. Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for In Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your own poets have said, For we are indeed His offspring" (Acts 17:26-28; See also 1 Corinthians 15:21-22; Ephesians 2:1-10).

Salvation:

Salvation is the redemption of the whole person from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin; and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Salvation has been accomplished by the completed work of Jesus Christ on the cross where he willingly died by the shedding of His own blood for our sins, and was raised from the dead victorious over sin and death. Salvation is a process which involves the continual growth of the believer in this life being molded into the likeness of Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit, for the glory of the Father. Those who reject Jesus Christ in unrepentance and unbelief will be forever separated from God's presence in hell, and those who by grace in humility repent and believe in Jesus Christ will be forever united with Him in heaven.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal" (Genesis 3:15; See also Exodus 3:14-17; Isaiah 53:3-6).

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7; See also 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Titus 2:11-14).

The Bible:

The Scriptures were written by men divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, as originally given, the Bible has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error for its content. It is God's own revelation of Himself to mankind, and is thus the standard by which all human conduct and beliefs should be tried. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God will stand forever" (Isaiah 40:8; See also Deuteronomy 17:19; Psalm 119:11).

"For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12; See also 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).



The Church:

The Church is the Body of Christ including all the redeemed of all the ages, believers from every tribe, language, and people group. The local church is a group of believers who are joined by covenant to worship God, be edified through the Bible, prayer, and fellowship, and are committed to the proclamation of the gospel and the observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

"So those who received His word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers" (Acts 2:41-42; See also Matthew 16:15-19; Acts 13:1-3; Colossians 1:18).

End Times:

God will bring the world to its appointed end in His own time and in His own way. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly to judge all people. The unjust shall be resurrected for eternal judgment, and the righteous will be resurrected for eternal life. Jesus' second coming is every believer's hope and is both a present and future grace to be enjoyed.

"They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:9; See also Isaiah 2:14).

"For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16:27; See also 2 Corinthians 5:10; Philippians 3:20-21; Revelation 3:11).

More Info:

Aletheia Church's Statement of Faith is consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 of the Southern Baptist Convention and can be reviewed at www.sbc.netbfm/bfm/2000.asp.