Our foundation
What We Believe
We believe the following Tenets of Faith are essential truths. Agreement with them opens up opportunities to step in and serve at Cornerstone, from ministry leadership to leading Bible studies and teaching.
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The Holy Bible is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority for determining all doctrinal truths. In its original Hebrew and Greek writings, the Bible is inspired, infallible, and inerrant. All versions of the Bible must agree with the original Greek and Hebrew.
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God reveals Himself in many ways all throughout Scripture. When one takes the whole of Scripture, you can only conclude that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.
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Jesus Christ is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. On earth, Jesus Christ was 100% God and 100% man. He was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18; Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:21-23), the only man ever to live a sinless life, performed miracles, died on the Cross for humankind and, thus, atoned for our sins through the shedding of His blood. He rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return again in power and glory.
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Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross.
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Because of sin, humanity's only hope for redemption is found in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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All of mankind is sinful. This curse of sin passed down through all generations by the acts of disobedience of Adam and Eve. Sin is a state of unrighteousness, causing us to be separated from God for eternity, and ultimately brings about spiritual death.
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Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Jesus Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation.
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We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human effort.
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The blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross of Calvary was sinless and sufficient to cleanse humankind from all sin. Jesus Christ shed His blood for our sinful nature, which leads to sin, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death.
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Regeneration by the Holy Spirit is essential to become a Christian. Regeneration is the conversion of our souls from evil to good, from dead to life.
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Christians are people who have the Lord Jesus Christ living inside them by the Power of His Holy Spirit.
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Given to all believers beginning at Pentecost, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is the promise of the Father. The Holy Spirit was sent by God the Father after Jesus Christ ascended to empower believers, to guide them, as they live godly lives and advance the Gospel to the world.
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We are sealed with the Holy Spirit when we believe that Jesus is the Christ and that He died for our sins, which is the Gospel.
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Scripture tells us that every member of the body of Christ has been given spiritual gifts through the Holy Spirit to build and sanctify the Church, demonstrate the validity of the Resurrection and confirm the power of the Gospel. The lists of these gifts in the Bible are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters.
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Sanctification is the life-long process in which one allows God's Word and the Holy Spirit to make the Christian more like God.
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We believe the Scriptures are clear that there is a heaven and there is a hell. On the Day of Judgment, Jesus Christ will judge all mankind, and His judgement is the only and final authority of those who will spend eternal life in heaven versus those who will spend eternity in hell. Jesus Christ will judge the heart of individuals as to whether they truly repented of their sin and gave their life to Jesus Christ.
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Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Everlasting Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures but will be witnessed by all people.
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The Church is the Body of Christ. Every person born of the Spirit is an integral part of the Church as a member of the Body of Believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church is the global unity of all who are in Christ, but also the local church where individuals get "plugged in" (Hebrews 10:24-25) and aid that church body in fulfilling the Great Commission.
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God's Law serves to bring a knowledge and conviction of sin to each person. The law proves each one guilty in the eyes of God and has no power to make one righteous again. The law was fulfilled and finished by the life and work of Jesus Christ on the cross, thus making salvation available to all through the "new covenant" of faith in Him. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Romans 10:4
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Sin separates each person from a "right standing" before God. When a believer places faith in Jesus Christ they are spiritually born again "in Christ." Identifying with Jesus Christ and with His substitutionary life, work, death, and resurrection is the only way to restore a right standing before God. Jesus Christ's righteousness is perfect, sufficient, and impossible to improve upon through works of the law.
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We believe that Communion is an instruction from the Lord, that we are to partake of it as often as we gather. We offer an open Communion at Cornerstone Church for anyone who has surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ as their Lord, their Savior, and their God. We believe the elements of Communion to be symbolic. The bread representing the body of Jesus Christ that was broken for each of us. The juice representing the blood of Jesus Christ, the mark of the new covenant, which was poured out for all mankind.
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We do not believe that baptism is essential for salvation. We believe that baptism is an act of obedience to the Great Commission given by Jesus Christ, and that every Christian should be baptized. But salvation, faith in Christ, comes before the act of baptism. We believe what baptism represents as recorded in Romans 6:3-5 and that by being baptized, you are publicly declaring and displaying your faith in Jesus Christ.
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