Beliefs

TampaBay4Christ Statement of Faith

The Bible

We believe the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, is the written Word of God. The Bible is God’s unique revelation to humankind.  It is the inspired, infallible Word of God, and the supreme and final authority on all matters upon which it teaches. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13).

God

We believe there is only one God, creator of heaven and earth, who exists eternally as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each fully God yet each personally distinct from the other. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14). 

The Human Condition

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image to live in fellowship with Him.  They fell into sin when tempted by Satan and thereby lost fellowship with God. In union with Adam, all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless human life, willingly took upon Himself all of our sins, died and rose again bodily, and is at the right hand of the Father as our advocate and mediator. (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5).

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are united to Christ by faith and baptized into the family of God.  He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism and service. 

The Gospel

We believe that Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, His resurrection is the power of the gospel, and His ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins.

Salvation by Grace

We believe that salvation is a free gift of God and is provided by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Anyone turning from sin in repentance and looking to Christ and His substitutionary death receives the gift of eternal life and is declared righteous by God as a free gift. (Eph. 2:8-10).

Church

We believe the local church is a congregation of believers who gather for worship, prayer, teaching, encouragement and community with each other.  Through it, believers invest time, energy, money and gifts to fulfill the Great Commission.   (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25–27; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2). We recognize baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the church (Matthew 28:19, 20; Acts 2:41, 42; Acts 18:8; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26)

Mission

We believe that the ultimate mission of the Church is to make disciples through the preaching of the gospel and missional living (Matt. 28:19-20).  Mission is the responsibility of every believer, and it is the church’s role to equip the saint for the work of ministry.

Return of Jesus

We believe in the personal, glorious, bodily return of Jesus, and the bodily resurrection of the dead—of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord in heaven, and of the unbeliever to judgment and everlasting conscious punishment in hell.

Gender and Marriage

We believe that God created humankind in His image and assigned gender to all people, male and female, creating them sexually and biologically different, but with equal personal dignity and value (Genesis 1:26-28).

We believe that God ordained marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman (Genesis 2:18; Matthew 19:4-9; Ephesians 5:31-33). This marriage relationship of husband and wife is intended by God to mirror God’s image (Gen 1:26-27), to multiply a godly legacy (Gen 1:28), and to provide mutual joy, strength, and comfort (Gen 2:18).  In His Word God teaches us that “marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed be kept pure…” (Hebrews 13:4).  Those who accept and live within God’s design for sex, biological gender, and marriage experience the blessing of His good design (Psalm 1:1-3, 128:1-4), and decisions to change, alter, or modify God’s will in marriage, sex, or gender are part of man’s brokenness and lead to despair (Romans 1:21-22; James 1:13-15).