Statement of Faith
The Essentials of our Faith
We believe all 66 writings of the Bible to be both true and authoritative. We believe God divinely inspired the original authors through the Holy Spirit to pen them. We expect God to be present with and in us, always revealing. Yet, we do not subscribe to notions that God contradicts what the Scriptures have historically determined for us in practice and belief. God never contradicts Himself. Therefore, Scripture serves not only as inspiration into the life of God, but also as a guardrail for us to know the will of God and test the veracity of all things.
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons, that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption.
We believe God the Father is the Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. He is an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of all people, He hears and answers prayer, and He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
We believe Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. He came as the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy concerning the promised Messiah to Israel and all creation. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth. As God’s only begotten Son, He is part of the Triune Godhead, full God and fully human.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Triune Godhead, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. He imparts gifts for the building up of the body and enables fruitful living marked by love.
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a family of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water into the name of the Triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe in the sovereignty of God as it applies to Him being omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient, but also believe in man’s God-given free will. Our free
choice cannot violate God’s sovereignty and God’s sovereignty will not violate our free
choice.
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal bliss of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked. Until his return, the mandate for the people of God is to remain faithful, partnering in the redemption and renewal of all things.
FAQ's
A pastoral response to the questions being asked both within the church & the broader culture
We believe that men and women are both gifted and qualified to lead and serve as co-laborers in the church, dependent upon gifting, calling, and experiences. We do not just permit, but we emphatically value the presence of both men and women at every level of church leadership—including the office of elder. We see this as both being in line with the teaching of the Scriptures as well as being practically helpful and wise. These realities are illuminated in the life and ministry of Jesus and Paul later on.
According to God’s design and intent, sex difference (male and female) is an intrinsic part of what marriage is. While same-sex marriage is legal in some countries, it does not represent a historical, Christian view of marriage. God designed sexual relations to take place within the covenant bond of marriage. The Fall has corrupted God’s original intent for human sexuality in all persons; therefore, all people—straight or non-straight—experience corruption in their sexuality. Simply experiencing attraction to the same sex (or being gay) is not in itself a morally culpable sin. God desires all people to embrace their biological sex as part of their human identity. All forms of abuse, slander, dehumanization, or oppression toward fellow humans is an affront against God’s sacred image, which has been stamped upon all people.
Adopted from Christian-sexuality.com.
The expression of this belief is often the more important question to people in search of a spiritual home: Will I (or one of my loved ones) be welcomed at The Dwelling Church? And is there a barrier where that welcome is worn out?
Regardless of sexual practice and/or orientation, The Dwelling Church welcomes all to worship with us and pursue Jesus. Jesus is the head of the church, and he was uncompromising in teaching and calling people to align with his beliefs, a pathway to “life to the full.” (John 10:10) Jesus expressed his teachings and belief in love, as His primary concern was compassion for the person and story behind the belief.
The church is called the Body of Christ. We are a communal expression of Jesus’ heart, so both our beliefs and our expression of those beliefs should mirror Jesus. When it comes to sexuality, we carry certain convictions that inform our expression: Our first responsibility is to be a living display of covenant love and sexuality. The church was not founded to critique the surrounding culture but to form a distinct counterculture where “life to the full” is on display as an invitation to all. However, in many ways (covenant love and sexuality being one obvious example) the church has mirrored the culture more than forming a counterculture. Therefore, our work is not to change anyone else’s mind or critique the world outside of our family, but to live with the sort of fidelity, service, and love within our own singleness and marriage covenants that we become a living witness to the fullest sort of life. We lead with a heart of love and compassion for people. The doors and the arms of our church family are open to anyone, regardless of belief. No one will ever be excluded from worshiping with us on Sundays for any misalignment of belief.
We must differentiate between agreement and acceptance. One of the truly fascinating aspects of the life of Jesus is that the very people whose lives least aligned with his ethical teachings were most drawn to him. His dinner company and close friends are made up of people out-of-alignment with his teaching (e.g. Jesus teaches that to even look at a woman lustfully is to commit adultery, then is consistently surrounded by prostitutes who profited on lust; Jesus teaches an ethic of radical generosity, then welcomes a tax collector, whose life was defined by greed, into his inner circle of 12 disciples; etc.). In modern cultural rhetoric, agreement and acceptance are often used synonymously: “If you don’t agree with my ethical choices (belief), you don’t accept me (expression).” However, in Jesus, we observe the opposite phenomenon: Those who felt most accepted in his presence were those most obviously living in disagreement with his teaching. Therefore, as a church we are committed to becoming a community linked to Jesus in both agreement and acceptance. We are unapologetically aligned with every word of his teaching. Equally, we are uncompromisingly insistent on becoming the sort of community where those out-of-alignment with his beliefs (including sexuality) feel welcome and accepted in our fellowship.