Consent(Required) I agree to the RGI Statement of Beliefs.
I. The Word of God
We believe the canon of Scripture, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Bible, to be the complete and final Word of God. We do not believe any further revelation outside of the Word of God exists. We believe the Bible is the absolute and final authority for the church. It is the standard by which everything must be measured. It is to be the rule of life to the believer. We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Bible. By verbal inspiration we teach that the human writers of Scripture were guided by the Holy Spirit in the original writings. By plenary inspiration we teach that all sixty-six books of the Bible are equally inspired in all parts. We believe the Bible is literally God-breathed and is absolutely accurate and
completely inerrant. We believe the Word of God is to be interpreted in a literal, historical, and
grammatical method. Attention is focused on the historical background and grammar to determine
Scripture’s meaning. We believe that thus far the prophetic Scriptures have been fulfilled in a literal,
historical, and grammatical manner and that any future prophecies will be likewise fulfilled. We believe that one of the continued themes of the Bible is the anticipation, presentation, realization, and exultation of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Mat. 5:18, Mat. 24:35; Jn. 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:15-17; 2 Pt. 1:20-21)
II. God
We believe there is only one living and true God, who is infinite in being, eternal, incomprehensible,
almighty, and immutable, Who works all things according to the counsel of His own will for His own glory, and Who is most holy in all His counsels, in all His works, and in all His commands. He is most loving, gracious, merciful, and long suffering. We believe in the unity of the Godhead, eternally existing as three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Mat. 3:16-17, Mat. 28:19; 1 Cor. 8:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6)
A. God the Father
We believe the First Person of the Trinity, God the Father, is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the supreme and only Sovereign of the universe and His sovereign decrees extend to all the acts of men. He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. We believe all things have been purposed for His glory. As Creator of the world, He is the Father of all men, but spiritually He is Father only to those who have believed in His Son. We believe that God in His foreknowledge from eternity past, saw there
were none that would seek Him or choose Him, but God, being rich in mercy chose before the
foundations of the world those that would be recipients of His grace and predestined them to be
conformed to the image of His Son. We believe that He saves from sin all those who come to Him
through Jesus Christ and whoever comes He will not cast out. (Gen. 1:1-31; Ps. 33:9-11, Ps. 115:3; John 15:16; Rom. 8:14-29; Eph. 1:4-11, Eph. 3:9, Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 6:15; John 6:36-44)
B. God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God and as the second Person of the Trinity is equal with God. We believe that all things were created by Him, through Him, for Him, and in Him all things consist. We believe that at the incarnation Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. We believe that He lived a sinless perfect life here on this earth. We believe that Jesus Christ, as the perfect Lamb of God, accomplished our redemption through His death upon the cross and that today Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest where He intercedes for us as our Advocate. We believe that Jesus Christ is the Head of the church and that He will return to rapture
the church to Himself and will in the millennial kingdom reign on the throne of David. We believe that He will be the final Judge of all who did not receive Him as Savior. (Micah 5:2; Phil. 2:5-8; Col. 2:9; Isa. 7:14, 9:6; Luke 1:26-35; Isa. 53; John 1:1; Rom. 3:24-25; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pt. 1:3-5; Luke 24:38-39;Heb. 7:25, Heb. 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2; Col. 1:16-18; 1 Th. 4:13-18; Rev. 20:4, 11-15; John 4:22-23; Mat. 25:14-46)
C. God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is a distinct Person possessing all the
attributes of personality and deity. He is coequal and co-substantial with the Father and the Son. We believe that the Holy Spirit was actively involved in creation. We believe it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit to carry out the will of the Father and the Son. We believe the Holy Spirit’s work in this age began at Pentecost when He came from the Father as promised by Christ. He came to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. We believe the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign Agent in regeneration to those who are saved. We believe the Holy Spirit immediately indwells each believer at conversion and seals them until the day of redemption. He is the guarantee of the completed work of the Son and decree of the Father. We believe the Holy Scriptures came not by the will of man, but by
the Holy Spirit, who moved men to write the words of God, and that it is the ministry of the Holy Spirit
to teach believers the Word of God and guide them into all truth. (1 Cor. 2:10-13; Mat. 28:19; Acts 5:34;
1 Cor. 12:4-6, 13; Heb. 10:15-17; 2 Pt. 1:20-21; John 16:7-9; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13)
III. Man
Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God’s creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.
(Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.)
IV. Salvation
Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification. There is no salvation apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord.
A. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.
Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to Him as Lord and Savior.
B. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer unto a relationship of peace and favor with God.
C. Sanctification is the experience, beginning in regeneration, by which the believer is set apart to God’s purposes, and is enabled to progress toward moral and spiritual maturity through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in him. Growth in grace should continue throughout the regenerate person’s life.
D. Glorification is the culmination of salvation and is the final blessed and abiding state of the redeemed.
(Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.)
V. Security of the Believer
We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God’s power and are thus secure in Christ forever. We
believe in an infallible assurance of faith, which is founded upon God’s eternal decree and divine truth of the promise of salvation, through inward evidence of saving grace and the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which bears witness with our spirits that we are the children of God. (John 5:24, John 6:37-50, John 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, Rom. 16:38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 John 3:24, John 4:13)
VI. Angels
We believe that angels are created beings of God. They are spirit beings without power to reproduce.
They have great power and are innumerable. We believe they were created to serve and worship God. (Heb. 1:14, Heb. 12:22) We believe that Satan (Lucifer) was the most beautiful and powerful of all the angels. However, he fell through pride and unlawful ambition and rebelled against God. Now, depraved in character, he became the leader of a large host of evil angels (called demons) who followed him in his fall from heaven. Satan
is responsible for introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve. He is the enemy of God and man, but is doomed to defeat through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He will be
eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Isa. 14:12-15; Rev. 12:9; Mat. 12:24; Gen. 3:1-15; 2 Pt. 2:4)
We believe that the angels that did not rebel against God are now fixed in their state of holiness. They are called the elect, holy angels of God who now serve Him and bring glory to God. They are ministering spirits sent forth to minister to those who will inherit salvation. (Ps. 91:11; 1 Tim. 5:21; Heb. 1:14) Adopted from FCC website.