Our Beliefs

What we believe here at Central

Great Commandment, Great Commission people

Central Christian Church is in partnership with God in building a church of Great Commandment, Great Commission people (Matthew 22:36-40, Matthew 28:18-20).  We are an independent, nondenominational fellowship of believers who seek to follow Christ and wear only His name. We are not the only Christians, but we earnestly strive to be Christians only.  We are committed to maintaining unity in essentials, allowing freedom in matters of opinion, and demonstrating love in all things.

God

We believe and teach that there is one true and living God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) – deserving of our worship and obedience.  In the beginning, from nothing, God created the universe and all things therein, manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness (Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1).  By His sovereign power, He continues to sustain His creation.  By His providence, He is operating throughout history to fulfill His plan of redemption.

Jesus Christ

We believe and teach that Jesus Christ – the second Person of the Trinity – though being equal with God (John 10:30; Philippians 2:5-8), surrendered His prerogatives of deity and came to earth to pay the debt for man’s soul.

Having been born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23-25), Jesus lived a totally sinless life, and was therefore qualified to pay for our sins by dying on the cross as our Substitute (John 10:15; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 2:24).  He literally and physically rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of the Father where He now mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 4:25; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).

We believe and teach that Jesus will return to earth personally and visibly to judge all mankind according to the eternal plan of God (John 5:22-23; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Corinthians 5:10)

Holy Spirit

We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, coequal with the Father and the Son in all the divine attributes (Matthew 28:19; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14).  He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them recognition of their need for a Savior and regenerates them. At the point of salvation, He indwells every believer and equips him or her for personal growth and service to the church (John 16:7-9; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:22).  The indwelling of the Spirit is a divine guarantee that seals the Christian unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14).  Christians are endowed with gifts through the sovereign act of the Holy Spirit.  These gifts are intended to strengthen the Church and glorify Christ (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST: MAN’S GREATEST NEED

The central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people into fellowship with Himself.  God originally created humans to have fellowship with and to glorify Himself (Isaiah 43:7; Colossians 1:16), but they defied God by sinfully choosing to go their own way.  As a result, man suffered alienation from God and the corruption of his nature (Psalms 51:5; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-4).  The salvation of mankind, therefore, is a work of God’s grace, not the result of human works or goodness.  This salvation, as a free gift from God, is made available through obedient faith in Jesus Christ and Him only (John 1:12; John 10:18-27; Acts 4:12; Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

We believe and teach that obedient faith in Christ expresses itself through belief in the Person and work of Christ (Romans 3:22, Romans 10:9), repentance of sin (Acts 2:38, Acts 3:19), confession of Christ as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9), believer’s baptism by immersion (Mark 16:16), and by living a lifestyle that continually seeks to honor Christ (Hebrews 10:26, James 2:14-24).

We believe and teach that baptism is commanded by our Lord and His apostles (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38) — and that all believers professing faith in Christ must be baptized.  We believe and teach that baptism should occur upon confession of faith in Christ, as modeled for us in Acts (Acts 2:38-41, Acts 8:35-39; Acts 16:31-33).  Baptism by full immersion is taught in Scripture and portrays the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as cleansing from sin.  Baptism is a demonstration of our willingness to live obediently under the Lordship of Christ and is also a sign of fellowship and identification with the Church, which is the visible body of Christ (Acts 2:41-42).

The Church

We believe and teach that all who demonstrate obedient faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18).  The Scripture commands believers to gather together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, service to the body, and outreach to the world (Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-42; Ephesians 4:12).

Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church (Galatians 1:2; Hebrews 10:25).  Under the protection and oversight of elders (Acts 20:17; Acts 20:28), its members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ and making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 3:21).  Membership in a local congregation is more than just having your name on a church roll; it means active participation in the Body of Christ.

The Bible

The sole basis for our belief is the sixty-six books of the Bible, which are uniquely God-inspired, without error in the original manuscripts, and our final authority on all matters of faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

THE LORD'S SUPPER

We believe and teach that the Lord’s Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should always be preceded by solemn self-examination (1 Corinthians 11:28-32).  We also believe and teach that while the elements of communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, the Lord’s Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ, who is present in a unique way, in fellowship with His people (1 Corinthians 10:16). In the pattern of the early church, we offer the Lord’s Supper weekly.

Human Destiny

We believe and teach that death seals the eternal destiny of each person (Hebrews 9:27); that Jesus Christ will one day return at which time He will pronounce the eternal fate of each individual, both living and dead – the saved to eternal life in heaven (John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14), the unsaved to eternal separation from God in hell (John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2; 2 Corinthians 4:14).