What We Believe
Love God / Love People
What Is the Gospel?
The word "Gospel" is translated from the Greek word, εὐαγγέλιον, which literally means, "Good News". Whatever else the Gospel is, it's never less than that. Despite what you may have heard, it isn't some supposedly "good news" that has to be qualified by some kind of "bad news" first in order to seem like good in context. It's actually what it claims to be: GOOD NEWS.
So, what is that good news? Well, normally we like to put it in the context of a story, but for our purposes here, we'll be as concise as we can:
God loves us. God hasn't given up on us or his dream for the world or for people. God has already done everything necessary to reconcile us to himself. Since God works by invitation rather than coercion, God invites us, every living, breathing human being into relationship with him and each other. He invites us into his future, where his promises are already fulfilled and true, and he invites us to live out that reality now. All of this is a gift from God, and God wants to give it. This gift is available to all, free of charge. Not only that, but, when we accept this gift, we become partners with God in pursuing his dream...We become ambassadors of this good news, who tell others about it, while embodying this good news to each other and the world around us.
God
We believe in God, although that word alone fails to explain much of anything at all. Not only that, the average human adult has a 3 pound brain, and we believe in an infinite God.
That being the case:
- There's going to be a gap in between any human being's knowledge and understanding of who/what/how/why God is.
- No language can adequately define God, (and a God who could be understood in such a way couldn't inspire awe and wouldn't be worth worshipping.
So, with that in mind, here is an admittedly inadequate statement on God:
First the math...God is somehow 3 (Father, Son, & Spirit), but ONE God. See what I mean? So, people have come up with words like "Trinity" or "Triune" (Tri=3 Une=Unity) to get this across, but terms like this always fall short and sometimes bring more confusion than clarity. We understand it something like this: God is a being composted of Father, Son and Spirit. These three are in perfect harmony, and they are constantly giving and receiving perfect love to and from one another. That's why the best we've come up with when it comes to describing this is to say that "God is Love" or "God is One".
This God created...everything intentionally in love. (Which stands in stark contrast to ancient competing God stories). This God created human beings "in God's own image", and declared that human beings are "very good".
As we said above, God never gave up on us or on his dream for all creation. God has made promises, and God's character is trustworthy and true. We believe it's as if God locates himself in his future, where all of his promises for human beings and all creation are fulfilled and true, and it is from that future that he beckons us forward, to become what we already are from God's perspective.
The Bible
WE believe what the Bible says about itself.
All Scripture is self-attesting and, being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts, culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. (Matthew 5:17-20; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
The Human Condition
God's gospel alone addresses our deepest need.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 NASB
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.
Jesus Christ
God's gospel is made known supremely in the Person of Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus, Israel’s promised Messiah, was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and advocate. ( Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1, 14:6; Acts 1:1-10)
The Work of Christ
God's gospel is accomplished through the work of Christ.
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation and being made right with God. (Rom. 3:21-26; Eph. 1:27; Heb. 7:22-28)
The Holy Spirit
God's gospel is now embodied in the new community called the Church.
We believe that we are not simply saved as individuals, but that we are saved “into” something called the Church. This is given many different names in Scripture but the primary one is that of a family or the “household of God” (Eph. 2-3). We are to relate to God as our Father and each other as brothers and sisters “in Christ.” This leads to a deep loving community that displays the power of the gospel to a watching world (John 13:35).
We believe that the local church is an autonomous group of believers who join their lives together by the Gospel. Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.
The local church is governed by the scriptures and operates under the Lordship of Christ with Pastor-Elders leading the people toward faithfulness in Christ. The office of the Pastor-Elder is limited to men as qualified by the scriptures. (Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 1:22-23; 1 Pet. 2:9-10)
Christian Living
God's gospel compels us to Christ-like living and mission in the world.
We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With the gospel, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed. We believe that all Christians are called to a life of godly character, devoted to the Lord Jesus Christ and service to Him.
We believe that the gospel is not only the entry point into the Christian life, but is also the dynamic by which we relate to God. Growing in godliness happens by continually reflecting on the gospel, or “good news” of Jesus’ death and resurrection on our behalf. As we reflect on this, and God’s Word, we become aware of just how big the separation is between our sinfulness and God’s standard. This often happens simultaneously with growth in holiness. As we become more and more aware of just how big the separation is, the gospel becomes more and more important, the cross becomes more and more central, and, as a result, we are driven to worship, rather than pride or despair. (Eph. 5:18; 2 Cor. 6:14, 7:1, Rom. 12:1-2, Eph. 4:32, Col. 1:22-24)
Christ's Return
God's gospel will be brought to fulfillment by the Lord Himself at the end of this age.
We believe in the personal, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels, when He will exercise His role as final Judge, and His kingdom will be consummated. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to judgment and eternal conscious punishment in Hell, as our Lord Himself taught, and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of Him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering and triumph of Christ; all sin purged and its wretched effects forever banished. God will be all in all, His people will be enthralled by His holiness, and everything will be to the praise of His glorious grace. (Matt. 24:29-31, 36-51, 25:31-46; Lk. 12:35-48,16:19-31; 2 Pet. 3:1-13; Rev. 20:11-15, 21:1-8, 22:6-21)
Response and Eternal Destiny
God's gospel requires a response that has eternal consequences
We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen. (Jn. 5:24, 3:16; Mk. 9:43-50; 2 Thess. 1:9
Learn through community.
The best way to really know and understand what we believe at Anthem is being involved in one of our local community groups. Love cannot exist outside of action - which at Anthem is best shown through our groups.
We'd love for you to join a group in your community, and begin connecting with others with the same heart and mission.