Beliefs | mysite

Our Beliefs

We confess the historic teaching of the Christian Church that from the earliest days described the nature of God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (also referred to as Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer).

The Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is God with us, that the Holy Spirit comforts us when we are in need, and convicts us when we stray from God. We believe that the Holy Spirit awakens us to God's will and empowers us to live in obedience, for our lives and our world.

The Church

We believe that the Christian Church is not a building, but a body of believers united in Christ. Its role is to worship God, nurture and edify and reach out to a suffering world with the saving message of the gospel as well as the compassion and mercy exemplified in Christ.

We believe in one God who created the world and all that is in it. This God is sovereign; that is, God is the Ruler of the universe. We also believe, that God loves and that we can experience God's love and grace.

God

Sanctification

The Bible

We believe that the Bible is the inspired and relevant Word of God. And that "all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We believe that Jesus was human, that He lived as a man and died when He was crucified. We believe, too, that Jesus is divine -- He is the Son of God. We believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, and that the risen Christ lives today. We believe that Jesus is our Savior: in Jesus Christ, we receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins. We believe that Jesus is our Lord and that we are called to pattern our lives are His.

Humanity

Jesus Christ

We believe that God loves us so much and wants to be in relationship with us. God created human beings in His image and gave us the ability to choose to accept or reject a relationship with God. This choice is the result of God's gift of free will.

Sin

We believe that all people have sinned and need God's grace and forgiveness which is abundantly available through Jesus' death on the Cross. We believe that sin is anything that is contrary to the law or will of God.

For example: if you lie, you have sinned. Why? Because God said not to lie (Exodus 20:16). If you do what God has forbidden, then you have sinned. In addition, if you do not do what God has commanded, you sin (James 4:17). Either way, the result is eternal separation from God (Is. 59:2).

Salvation

We believe that all humanity stands in need of salvation. What does it mean to be saved and to be assured of salvation? It is to know that after feeling lost and alone, we've been found by God. It's to know that after feeling worthless, we've been redeemed and given new worth. It's to experience a reunion with God and our own best selves. It's a healing of the separation from God and estrangement that we've experienced. In salvation, we become whole. Salvation happens to us, both for our present lives and for the eternal life that is promised to believers. It's eternal life - a new quality of life in unity and relationship with God, a life that begins not at death, but in the present.

Grace

Salvation cannot be earned. There is no behavior, no matter how holy or righteous, by which we can achieve salvation. Rather, it's the gift of gracious God. By grace, we mean God's extraordinary love for us. In most of life, we're accustomed to earning approval from others. This is true at school, work, in society, and even at home (to a degree). We may feel that we have to act "just so" to be liked or loved. But God's love, or grace, is given without any regard for our goodness. It's unmerited, unconditional and unending love. Grace is God calling us home.

We believe that Jesus is, in Himself, the manifestation of God's grace. Through the incarnation, Jesus made atonement (that word simply means the ability to be in a proper relationship with God) available for the entire world. This grace offers humanity what it thirsts for: hope and restoration. God's grace, as evidenced in Jesus, proclaims His victory over the power of sin, over the power of brokenness. Ironically, this victory comes through brokenness - the brokenness of Jesus and the brokenness of those who seek Him. Thus, in a mighty response to the results of free will (another steadfast tenet of our beliefs that states each individual has the capacity to make his or her own decisions for good or for evil), God offers grace - and offers it to all!

At the point that a person responds to prevenient grace, to this unmerited favor, and confesses his or her brokenness and sin to surrender, and accepts Christ as Savior, it is God's justifying grace that brings forth faith. It is this grace that looks upon us - guilty as we are - and pronounces us "not guilty."

Outreach

The Trinity

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20)

We believe that God desires us to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we take seriously the great commission to evangelize and disciple the lost both here in Hankamer, and elsewhere around the community and all over the world. We seek to be and make disciples who not only proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ but also who display Him. We pursue various methods of outreach to the "unchurched", without compromising in any way our commitment to biblical truth and our integrity. Hankamer Community Fellowship is committed to being a church with a "vision" seeking to identify, send, pray for, help, encourage, train, support and generally minister to those who are called by God.