CALVARY CHAPEL'S
STATEMENT OF FAITH
THE
TRINITY
THE
TRINITY
1. We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are equal in power and glory, created all, uphold all, and govern all things. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:8 and 48.16; Matthew 28:19-20; John 10:30; Hebrews 1:3) a. We believe in the person of God the Father the eternal God. We believe that He is an infinite, eternal and personal God, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 90:2 and 102:27, John 3:16 and 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; Titus 1:3) b. We believe in the Person of Jesus Christ, the eternal God. Through Him all things were made. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, and taught with divine authority. He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin, was bodily resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now lives in continual intercession for His people. We believe in His personal, visible, and bodily return to the earth. (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:34—35; John 1:1—3; John 8:58; John 11:25; Colossians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3—4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 1:2; Mark 16:19; Revelation 1:8) c. We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, the eternal God. He is sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement; and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 16:8-11; Romans 8:26, 15:13 and 16; Hebrews 9:14)
THE
BIBLE
THE
BIBLE
2. We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Bible is the foundation upon which this church operates and is the basis for which this church is governed. We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures. (Isaiah 28:13; Nehemiah 8:8; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:3-4 and 1:21)
THE
HOLY SPIRIT
THE
HOLY SPIRIT
3. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every individual who believes in Jesus Christ. He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. (John 6:13, 14:16-17 and 16:8-11; Romans 8:26) 4. We believe that the Holy Spirit comes upon believers in a baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit. This event does not need to occur simultaneously with salvation and is a distinct event from the indwelling of the Spirit at the moment of salvation. The Spirit coming upon the believer is manifested through the believer by the gifts of the Spirit for the edification of the church. (Acts 8:14-17, Acts 19:1-6) a. We believe in the person of God the Father the eternal God. We believe that He is an infinite, eternal and personal God, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 90:2 and 102:27, John 3:16 and 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; Titus 1:3) b. We believe in the Person of Jesus Christ, the eternal God. Through Him all things were made. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, performed miracles, and taught with divine authority. He died on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for sin, was bodily resurrected from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now lives in continual intercession for His people. We believe in His personal, visible, and bodily return to the earth. (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:34—35; John 1:1—3; John 8:58; John 11:25; Colossians 1:16; 1 Corinthians 15:3—4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 1:2; Mark 16:19; Revelation 1:8) c. We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, the eternal God. He is sent from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement; and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 16:8-11; Romans 8:26, 15:13 and 16; Hebrews 9:14)
THE
GIFTS
THE
GIFTS
5. We believe in the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. We believe his ministry is present and active in the life of a believer, and we believe in the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Spirit according to the instructions given to us in 1 Corinthians 12-14. The gifts of the Spirit described to us in Scripture are: prophecy, service [ministry],
OUR
SIN
OUR
SIN
6. We believe that all people are sinners by nature and therefore are under condemnation. We believe that God saves and regenerates based upon faith by the Holy Spirit, those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. (Acts 8:15-17; Ephesians 2:1-3 and 8-9; Romans 3:23 and 5:8; Titus 3:5)
WHAT WE BELIEVE
THE
CHURCH
THE
CHURCH
7. We believe that the church is the living spiritual body of Christ. Christ alone is the head of the church, and all who are born again through faith in Jesus Christ are members of His body and are His church. The church is distinct from Israel and was inaugurated at Pentecost through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Its mission is to glorify God through the faithful teaching of the Word, the making of disciples, the fellowship of believers, the observance of the ordinances, and the proclamation of the Gospel to the world. Christ has given spiritual gifts to His church for the equipping of the saints and the building up of the body, that each member may serve according to the grace given to them, functioning in unity under His authority and in submission to the truth of Scripture. (1 Corinthians 12: 12—27; Acts 2: 1—47; Ephesians 22-23, 4:11-16, Matthew 28:18-20)
BAPTISM &
COMMUNION
BAPTISM &
COMMUNION
8. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: (a) full immersion water baptism of believers and (b) the Lord's Supper (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23- 26).(Matthew 19:4-5 and John 2:1-11)
THE SECOND
COMING
THE SECOND
COMING
9. We believe in the imminent Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We believe that His Second Coming is His personal, visible return to earth, which precedes the establishment of His millennial kingdom, the final judgement, and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked. (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16 and 20:11-15)26).(Matthew 19:4-5 and John 2:1-11)
HEAVEN &
HELL
HEAVEN &
HELL
10. We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. All those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord, while those who reject Jesus' free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord. (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:3, 5:22, 18:9 and 25:31-34; Mark 9:42-49; Luke 12:5; John 3:18; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 1:4; Revelation 14:10-11 and 20:11-15)judgement, and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked. (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16 and 20:11-15)26).(Matthew 19:4-5 and John 2:1-11)
THE
END TIMES
THE
END TIMES
11. We believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church. This event is known as the Appearing of Jesus Christ and is separate from the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. At this event, all believers will meet the Lord in the air and be taken out of this world prior to the Great Tribulation that will come upon the earth. (Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:36; Romans 1:18 and 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-16 and 5 :9, 2 Peter 2:7-9; Revelation 3:10, 5:7-10 and 7:13-14)
THE
BEGINNING
THE
BEGINNING
12. We believe in the creation of the world and God as the Creator. God through the Son created the world by speaking creation into existence in six literal days. We reject theistic evolution and any other interpretation that holds to macroevolution as being a part of the world's origin. (Genesis 1,2)the air and be taken out of this world prior to the Great Tribulation that will come upon the earth. (Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:36; Romans 1:18 and 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-16 and 5 :9, 2 Peter 2:7-9; Revelation 3:10, 5:7-10 and 7:13-14)
MARRIAGE, GENDER,
& SEX
MARRIAGE, GENDER,
& SEX
14. We believe that God created mankind as male and female. As such He created men and women different so as to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, homosexuality, and all other "sexual preferences" or "orientations" are unnatural, sinful and unacceptable to God. Accordingly, this ministry will not perform any marriage ceremonies between two individuals of the same sex. It will not condone or recognize such same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships, even if the state passes laws that provide for recognition of such unions. (Genesis 2:27-25, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) 15. We believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one genetic male and one genetic female sanctioned by the state and evidenced by a marriage ceremony. We also believe that legitimate biblical sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Hence, sexual activities such as, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, pre-material sex, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, transgenderism, bisexuality, cross-dressing, pedophilia and bestiality are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and the Church. Further, lascivious behavior, such as, the creation, viewing and/or distribution of pornography and efforts to alter one's physical gender or gender related appearance are incompatible with a true biblical witness. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; John 4:16-18; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9-11, 6:1820, 7:1-3 and 7:8-9; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-7; 1 Timothy 1:9-11) 16. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one's biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Institution as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Institution members and the community, it is imperative that all students and persons employed by the Institution in any capacity, or who serves as volunteers, agrees to and abide by this Statement on marriage, gender and sexuality (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity (Mark 12:2831; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Calvary Chapel or our Calvary Bible Institute.
WE
REJECT
WE
REJECT
17. We reject the eight following beliefs as spiritually harmful and unbiblical:
