What We Believe

Fairland Christian Church is committed to the principles of our Christian church heritage, as expressed by phrases like these:

*Where the Bible speaks, we speak; where the Bible is silent, we are silent.

*In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; and in all things, love.

*We are not the only Christians, but we are Christians only.

These key biblical principles are not intended as a test of fellowship, but are simply meant to affirm our belief in key issues of biblical doctrine. We offer this document as a theological framework to help unify our faith community under the authority of Christ and His Word, and to advance our efforts to communicate the gospel to the world.

We believe in one God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 5:16, 45; 6:1, 4, 8, 9; James 1: 17; John 1: 1; 14:9; Genesis 1:2; John 4:24; 14:16-20; 2 Peter 1:21).

We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of all things visible and invisible (Genesis 1: 1; Acts 17:24-28; Hebrews 11:3).

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s one and only Son, our one and only Savior (John 1:14; 1 John 4:9; John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:18)

Who was born both fully human and fully divine, conceived of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and lived a sinless life (Matthew 21:11; John 19:19; John 1:14; Romans 5:15-17; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 1:1; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-38; 1 Peter 1:22)

Who suffered and was crucified (Luke 23:1-46)

Who died and was buried, and Who rose again bodily from the dead on the third day (Luke 23:44 – 24:8; John 20:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8),

Who ascended into Heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father (Luke 22:69; Acts 1:1-9; Colossians 3:1),

And Who will return to earth to judge both the living and the dead (Matthew 24:36-42; John 14:1-3; Acts 1: 10-11; 10:39-42; 1 Peter 4:5).v

We believe in the Holy Spirit, Who is a personal and active part of the triune God (John 16:5-15; Acts 1:7-8; Romans 8:26-27),

And Who indwells every Christian (1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Timothy 1:14).

We believe in the Bible—God’s Holy Word. We believe God inspired the original writings of the Scripture, and therefore the Bible is completely trustworthy in all its parts (Mark 12:36; John 14:26; 16:12-15; Acts 1:16; 1 Corinthians 2:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:14-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

We accept the Bible as the final authority for all matters of faith and practice (Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18; 24:35; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12).

We believe that people created by God willfully sin against God and are consequently lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23).

We believe that salvation—the forgiveness of sins—cannot be earned, but is given to us only through the blood of Jesus Christ and by God’s grace (Matthew 26:28; Romans 5:1-11, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 10:19-22; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; 1 John 1:7).

We believe that we must respond to God by admitting our sin and our need for God’s grace (Romans 3:23; Titus 3:3-7),

Believing and confessing the truth about Jesus (Matthew 10:32; Romans 10:9, 10),

Turning away from sin (repenting—Luke 24:45-47; Acts 3:19, 17:30),

Trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord (Romans 10:11-13, Philippians 2:11),

And being baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-4).

We believe in the church of Jesus Christ, consisting of all Christians everywhere (Matthew 16:13-18; Acts 2:14-47, Ephesians 1:22, 23).

We believe in the church’s mission: making disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all of Jesus’ commands (Matthew 28:18-20)

We believe God created and sanctioned marriage to bring together men and women, the complementary halves of humanity, by joining them in “one-flesh” unions. (Genesis 2:18-25, Hebrews 13:4.)

We believe Marriage between one man and one woman for life uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church. (Ephesians 5:21-33.)

We believe Marriage also serves as the foundational unit of a stable society. (1 Cor 7:1-5.)