Our Beliefs – StuttgartHarvestChurch.com

Our Beliefs

Stuttgart Harvest Church and The Church In Malvern

Christian beliefs help us understand our world. We see not only wonderful Good but also violent evil. We often ask, “Why?” Basic Christian beliefs can help us grapple with questions that have baffled people for centuries.

As we learn the essential beliefs of Christianity, we begin to discover who we really are. God’s Story tells us our identity is not derived from possessions, abilities, looks, nor how others see us. Rather, our identity comes from how God sees us.

Christian beliefs also direct our behavior. Today we desperately need men and women of integrity, people who are living examples of Biblical values. The Holy Spirit gradually transforms us into the likeness of Christ Himself. Christian beliefs build Christian character.

Finally and most importantly, Christian beliefs help us draw near to God. As we look into the Scriptures, we come to know the Author of Scripture. Biblical truths become a window into the heart and mind of God. If we know and live what the Scriptures teach, we will resist shallow claims that misrepresent God and His story. God is personal and seeks a continuing love relationship with us that is real and personal. He has told us about Himself and what He requires of us. All the rich knowledge of God is expressed through our Christian beliefs based on the Scriptures..

If we approach the Scriptures with humility and a willing heart, Christian beliefs will strengthen our faith and ignite our souls.

The Scriptures
The Bible is the historical record of God, actually written by man but inspired by God’s Spirit and contains no error. It is truth provided for the believer as a tool to know the heart of God. It reveals the plan, purposes and will of God for all time. The Old Covenant prepared the way for Jesus and now God has made a New Covenant with man as explained in the books forming the New Testament. Today, the Old Covenant can help us understand the implications of the gospel for our lives and it can illuminate our understanding of God’s way in the world. The old covenant and law have been fulfilled by Christ and therefore we are not under the old law but now under the law and grace of Christ as expressed in the New Covenant.

Exodus 24:4; Deuteronomy 4:1-2; 17:19; Joshua 8:34; Psalms 19:7-10; 119:11,89,105,140; Isaiah 34:16; 40:8; Jeremiah 15:16; 31:31–34; 36:1-32; Ezek. 36:26–27; Matthew 5:17-18; 22:29; Luke 21:33; 24:44-46; John 5:39; 16:13-15; 17:17; Acts 2:16ff.; 17:11; Romans 6:14–15; 7:4–615:4; 16:25-26; 2 Cor. 3:6; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 1:1-2; 4:12; 8:8–13; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21.

God in three persons
There is one and only one living and true God. He is intelligent, spiritual, and personal. Being the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver and Ruler of the universe. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence and obedience. God is not bound by the natural laws He created and our limited minds cannot fully understand the complexity nor mind of God. But through Scripture, God has revealed to us what He wants us to know for now. The eternal God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit with distinct personal attributes but without division of nature, essence or being.

God the Father
God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of life, the seen and unseen. He is all loving, all just, all wise and all powerful. He is the true God and the One who judges righteously and test the heart and mind. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ; however, He is fatherly toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

God the Son
God as Son is the perfect representation for the Father in human form. He is fully human and fully divine. Immanuel, God who came to live among us, for one purpose… to redeem the world. Born of a virgin, He had no human sin within Him. He is equal with God the Father but humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant (man) and became obedient to a death on a cross. He knew that only through the shedding of His blood would the sinless Lamb of God be able to secure forgiveness and remission of sins. He arose on the third day following His death as He declared and now lives and reigns with the Father in glory awaiting His final triumphant return. His Spirit lives in all believers as the living, ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

God the Holy Spirit
God as Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, works in the life of each believer to produce godly character qualities and demonstrates Himself, in the life of the church, through special abilities given to each believer to carry out the work of the church. He is Comforter, Teacher, Wisdom, and Counselor.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

Humanity
Man was created in the image of God by a special work of God. The finest of the creation – God said, “It is very good!” Man was created purposefully and lovingly male or female which is identified in our very genetic code, xx or xy, a design by God. God’s special creation, mankind, is even known by God in the womb.
One of the many purposes of God’s treasured created man is to populate the earth from within the love and safety of marriage. And it is only within a marriage, between a man and a woman, that God placed the intimate connection of sexual contact.
Man was created innocent but with a free choice whereby he sinned against God. At that moment, man and all of his descendants, fell from his original state of being in a perfect relationship with God, others, and creation. Because Christ died for all, every person, from every background, no matter their life choices, is worthy of respect in Christian love.
Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5,7,18-22; 3; 9:6; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 32:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18,23; 5:6,12,19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18,29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19,21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11.

Salvation
Salvation is the gift of God for all humanity and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus as Lord (boss, leader, owner) and Savior (God, who came to live among us, the perfect Son of God who died for the sins of the world, once and for all). It was obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross. He shed His own blood for our sin that we might be rightly related to God.

Genesis 3:15; Exodus 3:14-17; 6:2-8; Matthew 1:21; 4:17; 16:21-26; 27:22-28:6; Luke 1:68-69; 2:28-32; John 1:11-14,29; 3:3-21,36; 5:24; 10:9,28-29; 15:1-16; 17:17; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 15:11; 16:30-31; 17:30-31; 20:32; Romans 1:16-18; 2:4; 3:23-25; 4:3ff.; 5:8-10; 6:1-23; 8:1-18,29-39; 10:9-10,13; 13:11-14; 1 Corinthians 1:18,30; 6:19-20; 15:10; 2 Corinthians 5:17-20; Galatians 2:20; 3:13; 5:22-25; 6:15; Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-22; 4:11-16; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-22; 3:1ff.; 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:24-28; 11:1-12:8,14; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:2-23; 1 John 1:6-2:11; Revelation 3:20; 21:1-22:5.

Baptism
Baptism is the initial step of obedience by one who has declared his faith in Jesus. So important was this step that, as far as we know, every single convert in the New Testament was baptized (there is no example of a non-baptized believer with the exception of the thief on the cross). At baptism, the invisible work of the Holy Spirit is visibly dramatized in the water as it visualizes the death, burial, resurrection of Christ and now new life offered through the Spirit. For all we may not understand about baptism, we can be sure of one thing, it is a holy moment commanded by God. Baptism is the first step of a believer. If it was important enough for Jesus to command, isn’t it important enough for us to obey? And if it is important enough for Jesus to do, isn’t it important enough for us to follow?

Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19-20; Acts 2:38; 2:41; 8:35-39

Sin and Grace
When one becomes a believer, he is free from sin’s penalty of death but not from sin’s power. A battle rages within the believer between the carnal and spiritual natures. When the believer confesses sin, Christ forgives and cleanses from sin. Sinning grieves the Holy Spirit, brings shame on the cause of Christ, hinders a believer’s relationship with God and others and causes the believer to endure the consequences of sin.

Grace is the unmerited favor of God and shows us His goodness. All who have accepted Christ and are set apart will never fall from grace but will endure the end. Believers may sin and grieve the Holy Spirit, but they will be kept by the power of God.

Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 19:5-8; 1 Samuel 8:4-7,19-22; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 31:31ff.; Matthew 16:18-19; 21:28-45; 24:22,31; 25:34; Luke 1:68-79; 2:29-32; 19:41-44; 24:44-48; John 1:12-14; 3:16; 5:24; 6:44-45,65; 10:27-29; 15:16; 17:6,12,17-18; Acts 20:32; Romans 5:9-10; 8:28-39; 10:12-15; 11:5-7,26-36; 1 Corinthians 1:1-2; 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:4-23; 2:1-10; 3:1-11; Colossians 1:12-14; 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 2 Timothy 1:12; 2:10,19; Hebrews 11:39–12:2; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:2-5,13; 2:4-10; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:19; 3:2.

Church
The church is a group of believers brought together by the Spirit of God to carry out the Great Commandment by practicing the Great Commission. Each church is an autonomous body operating under the leadership of Christ as the Head of the Church.

Matthew 16:15-19; 18:15-20; Acts 2:41-42,47; 5:11-14; 6:3-6; 13:1-3; 14:23,27; 15:1-30; 16:5; 20:28; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16; 5:4-5; 7:17; 9:13-14; 12; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:8-11,21; 5:22-32; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 2:9-14; 3:1-15; 4:14; Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 5:1-4; Revelation 2-3; 21:2-3.

The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is an opportunity for personal examination and reflection as we observe the “Lord’s death until He comes.” The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood which were broken and spilled out for our salvation. This is done in “remembrance” of Him until He comes again.