Statement of Faith

God’s Word About: Our Beliefs

Discovering God’s Purpose for Northshore Christian Church

“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” Titus 1:9

We Believe. . .

We believe the 66 books that compose the New and Old Testaments of the Holy Bible are God’s inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word. It is our rule for faith and the foundation of all our instruction. The Holy Bible contains all the necessary truth to lead men and women to salvation. We do recognize that not all Christians are cut out of the same cookie cutter mold and thus we accept differences in understanding in areas of doctrine that are not essential to salvation. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

We believe in God as revealed in the Bible, one God in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator and Sustainer of the entire universe. We believe in a God who is infinite and eternal and unchangeable in holiness, justice, mercy, love, power and wisdom. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Genesis 1:1ff; Isaiah 40:21-31; Isaiah 6:3; Jonah 4:2)

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten divine Son of God. He was born of the virgin, Mary, and was fully divine and fully human. We believe that in his incarnation, Jesus voluntarily laid aside the self-determined use of his divine attributes in order to do the Father’s will according to the guidance and the empowering of the Holy Spirit. Further we believe that Jesus lived a sinless life but suffered at the hands of men and was crucified as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all men. Jesus was then raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures, by the power of the Holy Spirit and is now seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven interceding for us. (John 3:16; Luke 1:31-35; Romans 5:6-8; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 3:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; Romans 8:34)

We believe the Holy Spirit is a person of the Holy Trinity, wholly personal and fully divine in all His attributes. We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and of the judgment to come.

We further believe it is the Holy Spirit who brings about the work of regeneration and sanctification in he believer. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and guides and empowers him for Christ-like living. (Acts 5:3-4; John 16:8-10; John 3:5-6; Romans 8:9-16)

We believe man was created in the image of God to love, worship and obey God. But man freely chose not to be obedient to God and broke his relationship with God and introduced death and decay into the creation. By nature man is corrupt and unable and unwilling to reach out to God. Because all men have sinned all men are condemned to physical, emotional, spiritual, and eternal death. (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 22:37; Genesis 3:6; Romans 8:20-21; Genesis 8:21; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23)

We believe, in spite of man’s sinful nature, God continued to love him and desired to restore his love relationship with him. We believe God sent his Son Jesus Christ to be the atoning sacrifice for all who believe in and receive Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God who was crucified and rose from the grave three days after his death. We believe that those who receive Jesus as their Lord and God are free from condemnation and granted the right to be children of God with guaranteed assurance of spending eternity in heaven (John 3:16; Romans 5:6-10, 3:22-26, 6:23, 8:1-2,15-17; John 1:12-13; Ephesians 1:11-14; Philippians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:12; Colossians 1:21-23; Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:36-39)

We believe that marriage is ordained by God as the foundation of the Christian family and only marriage between a man and a woman is ordained by God. NCA welcomes all families seeking a Christian education. Consistent with our Mission Statement, Core Values and Educational Philosophy, NCA approaches learning through a Biblical world-view. As a Christian school, NCA remains committed to our Statement of Faith (p. 42, Family Handbook). (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 10:5; Mark 10:7; and Ephesians 5:31)

We believe that even though men and women cannot receive salvation by good works, their good works are evidence of true faith in God and Jesus as Lord and are thus pleasing to God. (Ephesians 2:8-10; James 2:17-22; Matthew 5:16; Matthew 7:16-20)

We believe sanctification is the work of God through the power of the Holy Spirit, making the believer more and more Christ-like. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells the believer at the moment of his conversion and regeneration and then begins the progressive work of bringing the Christian to total commitment and dedication to Christlike living. We further believe that this process does not follow straight line growth and is different for every believer. In spite of ups and downs in a Christian’s life, sanctification is God’s will for every believer and he will work in every believer to bring this change about. As the Holy Spirit is allowed to control more and more of the believer’s heart, soul, and mind, the believer will show more and more love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control and will transmit the image of Jesus Christ to the world more perfectly. We also believe that this process will not be completed this side of eternity. (Romans 8:9; Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; Philippians 1:6; Galatians 5:22-23; Philippians 3:12)

We believe Immersion in water of a professed believer is the Bible baptism. Such baptism is symbolic of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. (Acts 8:36-38; Romans 6:1-4)

We believe that the Holy Spirit has given spiritual gifts to all believers for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ and bringing glory to God. The gifts are to be exercised in love and emphasize the need for unity within the body. (1 Corinthians 12:4, 11, 18, 21-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

We believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic church which is the body of Christ, the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the chosen people of God. Further we believe that every believer is to be an active part of a local congregation of believers. (Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 4:15-16; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:9; Hebrews 10:25)

We believe that at an unknown time in the future, Jesus Christ will return to the earth to judge all people of all time and establish himself as King of kings and Lord of lords. We believe that those who have not repented of their sinfulness and who have not believed in and received Jesus as their personal Lord and God will be condemned to eternity in Hell while those who have accepted Jesus will go to Heaven to live with God forever. This is the glorious hope of all of God’s children. (Matthew 16:27; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 19:16-19; Revelation 20:11-15)

Jesus answered,