This is who we strive to be in our church family life:1 John 4:7-16 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
These are fundamental truths of the Bible that we teach:
The Gospel: The Gospel is the good news about the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is the answer to the bad news about mankind. The bad news was that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We were all dead in our trespasses and sins. But God gave His one and only Son, and He became flesh. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God in the flesh forever. In Christ, all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. He died for our sins on the cross. Then He was buried. On the third day God the Father raised Him from the dead. This is the good news of the Gospel. (Romans 3:23-26, Ephesians 2:1, John 3:16; John 1:14, Colossians 2:9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
How are we saved? We are saved by simply believing this good news about Christ. Our salvation is by grace – the free gift of God to us – through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. Simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who died for your sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead, and you shall be saved! (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:23-26, Acts 16:31) What does it mean to be saved? When we believe in Christ, our sins – past, present, and future – are forgiven. This is called redemption – the forgiveness of our sins. We are also reconciled to God. And we are justified. God justifies the godless sinner who believes in Christ. This means that God credits us with the righteousness of God, and declares us to be righteous in His eyes forever. We are also given eternal life. God makes us alive for ever. We have His life. We are placed into and permanently identified with Christ. We are baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. Then we are placed into the body of Christ and given our spiritual gift. We are sealed in Christ by God the Father with the Holy Spirit. We become a new creation. We are seated with God in the heavens in Christ. We are adopted by God the Father. We become children of God and members of His household. We are His forever.
What happens if we never believe in Christ at all? This is the saddest news of all. Jesus said that those who do not believe remain under the wrath of God. The apostle Paul said the same thing. Unbelievers die, and one day they will be raised from the dead, judged, and put in the most awful place in the universe. It’s called the Lake of Fire, and also Hell. But remember- God sent His one and only Son, God the Son, to die in our place so that we would not have to go to the Lake of Fire. God does not want any person to go there. But in His justice, the Lord cannot allow anyone into His heavenly Kingdom who has not been declared righteous by God. Not believing in Christ is a great evil, and all who never believe in Christ will be judged as evil. Once Saved, Always Saved. Eternal Security Nothing can ever undo our salvation. We are in the hands of the Father, and nothing or no one is strong enough to take us away from Him. Nothing can ever come between us and the love of God in Christ Jesus. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are kept secure forever. They have eternal life and can never lose that. Once God the Father credits His perfect righteousness to a believer at salvation, it can never be undone by anyone or anything. At the moment someone believes the gospel of our salvation, that person is sealed in Christ with the Holy Spirit. There is nothing you could ever do and no sin you could ever commit which would result in the loss of your salvation. God desires all believers to have personal assurance of their eternal security. (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1,8:38-39; 1Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:13; Philippians 1:6; 1 John 5:13; 1Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 10:14).
Christ Died for All. The Unlimited Atonement God freely offers salvation to all men and women.. At the cross, Jesus died for all mankind. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men and women. . God desires ALL people to be saved. The Lord Jesus Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the entire world. (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 TImothy 2:3-6, 4:10; 1John 2:2; 2 Peter 3:9) Christianity is the opposite of Religion. All religions have one thing in common; they’re man trying to impress God and earn salvation through his human works. On the other hand, Christianity is God seeking and saving man on the basis of what He’s done for us through his Son. God is the aggressor in establishing a relationship with man. He came down to us because we could never work our way back up to Him. Christianity recognizes that our old man can never be cleaned up, and instead teaches us how to put on the “new man” (Col 3:10) through the renewing of our minds (Eph 4:23). Grace is undeserved favor from God Grace is free, limitless, unmerited blessing to helpless, undeserving sinners from the loving God who is completely satisfied by the Person and Work of the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:17-21; Eph 1:6-7) . Grace is God’s policy towards us and all that He is free to provide for us. Thankfully it’s not about what we earn and certainly not what we deserve (Rom 11:6). God’s Grace is abundant and He desires to shower us with it (Eph 2:7); it’s our job to simply say yes and receive His highest and best. God does all the work and we receive the benefits! Living as God's Sons and Daughters God desires everyone to be saved and come to an intimate knowledge of Him and His plan. Therefore, the Lord desires that all members of the body of Christ be fed consistently through the preaching and teaching of God's word ( Eph 4:11-16, 1Ti 2:3-4). In particular, we are to become intimately and thoroughly aware of all that God has done for us in placing us in Christ. When we learn how much God loves us, we then are able to love others as Christ has loved us. LBC Financial policy Lighthouse Bible Church is a grace ministry and operates entirely on voluntary contributions. We do not solicit funds, and we certainly DO NOT believe in tithing! We have freedom in Christ (2Co 3:17) And God loves a cheerful giver! (2Co 9:7). We are to give joyfully out of love for the Lord and for one another. There is no price on any teaching materials at LBC. Anyone who desires Bible teaching can receive them free of charge or obligation. God in His grace has blessed us beyond imagination. We want imitate our Father in giving freely as God does in making His grace abound to meet our needs. |