Statement of Faith

PURPOSE
The purpose of Calvary Murrieta is framed in our mission statement: to love God completely, to love people authentically, and to make disciples globally.
We seek to live this out by living the great commandment and fulfilling the great commission.

STATEMENT OF FAITH
Calvary Murrieta holds to the following statements: these statements should serve as a guide to understanding what we believe.  The topics here provide only a brief summary and should not be taken as our complete belief structure.

The Bible was written by men, given by the Holy Spirit to human writers, and is God’s revelation of Himself to mankind. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, truth without any mixture of error in its original texts, and salvation for its end.  All Scripture is totally true and trustworthy and pertains to all things regarding life and godliness.  
Ps. 19:7-11 | 2 Tim. 3:15-17 | 2 Pt. 1:3

There is one and only one living and true God who is sovereign, and the creator of all things.  He eternally exists as three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each of these persons is fully God and are united as one.
Gen. 1:26 | Dt. 6:4 | Mt. 28:19 | Ps. 45:6-7

God is called Father because He is the Father over all creation. He is also Father by intimate relationship. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and He is the Father of all who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. 
Eph. 3:14, 15 | Ps. 103:13 | Eph. 1:3 | Jn. 1:12

Jesus Christ has always been fully God, and became fully man in one person, and will be so forever.  He created all things with the Father and has existed always.  He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He perfectly fulfilled the divine law by His obedience to it, and in His substitutionary death on the cross, He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. In His bodily, historical resurrection, He overcame death and sin for all who believe.
Lk. 1:35 | Jn. 1:1 | Jn. 1:14 | Jn. 3:16 | Jn. 3:34, 35 |Jn. 14:31 | Jn. 11:25

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, a fully divine person of the Trinity.  He exalts Christ. He manifests the active presence of God in the world, and especially in the church.  He convicts men of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.  He indwells the believer and leads the church in worship, discipleship, and service. 
Is. 59:21 | Jn. 14:17 | Jn. 14:26 | Jn. 16:8

God created human beings, male and female, as His unique and crowning work of creation.  By mankind’s own choosing, he rebelled against God and brought sin into the human race.  The value, worth, and sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, we believe that every person possesses dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. 
Gen. 1:26, 27 | Rom. 5:12 | Jn. 3:16

We believe that the essence of the gospel is an understanding that we are more rebellious against God than we can ever know and also more loved by God than we can ever comprehend.
We also believe that the gospel of Jesus is demonstrated through His life, death, burial, resurrection, and teachings.  He taught that He will redeem us, He will renew us, bring us into obedience, and ultimately He will restore us to His eternal dwelling place. He chooses us to join Him in inviting all others to follow this same pattern that He set forth. 
Mk. 16:15 | Jn. 12:32 | Jn. 14:6 | 1 Cor. 15:1-4

The resulting work of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross brought salvation to the world, and is a gift of God redeeming us from our sin and reconciling us to our God.  Jesus came to earth and accomplished salvation for all who would believe.  All who turn from their sin and believe in Jesus receive this gift of salvation.  As a result of this faith, all His followers will seek to be like Jesus, live like Jesus, and love like Jesus.  
Jn. 5:24 | Jn. 8:31 | Rom. 5:9, 10 | Eph. 2:9, 10

The church is both local and Universal.  The Universal Church is the community of all true believers for all time. The local church is a faith filled community of worshipers who are united as an intentional community of disciples under the headship of Christ and godly servant-leaders. 
Acts 2:42 | Heb. 10:25 | Eph. 5:25 | Rev. 5:9, 10 | Heb. 12:23

Baptism is the public declaration of a believer’s faith, pursuing obedience to the teachings of Jesus, and sharing in Christ’s burial and resurrection.  We believe it symbolizes death to your old life and announces your new life in Christ, which celebrates your inclusion into God’s family.  
Mt. 28:19 | Acts 8:36-38 | Rom. 6:3, 4
The bread and cup of Communion remembers and celebrates Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection, instituting a New Covenant with all believers.  We look inward by examining our own heart in light of the cross and look forward to drinking the cup new with Him in His Father’s Kingdom. 
1 Cor. 11:23-26 | Lk. 22:17-19 | Mt. 26:29

We believe all followers of Jesus will commit to His instructions, by living intentionally in their participation of the mission of Christ to make disciples who in turn make disciples of all nations.  We believe Christ sends us primarily to those who have not yet heard the Gospel. God desires the unique worship of all cultures; therefore, we believe that authentic relationships that honor culture and customs advance the Kingdom. We believe the Bible instructs Jesus’ disciples to model Christ’s love, humility, and mercy, which demonstrate the gospel with our words and our lives. 
Rev. 5:9, 10 | Mt. 28:19, 20 | 1 Thess. 2:8 | Rom. 15:20 | Rom. 10:15

We believe the family is unique in its ability to communicate many of the attributes of God.  The family was created by God for the benefit of man and communicates the intimacy, nurturing, obedience, and permanency of the relationship that we have with God.  Man was given stewardship over it and is the essential building block of human society. 
Gen. 2:24 | Is. 54:5 | Eph. 1:5
Marriage is the union of one man and one woman who will live bound not by contract alone, but by a commitment in His love that should not be broken.  We believe that men and women are opposite and equal to each other, and that marriage is before God, your family and all the main institutions of society, with a promise from each other to be loving, faithful, and true.  The marriage union is a permanent promise that extends into the future.
Gen. 2:18 | Gen. 2:24 | Mt. 19:8 | Eph. 5:31

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female and that gender is determined by one’s biological makeup at birth.  These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God.  Rejection of one’s biological gender or gender identity is a rejection of the image of God within that person
Gen. 1:26-27 | Romans 1:26-32 | 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

The second coming of Jesus is the hope and reminder that God is faithful, and that He has ultimate control over all things.  Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly, and Christ will judge all men in righteousness.  We believe that God will fulfill all future promises and prophecies regarding the second coming of Jesus.
Rev. 19:11-16 | Jn. 14:3 | Zech. 14:4

God loves justice. He commands His children to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.  Additionally, He chooses to accomplish His justice through the awareness, advocacy and action of His children, who work for justice in actively loving all vulnerable, marginalized and afflicted people. 
Is. 61:8 | Prov. 31:8, 9 | Prov. 24:11,12