The Word of God Community Church adheres to a written confession that we believe to accurately summarize the essential doctrines of the historic orthodox Christian faith. It is in this manner that we are a confessional church. Our confessional statements of belief consist of the biblical doctrines expressed in Westminster Confession of the Faith (minus the prescriptions for infant baptism), and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of the Faith. We believe the doctrinal standards set forth in these documents contain accurate summaries of all the essential beliefs of the orthodox Christian faith taught in the Holy Scriptures. It is not required for membership that a person accept every distinctive in these confessional documents, as long as they believe in the biblical distinctive that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, Christ’s burial, and Christ’s bodily resurrection from the dead. However, it is required that all in positions of a pastoral and teaching capacity adhere to the doctrinal constructs taught by the Westminster Confession of the Faith, with the exception of the prescriptions for infant baptism, and the 1689 London Baptist Confession of the faith.
We believe these confessions adopt a theological construct which is defined as historic Christian orthodoxy. This historic orthodox position is both evangelical and reformed.
Historic Christian orthodoxy are those doctrines or beliefs recorded in historical documents such as The Apostle’s Creed, and the creeds of Nicea, Athanasia, Chalcedon, Constantinople, and the Councils on the Canons of Orange 529 A.D.. We do not equate these documents to bear the same authority as the Holy Scriptures, but we do believe they accurately describe those doctrines believed to be true by the historic orthodox Christian Church. Some of these truths are the doctrines of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross of Calvary, and other pertinent doctrines which are inseparable from the Christian faith.
By “evangelical” we are describing the vital doctrines of the Christian faith such as Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. Sola Scriptura sets for the belief that the 66 books we call “The Bible” are the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. As such, they bear the full and absolute authority of God in contradistinction to all other so-called sources of spiritual authority. In this capacity, the Written Scriptures are the sole revelation from God that rules in all matters of the Christian faith including faith, doctrine, morality, and ethics.
We believe the Written Scriptures alone are the only certain revelation from God which binds the conscience of Believers, and stands as a witness to what is true or false in all matters concerning the Christian faith.
Sola Fide refers to the historic Protestant belief that a person can only be justified before God to be righteous by the free grace of God alone through faith in Christ alone. It is through these God imputes or deposits the righteousness of Christ to the Believer (Romans 5:18-19). The sole ground of being justified or declared righteous by God is the merit or work of Christ on the cross of Calvary alone. We believe good works to some degree or the other must flow or emerge in all justified persons. However, these good works are not the basis of our salvation or justification before God.
When we say the Word of God Community Church is a reformed local congregation, we mean that we adhere to certain distinctive doctrines which sought to remove the error and heresy of the dictatorial practices of the Roman Catholic Church. This reformation endeavor was instituted by men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the other “Magisterial Reformers.” This reformed construct is God— and grace — centered as revealed in the Written Scriptures alone.
In spite of the too numerous to count denominations and movements which claim some special status in the mind of God as His “church,” we believe there is only one church which belongs to Jesus Christ. We believe this to be the meaning of Ephesians 4:4-6 — “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father who is over all and through all and in all.” (The New American Standard Bible Updated Edition)
In spite of sincere disagreements over matters not essential to salvation, the one Church of Jesus Christ consists of all individuals whom God has saved throughout the world since the Holy Spirit brought the Church into existence on the Day of Pentecost. The purpose of Christ’s one Church is the accurate preaching and teaching of the Holy Scriptures, the faithful proclamation of the Gospel, the administrations of the two sacraments or ordinances commanded by Christ inclusive of Communion/the Lord’s Supper and water Baptism. We believe this one Church of Jesus Christ is to submit herself to Christ alone as her only true and rightful sovereign and supreme power. We also believe the Church is commanded by God to discipline its members when necessary (Matthew 16:18; 28:19).
We utterly reject any claim by any denomination, local church, or movement that some are greater or lesser in Christ’s Church because of worship styles, the practice of some unique denominational or non-essential distinctive, a personal so-called supernatural experience, or because a particular organization is under the leadership of a so-called super-anointed leader. The basis of this belief is texts such as Galatians 4:28 — “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (The New American Standard Bible Updated Edition)
Total or radical depravity is the belief that all humans are corrupted by Adam’s sin to the extent that sin infects the entire person. This leaves them in a state in which their essential nature is spiritually dead, and they are therefore enemies of God. Since man is in this radically depraved state, his will is in bondage to his sin nature. Because of this, he is wholly and absolutely unable to incline himself towards God, convert himself, cooperate with God in his personal redemption experience, and exercise faith in Christ unto salvation without first being regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:5-7). We believe texts such Romans 3:9-12 describes this total or radical depravity of all men — “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; as it is written, there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.” (New American Standard Updated Edition)
Unconditional election refers to God’s sovereign act in which He chose some unto salvation out of the mass of humanity. The sovereign choice of God to save some is not according to some foreseen action in men, any response of man to God, nor any condition previously met by men. God’s choice to save some is not arbitrary or based on something better He sees in one person as opposed to another, but it is based solely upon the kind intention of His will for His eternal purposes (Deuteronomy 7:6-8; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4; John 6:44; 15:16).
The limited or particular atonement means the worth of Christ’s atoning work on the cross is sufficient to save the entire world, but it specifically saves those chosen by God. In other words, Christ’s death on the cross did not merely make it possible for some to be saved, but it actually saved those who had been chosen by God before the foundation of the world. It is because of this, God’s plan of salvation is not frustrated or nullified by the refusal of unrepentant sinners availing themselves of it (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 3:18; Galatians 3:13; John 10:27-28).
Irresistible grace is the grace of regeneration by which God effectually calls His elect inwardly, converting them to Himself, and quickens or resurrects them from a state of spiritual death to spiritual life. Regeneration is the sovereign and immediate work of the Holy Spirit alone. This grace never fails in bringing those regenerated to saving faith in Christ as they are made willing to come to Christ (Ezekiel 36:26-27; Romans 8:30; John 3:3-8; Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:1-10).
The perseverance of the saints is the belief that all of those who are truly regenerated by the Holy Spirit unto saving faith in the Gospel (Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross for sins, His burial, and His bodily resurrection from the dead) will never lose their salvation. It is true that they can fall prey to temptations and sins, and struggle with various spiritual weaknesses, but they will never fully and finally fall away because God preservers them. The basis of God’s preservation of the believer is Christ’s constant intercession for believers which is efficacious or able to save unto eternity (John 3:16; 10:27-30; Romans 8:35-39; I John 5:13; Hebrews 7:24-25).