about us
Statement of Faith
Here is our full Statement of Faith that includes The Chapel’s doctrinal positions in our church constitution.
1. The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16-17) without error in the original manuscripts (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We believe the Bible is complete in its present 66 books and forms the only firm basis of our beliefs.
2. The Trinity
We believe there is only one living and true God, and He exists in three persons (Matthew 28:19). We believe the Father, Son, and Spirit are equal in every attribute (John 10:30, Acts 5:3-4), and they perform different but harmonious ministries (2 Corinthians 13:14, Ephesians 2:18).
3. God the Father
We believe God the Father is an infinite person existing in spirit form (John 4:24). He is all-powerful (Jeremiah 32:17, Luke 1:37), everywhere (Psalms 139:7-10), all knowing (Psalms 139:2, Isaiah 46:9-10), eternal (Psalms 90:2), unchanging (James 1:17), and perfectly holy (Habakkuk 1:13). We believe that even though He is separate from His creations, He mercifully concerns Himself in the affairs of men (Isaiah 57:15, Matthew 6:25-32) and saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
4. God the Son
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s unique Son (John 3:16), who is fully God (John 1:1, 10:30, Titus 2:13, 1 John 5:20) and fully man (John 1:14, Philippians 2:7-8). We believe in His conception by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35), His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:27-35), and His sinless life (Hebrews 4:14-15). We also believe in His substitutionary atoning death through the shedding of His blood (Isaiah 53, 2 Corinthians 5:21) and His bodily resurrection (Luke 24:1-6, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). We believe the Lord Jesus is presently interceding in heaven on behalf of His people and will personally and visibly return to earth to set up His Kingdom (Acts 1:11)
5. God the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and his purpose is to carry out the work of God on earth. We also believe He is present in the Christian to regenerate (John 3:5-8, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Titus 3:5), to sanctify (2 Thessalonians 2:13), to empower (Acts 1:8), to baptize him into the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13), to give spiritual gifts (Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:2-8, 1 Corinthians 12-14), and to help us live the Christian life (John 14:16, 16:13). We also believe the Spirit works in unbelievers to “convict the world of sin, righteousness, and the judgment to come” (John 16:8), in order for the lost to come to faith in Christ.
6. Man
We believe God created man in His image (Genesis 1:27). Man sinned by disobeying God (Genesis 3:6-7) and therefore suffered not only physical death (Genesis 3:19) but also spiritual death, which is separation from God (Genesis 3:23-24, Isaiah 59:2, Romans 6:23). We believe all human beings are born sinful by nature and therefore they sin in word, thought, and deed (Romans 5:12, 3:10).
7. Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins in fulfillment of the Scriptures and that His substitutionary death made full atonement by the shedding of His blood (Isaiah 53:4-5, 1 Peter 2:24). We believe sinners are justified by God’s grace through personal faith in the finished work of Christ (Romans 3:21-28, 5:1-2, 10:9-10), and all those who are genuinely saved have been baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ, which is the Church (1 Corinthians 12:13). We also believe when individuals are genuinely saved, they can never lose their salvation because God has promised to conform them to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29) and to preserve them until the return of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6).
8. The Church
We believe in one universal church of which Christ is the head and all genuine believers are members (1 Corinthians 12:13-27, Ephesians 1:22-23, Colossians 1:18). This universal church is manifested in many local churches, which are organized for the purpose of worship, fellowship, and service. The local church has been given the task of (1) training and encouraging one another to live the Christian life according to the principles laid down in the Word of God (Matthew 28:19-20, Ephesians 4:11-16, Hebrews 10:23-25), and (2) sharing the good news of salvation to a lost world (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15). The Church, which is distinguished from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32, Ephesians 2:14-15) began on the day of Pentecost (Matthew 16:18, Acts 1:5, 2:41-42, 11:15-16) and will continue until the rapture when Jesus Christ comes to receive it into heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
9. The Ordinances
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. These two ordinances do not transmit any merit or mystical power to the believer but are instituted as symbols of Christ’s work in our salvation. We believe the Lord Jesus desires every believer to be baptized by immersion (Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, 41, 8:36-39, 10:48, 16:31-33, 1 Peter 3:21), representing our union with Him in death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:4, Colossians 2:12, 2 Corinthians 11:23-29). We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by our Lord to remember His death on the cross for our sins (Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29).
10. Future Things
We believe the Lord will descend before the Tribulation to rapture the church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18) and will then return to earth, after the Tribulation to set up His millennial kingdom for a literal 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6). We believe in the resurrection and final judgment, with its eternal reward for the saved and suffering for the wicked (Matthew 25:31-46, Revelation 20:11-15).