Doctrine

What do we believe about the Bible?

The Bible is God's Word without error and it is our final authority for faith and living. Through the discipline of textual criticism (the process of determining the original texts of the scriptures) we have quality translations available to us today that are accurate to the original manuscripts.

What is salvation (being born-again) all about?

Salvation occurs when God declares a person to be righteous. Jesus’ death on the cross and his resurrection from death satisfied the righteous judgement of God against sinful humanity. From a human perspective it occurs when a person turns from sin and places their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the ransom, or payment, for their sins against God.

What do we believe about spiritual gifts?

We believe every Christian has been baptized into the body of Christ at salvation by the Holy Spirit and has been given spiritual gifts. We strive to understand and follow the teachings of 1 Corinthians 14 and Romans 12 in regards to spiritual gifts. While we respect a diversity of views within the Christian community, we insist on unity between church members and in matters of major doctrine and practice.We encourage believers to seek spiritual gifts without giving "air time" to one or more gifts over another. Finally, all gifts must be used in love toward others and in humble service to the Lord.

What version(s) of the Bible do we use?

NewLife’s Sr. Pastor, co-pastors and ministry teachers and leaders use a variety of translations for study and enrichment provided they are consistent with theologically orthodox Bibliology. The primary teaching version is the (NIV) New International Version. Other used versions are the KJV, NKJV, NAS, NLT, and Message.

What is baptism? Is it a requirement for salvation, along with belief?

The Biblical word for "baptize" means, "to immerse". We immerse people in water after a profession of faith in Christ alone for salvation. In the Bible, baptism followed a person’s faith in Christ for salvation. Salvation is solely a work of God by grace through [our] faith. (Ephesians 2:8-9). The collective body of teaching in the New Testament both by the Lord Jesus himself and the apostolic writings affirm that salvation is a wholly spiritual matter affecting a change in heart and in relationship with God and is brought about by the faith of the repentant sinner. This has Old Testament roots seen as early as Abraham who was justified by faith and not faith plus baptism or any other action. (John 3; Ephesians 2:8-9; Hebrew 9-10; and 1 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 10:9-10, 13 are some good verses to study regarding this question.)