Core Beliefs
The following are the core beliefs of Calvary Chapel Lake City based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
We Believe God is One in Three Distinct Persons
- We believe that there is one living and true GOD, eternally existing in three persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all things. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:8 and 48:16; Matthew 28:19-20; John 10:30; Hebrews 1:3).
- We believe in the person of God the Father, an infinite, eternal, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 90:2; Psalms 102:27; John 3:16 and 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; Titus 1:3).
- We believe in the Person of Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, his substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people and personal, visible return to earth. (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23; Mark 16:19; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1-2, 8:58 and 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 1:2; Revelation 1:8).
- We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, Who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ; (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 16:8-11; Romans 8:26 and 15:13,16; Hebrews 9:14), We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. (John 6:13, 14:16-17 and 16:8-11; Romans 8:26). We believe in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit as a distinct and separate experience to that of regeneration, occurring, either subsequent to or simultaneous with salvation, evidenced by a greater dynamic in the Christian's life enabling that person to be a bold and more effective witness. The supreme evidence of the Spirit filled life is the fruit of the Spirit, love. We believe in the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit in regard to the exercise of all biblical gifts of the Holy Spirit according to the instructions given to us in 1 Corinthians Chapters 12 through14.
We Believe God's Word in Inerrant & Infallible
- We believe that the Scripture of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Word of God is the foundation upon which the church operates and is the basis for which the church is governed. We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures. (Isaiah 28:13; Nehemiah 8:8; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:3-4 and 1:21). We seek to teach the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual’s life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ.
We Believe Mankind Fell & God Offers Salvation
- We believe that all people are sinners by nature and choice, falling short of God’s standard and breaking His commandments - and therefore are under God’s righteous judgment. Yet God saves and gives new life to all who come to Him in repentance and faith, trusting in the Person and work of Jesus Christ. At the cross, Jesus Christ died in our place as our substitute, absorbing God’s wrath that should have come upon us. Because Jesus died for the sins of the world the invitation to believe is open to all, and whoever desires may come unto Jesus for new life and the forgiveness of sins. (Romans 3:23, Acts 3:19, Acts 20:21, Ephesians 2:1-3, Ephesians 2:8-9, 1 John 2:2, John 3:16, Matthew 11:28, Revelation 22:17).
We Believe Jesus Instituted Two Ordinances
- We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: (a) full immersion water baptism of believers, and (b) the Lord's Supper. (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
We Believe in The Universal Church & Complementary Roles
- We believe in the universal church, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and all who are born again are a part of the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:15-16) We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in His own image. He created them sinless, equal in value, dignity and worth, according to His purpose and design, to fulfill distinct but complementary roles in the contexts of marriage, family and the local church. (See: Genesis 1:26-28; Ephesians 5:22-32 & 6:1-4; 1 Timothy 2:8-15, 1 Timothy 3:1-15).
- WE BELIEVE:
1) That upholding God’s design for men and women is of high theological, missional, familial, and societal importance.
2) The scriptures are in discord with the notion that gender is an irrelevant distinction when determining who may serve in the senior leadership office(s) of the local church.
3) The scriptures are in discord with those who take a hyper-conservative position that women should not hold any position of leadership whatsoever and should never speak or pray or teach in mixed company under any circumstances.
- We reserve the office(s) of Elder / Pastor leadership exclusively for biblically qualified male leaders (1 Timothy 3:1-7). In practice, this means that Pastors ordained by Calvary Chapel Lake City (CCLC) shall teach in regular rotation as the Doctrine-Setting, Governing, Overseeing, Church-Disciplining, Bible-Teaching Authority. Additionally, from time to time, persons other than our ordained CCLC Pastors may be invited to teach, including women as biblically appropriate, but in such instances, it will always be under the authority and supervision of our Pastors and in harmony with our Biblical doctrine.
We Believe Gifts of the Spirit are Valid For Today
- We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures, and that they are valid for today if they are exercised within the Scriptural guidelines. We as believers are to desire the best gifts, seeking to exercise them in love that the whole Body of Christ might be edified. We believe that love is more important than the most spectacular gifts, and without this love, all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
We Believe in the Baptism with the Holy Spirit
- As believers, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us. This is known as the baptism with the Holy Spirit. Jesus told His disciples, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you . . . ” (Acts 1:8). When the Holy Spirit comes upon a believer, He fills his or her mind with a genuine understanding of truth, takes possession of the believer’s abilities, and imparts gifts that qualify him or her for service in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4–10). The Holy Spirit imparts power for service and boldness in testimony and service (Acts 4:29, 31).
We Believe Jesus is Coming Again
- We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, with His saints, which is His personal, visible return to earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, . (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:11-15) We await the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church where all believers will meet the Lord in the air and be taken out of this world prior to the Tribulation that will come upon the earth. (Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:36; Romans 1:18, 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-16 and 5:9; 2 Peter 2:7-9; Revelation 3:10, 5:7-10 and 7:13-14) This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God’s Word, regular fellowship, and participation in adult baptism by immersion and Holy Spirit Communion.
We Believe in a Literal Heaven & Hell
- We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell. Those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord blessed, while those who reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord at the final judgment. (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:3, 5:22, 18:9 and 25:31-34; Mark 9:42-49; Luke 12:5; John 3:18; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 1:4; Revelation 14:10-11 and 20:11-15)