What We Believe

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons–Father, Son and Holy Spirit– co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14) 

And according to the early churches historic confessions that: We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God— eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty, completely wise, just and good, and the overflowing source of all good. (The Belgic Confession from the year 1560) 

We believe the Holy Scripture of both the Old Testament and the New Testament to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13) 

We believe that we know God “first, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe,  since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as  letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the Apostle  Paul says in Romans 1:20.  2  “All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse (Romans 1:19-20).  “Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need  in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own (Belgic Confession, Article 2, 1561; John 16:12-  13; 2 Peter 1:3-4).”

We believe “that this Word of God was not sent nor delivered by the will of men, but that holy men of  God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit, as Peter says.  “Afterwards our God–because of the special care he has for us and our salvation– commanded his  servants, the prophets and apostles, to commit this revealed Word to writing (Belgic Confession, Article  2, 1561). 

We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently thought in it. For since the entire manner of service which God requires of us is described in it at great length, no one – even an apostle or an angel from heaven – as Paul says (Galatians 1:8) ought to teach other than what the Holy Scriptures have already taught us. For since it is forbidden to add to or subtract from the Word of God (Revelation 22:18; Proverbs 30:5–6) this plainly demonstrates that the teaching is perfect and complete in all respects. 

Therefore, we must not consider human writing – no matter how holy their authors may have been – equal to the divine writings, nor may we put custom, nor the majority, nor age, nor the passage of time or person, nor councils, decrees, or official decisions above the truth of God, for the truth is above everything else (Article 7 Belgic Confession). 

We believe “in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father” (Nicene Creed); that He became fully man without ceasing to be God, having been “conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary” (Apostles’ Creed) in order that he might reveal God and redeem sinful man (John 1:1–2, 14; Luke 1:35). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by his literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3–5, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, he fulfills the ministry as representative, intercessor, and advocate (Acts 1:9–11; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:25, 9:24; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1–2; 1 Timothy 2:5-6). We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).

Our Ancient fathers spoke of the divinity of Christ. “We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of  God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God,  begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made” (Nicene Creed, Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3). “He is the Son of God not only from the time he assumed our nature but  from all eternity, as the following testimonies teach us when they are taken together.”

Moses says that God “created the world” (Genesis 1:1); and John says, “all things were created by the  Word” (John 1:3), which he calls God. The apostle says that “God made the world by his son” (Hebrews  1:2). He also says “God created all things by Jesus Christ” (Colossians 1:16).”“And so it must follow that  he who is called God, the Word, the Son, and Jesus Christ already existed when all things were created  by him.” “Therefore, the prophet Micah says that his origin is “from ancient times, from eternity” (Micah  5:2). And the apostle says that he has “neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Hebrew 7:3).”“So then,  he is the true eternal God, the almighty, whom we invoke, worship, and serve” (Belgic Confession,  Article 10, 1561, Scriptural supported added).

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of Godhead. He is come to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He is the one who supernaturally regenerates sinful man. He is the one who baptizes the believer into the body of Christ, sealing them unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit is sent by Jesus Christ as the comforter for all believers (John 16:8–11; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18).

We believe that all the redeemed have the Holy Spirit indwelling them. The Holy Spirit has come to bring renewal, refreshing (Titus 3:5-6) and power in the exercise of spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12) and for preaching the Word of God to the lost (Acts 1:8).

We believe the gifts mentioned in Scripture are present and available today for all believers. They are distributed as the Spirit so desires to build up the body and impact the lost world (Joel 2:28; Acts 1:5; 2:1–4,17,38–39; 8:14–17; 11:15-16; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-16).

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin, the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23;5:12; Ephesians 2:12-13).

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on the Cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human effort. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 10:9-10).

We believe the gift of the Holy Spirit indwells the believer renewing their minds towards Christ. This  revelation of Christ helps bring the Christian into full maturity (1 Corinthians 1:30; 6:11; John 17:17;  Romans 12:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11). 

We believe that the church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made  up of all born again persons (Ephesians 1:22–23, 5:25–29; 1 Corinthians 12:12–14; 2 Corinthians 11:2).  We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the  New Testament (Acts 2:42-47, 14:23, 27, 18:22, 20:17; 1 Timothy 3:1–13; Titus 1:5–9 11).  We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark  12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to  be repudiated and are not in accord with scripture nor the doctrines of Springs Church. 

We believe, in agreement with the Belgic Confession, that, “Our good God, mindful of our crudeness and weakness, has ordained sacraments for us to seal his promises in us, to pledge his good will and grace towards us, and also to nourish and sustain our faith…For they are visible signs and seals of something internal and invisible, by means of which God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit. So they are not empty and a hollow sign to fool and deceive us, for their truth is Jesus Christ, without whom they would be nothing” (Belgic Confession, Article 33. 1561).

Water Baptism:

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the  Word of God to be baptized in water as an act of obedience and as a testimony to the world  (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38). Again, we confess with the Belgic Confession, that, “Having  abolished circumcision which was done with blood, he established in its place the sacrament of  baptism” (Belgic Confession, Article 34. 1561; Acts 8:12, 36-38, 10:47-48).

The Lord’s Supper:

We are called by the Word of God to remember the saving work of Christ  on the cross, that his body was broken for us and that his blood was shed for us. In this Christ  took our place, suffered the wrath of God for us and now also imputes his righteousness in us.  When we take the elements of the cup, representing his blood and the bread, representing his  body we are reminded of his past and present work on our behalf, as well as in us. We are to  partake of these elements with reverence, awe and joy. We are to examine ourselves and come  to the table of the Lord with a clean conscience (Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17,  11:23–28). 

We believe that Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after his death on the cross; that Christ was the first to be resurrected to eternal life and is now the first fruits of the coming resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved will be resurrected to life with Christ in eternity and the lost will be resurrected to eternal damnation (Luke 24:1-6, 36-43; John 2:19-21, 11:25-26; 20:26-28; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:4-8, 42-44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21).

We believe that Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish his Kingdom. He will then establish a new heaven and a new earth from which he will reign forever (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians1:7-8; Revelation 1:7, 21:1-3).

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between one man and one woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage.

We believe that biblical marriage is to be an exclusive relationship between a man and a woman in a lifelong faithful union. We believe that the marriage covenant is established between one biological man and one biological woman as a lifelong partnership (Gen. 2:18-35; Matthew 19:4-5). Marriage is, by its nature, designed to be for the good of both spouses and for the procreation and education of their children (Genesis 1:28; Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:4-7). Christ raises this covenant between a believing man and woman to the dignity of a sacrament. This relationship between a husband and wife should parallel the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22–33). We believe that it is the church of Christ which sanctifies marriage, not the civil government. Therefore, we will recognize marriages by the State, as they fit the biblical definition of marriage stated above, and seek to bring all marriages of those in the Church into the dignity of a Christian marriage. Further, the elders and pastors and staff of Springs Church shall not officiate weddings and solemnize marriages that are not consistent with this Statement of Faith. Finally, the facilities and property of Springs Church shall host weddings only of members of Springs Church.