What is the gospel?
The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for our sins and rose again, eternally triumphant over his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation for those who believe, but only everlasting joy.
—John Piper
The Bible
The Holy Bible was written by men inspired by God and reveals His will to humanity. It is a perfect guide for life, with God as its author, salvation as its purpose, and truth without error. All Scripture is completely true and reliable. It shows how God judges us and will remain the ultimate standard for Christian faith, conduct, and beliefs until the end of time. Every part of the Bible points to Christ, who is the heart of God’s revelation.
God
There is only one true and living God. He is a personal, spiritual being—Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of all. God is infinitely holy, all-powerful, and all-knowing, with perfect knowledge of everything, including our future choices. He deserves our highest love, reverence, and obedience. This one God exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct roles, but all sharing the same divine nature.
God the Father
God the Father oversees the universe, all creatures, and human history with care, according to His grace. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, and wise. Through faith in Jesus Christ, people become His children. God shows a fatherly love and care for all people.
God the Son
Christ is the eternal Son of God. As Jesus, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He fully revealed God’s will, lived a sinless life, and obeyed God’s law. Through His death on the cross, He provided redemption for humanity. He was resurrected, appeared to His disciples, and ascended to heaven, where He sits at God’s right hand as the One Mediator between God and mankind—fully God and fully man. He will return in power to judge the world and complete His redemptive work. Now, He lives in all believers as their ever-present Lord.
God the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is fully divine and the Spirit of God. He inspired the Scriptures and helps people understand truth. He exalts Christ, convicts of sin, and calls people to salvation. The Holy Spirit regenerates believers, baptizes them into the Body of Christ, and helps them grow in character. He comforts, gives spiritual gifts, and seals believers until their final redemption. His presence guarantees that God will bring believers to spiritual maturity. The Holy Spirit empowers Christians and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.
Man
Man is God’s special creation, made in His image as male and female. Gender is a good gift from God. Originally innocent, humanity was given free will, but chose to sin, bringing sin into the world. As a result, all people inherit a sinful nature and are condemned when they are capable of moral choice. Only God’s grace can restore fellowship with Him and fulfill His purpose for humanity. Because people are made in God’s image and Christ died for them, every person has inherent dignity and deserves respect and love.
Salvation
Salvation is the redemption of the whole person and is freely offered to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Through His sacrifice, believers receive eternal redemption. Salvation includes regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, and can only be received through personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Regeneration is God’s work of grace, making believers new in Christ through the Holy Spirit, who convicts of sin. It involves repentance (turning from sin to God) and faith (accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior).
Justification is God’s act of declaring sinners righteous based on Christ’s sacrifice, bringing them into peace and favor with God.
Sanctification is the process, starting with regeneration, by which the believer grows in moral and spiritual maturity through the Holy Spirit’s power.
Glorification is the final state of the redeemed, where they experience eternal perfection in God’s presence.
God’s Purpose of Grace
Election is God’s gracious decision to save sinners by regenerating, justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying them. It works with human free will and involves all the means leading to salvation. It displays God’s sovereign goodness, wisdom, holiness, and unchangeability, and encourages humility, not boasting.
True believers will endure to the end. Those accepted by God in Christ and sanctified by the Spirit will never lose their salvation but will persevere. While believers may fall into sin, causing harm to themselves and the faith, they will be kept by God’s power through faith until salvation is complete.
The Church
A New Testament church is an independent local group of baptized believers united by a covenant to share the faith and gospel. It observes Christ’s two ordinances, follows His teachings, and uses the gifts and privileges given by His Word. The church is led by Christ and governed democratically, with each member accountable to Him. The two biblical offices are pastor/elder and deacon. While both men and women are called to serve, the office of pastor/elder is reserved for men, as qualified by Scripture. The church is also described in the New Testament as the Body of Christ, made up of all believers from every nation and generation.
Baptism and The Lord’s Supper
Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It symbolizes faith in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, representing the believer’s death to sin and new life in Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act where church members eat bread and drink the fruit of the vine to remember Jesus’ death and look forward to His return.
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every Christian and church to make disciples of all nations. The new birth through the Holy Spirit creates a love for others, making mission work a natural outgrowth of the Christian life. Jesus commands us to preach the gospel to all nations. Every believer is called to share the gospel through words and actions, aiming to lead others to Christ.
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.
Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.
Dwell Church 