Statement of Beliefs

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the very word of God and that every word of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments is God-breathed and written by men who “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Bible, in its original manuscripts, is absolutely without error and infallible. We believe the Bible is the only source of objective truth from God, and that it is the supreme authority over all creation, including the church, and is the standard by which people will be judged on the last day. We believe that the Bible is the complete and fully sufficient authority for all matters of faith, practice, godliness, and doctrine. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Matthew 5:18; John 8:31-32; 17:17; 20:31; Acts 20:32; Romans 2:16; John 12:48; Psalm 119:97-104, 160)

The Trinity

We believe in the one and only true and living God, the Creator of all things, and “in him we live and move and have our being.” God is infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful, and perfect in all his attributes. He is due all glory, honor, worship, and praise. God is one in essence and eternally existing in three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom is equal in every divine perfection and equally deserving of worship and obedience. Each person of the Trinity executes distinct but harmonious roles in the works of creation, providence, and redemption. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:6-8; Genesis 1:1; John 17:3; Acts 17:28; Revelation 4:8-11; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

God the Father

We believe in God the Father, who is the absolute and highest Ruler, sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. He is perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. In keeping with his perfect justice, the Father possesses righteous anger toward all those who sin. Yet, the Father demonstrates his steadfast love by dealing mercifully with people, willfully and joyfully saving anyone from bondage to sin and eternal torment who comes to him through faith in Jesus Christ. (1 John 3:1; Psalm 103:19; Acts 1:6-7; Romans 11:36; John 4:23; James 1:17-18; Isaiah 45:21-22; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:3)

God the Son

We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, which means that the eternally existing and unique and only Son took on a human nature, being conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. As God the Son, he possesses the same nature, divine characteristics, and perfection as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. As Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, he possesses all the attributes of a man, and he is the full manifestation of God in the flesh. We believe that Jesus is, therefore, fully and truly God and fully and truly man.

We believe in the sinlessness of Jesus, his perfect fulfillment of the law of God, his substitutionary atonement, his bodily resurrection from the grave, his ascension to heaven, and his personal return from heaven at which time he will judge the living and the dead in accordance with his Word. We believe Jesus is both Lord and Savior, the only mediator between God and people. (John 1:1-3, 14; Matthew 1:18-25; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; Matthew 20:28; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:28; 2 Timothy 2:8; Matthew 28:18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25-26)

God the Holy Spirit

We believe God the Holy Spirit is a person, fully God in every way and sharing in all of the divine perfections. He superintended creation, was the agent of the virgin birth of Jesus, is the divine source of God’s written word, convicts the world concerning sin and judgment, testifies to the saving person and work of Jesus, and is the sovereign agent in regeneration, drawing the unredeemed to repentance and faith in Jesus and baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ at the moment of salvation. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers for ministry, illuminates Scripture, and seals all believers in the faith, testifying to our spirits that we are children of God through faith in Jesus. (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 139:7-12; Luke 1:35; 2 Peter 1:21; John 16:8-14; 15:26; 3:5-8; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13-14, 17-18; Romans 8:9-10, 14-17)

Humanity

We believe that God created humankind, male and female, in his own image, for his glory. We believe that Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, sinned against God, and as a result they incurred the wages of sin, which is physical, spiritual, and eternal death. We believe that as a consequence of that first sin, every person is a sinner by nature and a sinner by choice and is therefore under the just condemnation of God. (Genesis 1:27; 2:17; 3; Psalm 86:9; Revelation 4:11; Romans 3:23; 5:12; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; John 8:24)

Salvation

We believe that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. Every person who repents from sin and trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and been spiritually reborn, made new creations, freed from the bondage of sin and condemnation, and granted eternal life. We believe salvation is wholly by the grace of God through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ—his perfect obedience and substitutionary death on the cross—and not on the basis of human merit or works. (Titus 3:3-7; Mark 1:15; Romans 5:1; John 1:12=13; 3:3-8, 16-18, 36; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:4-9; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:1-2, 9, 31-39; 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, 21; Romans 6:5-11)

The Church

We believe that all people across all times and places who believe and follow the Lord Jesus Christ are members of the one united spiritual body of which Christ is the head, which is termed the “universal church.” The purpose of the church is to glorify God by building its members up in the faith, by instruction of the word, by fellowship, by keeping the ordinances (baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world. We also believe in the local church, an assembly of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a profession of faith, who join together for worship, prayer, service, discipleship, fellowship, and evangelism. (Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:9; 10:16-17; 12:12-27; 14:26; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:19-22; 3:10; 4:4-6; 5:23-32; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 20:28; Hebrews 10:24-25)

Last Things

We believe that Jesus will visibly return in power and glory to judge the living and the dead. At the last day, when Jesus returns, both the saved and unsaved will be resurrected from the grave—the saved unto the resurrection of life with Christ in the new heavens and new earth, and the unsaved unto the resurrection of eternal damnation and separation from God. (Matthew 16:27; 24:30-31; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Job 19:25-26; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; Titus 2:13; 2 Timothy 4:1; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6, 11-15; 21:1-5; Daniel 12:2)

Ultimate Authority

This Statement of Beliefs does not comprehensively set forth the extent of our faith and doctrine. We believe that the Bible is the sole and final source and highest authority of all we believe. Scripture therefore presents the unchanging and eternal truth on all matters of faith, morality, the proper conduct of humankind, and the conduct of our worship. (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; John 17:17; Jude 3; Titus 1:9; Mark 13:31; Isaiah 55:11)

Credal Affirmations

The historic creeds and confessions of the Christian church present specific biblical statements upon which we stand united in the faith once for all delivered to the saints. While creeds do not have the authority of Scripture, they exist to summarize and affirm key aspects of the Christian faith. We affirm the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Five Solas of the Protestant Reformation (We are saved by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, according to Scripture Alone, to the Glory of God Alone).

Confession of Faith

Confessions help remind us that our primary task is not to discover or create new doctrines; rather, we are called “to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). While no historic confession supplants the ultimate authority of Scripture, confessions do present guardrails for right Christian belief and practice and provide clear statements of theology worked out among faithful people throughout the ages. While Christ Our Redeemer Community Church is not officially a Baptist church, we believe that the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 (the 1689 Confession) presents an excellent body of divinity, our view being summed up nicely by Charles Spurgeon's preface to the 1689 Confession:

"This little volume is not issued as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be fettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness. Here the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity in small compass, and by means of Scriptural proofs, will be ready to give an account for the hope that is in them. Be not ashamed of your faith...Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you."

The Elders of Christ Our Redeemer Community Church broadly affirm the 1689 Confession, while in the spirit of unity, our members can and do hold differing views within the boundaries of historic Christian orthodoxy.

Our Pastor

J.T. loves the Lord Jesus Christ and is passionate about studying Scripture, making disciples, and preaching and teaching the full counsel of God. He has served as senior pastor and in other leadership and teaching positions at several churches prior to planting Christ Our Redeemer Community Church.

J.T. earned an MDiv from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds a JD from Vanderbilt Law School and a BA in business from the University of Washington. He has been married to Laura for over 30 years. Together, they have three children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.

J.T. Young
Senior Pastor

EMAIL PASTOR J.T.

What to Expect

Welcome to Christ Our Redeemer Community Church. We’re glad you’re here and hope we can help answer your questions and fill in any gaps. We especially look forward to having you join us to worship Jesus and live life together in Christ.

We are a new church, and our first worship service was January 14, 2024. You can expect a modest gathering that will have an intimate feel to it. We aim to love and serve one another, assembling as family in and through Jesus Christ. Where the Lord takes us in the future, we do not know, but we are exceedingly grateful that God has provided a place for us to worship.

Pastor J.T. is an expository preacher, which is a fancy way of saying that he preaches through a book of the Bible explaining and applying each verse along the way. This differs from topical preaching that might move across various books and passages of the Bible to preach on themes (e.g., love, grace).

Our gathering for worship is all about glorifying God and expressing gratitude for his mercy and grace in saving us and caring for us every moment of every day. We don’t attend church to receive affirmation for the way we have chosen to live our lives, but, rather, to learn and be reminded of what Jesus has done to save us and what he desires of us as God’s children.

Many times we find great encouragement in his expressions of love for us, but other times we may be challenged by the high calling of being a follower of the Lord Jesus. We can only know God and what it means to be obedient to him through the study and application of his Word. That’s the approach that Pastor J.T. will take each Sunday, preaching from the Bible and bringing to light the full counsel of God.

We hold a simple service with announcements, Scripture reading, prayer, worship songs, the sermon, and a closing worship song. We hope to get a chance to meet you and learn more about you!