Our Common Beliefs
Instead of making you scroll through one large page, we thought it’d be good to categorize 3 areas of belief:
Our Common Beliefs
You can be assured that BCC is not some weird cult. Did you know, at last count, there are around 38,000 Christian denominations? If the counter is doing their job right, then every one of these churches should hold these beliefs in common.
This page will give you a feel for our personality, and the things we love to emphasize.
We recognized that you may want to know even more about our thinking and practice. This page covers topics that we may not even agree on within BCC, but are nonetheless tools for growth, humility, and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ.
There are some beliefs within the Christian Church that are non-negotiable. These are essential to any church, if they are truly to be called “Christian,” and we whole-heartedly embrace them with joy. In pointing out these essential beliefs we both celebrate our common unity with all Christian churches and denominations, and we communicate how Christ’s church is different from the many world religions, and the various groups that appear to be Christian, but are not. We point out these distinctions, humbly recognizing that we hold to the truth only because of God’s grace, and we pray that Christ’s church will demonstrate His love to all who believe otherwise.
Our common beliefs are not limited to the many churches throughout the world today. We are also connected to those who have defended the faith throughout church history. With this in mind, we not only voice our beliefs as a local body, but we recommend that you read some of the historic creeds, as well as an excellent modern-day confession put together by The Gospel Coalition.
The Bible
We believe the Old and New Testaments, which make up the Holy Scriptures, are God’s one and only special revelation. This is the final authority for faith and life, not to be added to or subtracted from. These are the very words of God, inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13).
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – with the same attributes and perfections, yet distinct in person and role. In unity, each member of the Godhead is co-eternal in being, co-eternal in nature, and co-equal in power and glory (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God (John 1:1-2) who took on flesh (John 1:14); that is, he became a man without ceasing to be God. Having been conceived by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary, Jesus was born without sin, and lived in perfect obedience to God the Father. Jesus accomplished our redemption through his death on the cross because, being fully man, he was able to represent us and take our sin upon himself as our substitutionary sacrifice. God’s acceptance of his sacrifice was made clear by his physical resurrection from the dead, and our union to Christ through faith enables God to justly forgive us and impute Jesus’ perfect righteousness to us (Romans 3:24; 1 Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:3-5). We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, in a position of power and authority, where he daily works as our great High Priest, interceding on our behalf so that we might draw near to God (Heb 7:22-25). We believe Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:9; 2 Timothy 4:1).
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead who convicts the world of sin and righteousness. He is the Spirit who sovereignly brings about our second birth (John 3:3-9), baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, and indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18).
The Total Depravity of Man
If mankind were not hopelessly lost and spiritually dead, then Jesus’ death would not be necessary for our salvation, and he would only be a good example for us to follow. A denial of total depravity is in essence a denial of our need for the gospel. Because of Adam’s sin, all of his descendants inherited a sinful nature that left us alienated from God and willfully rebellious to His rightful authority as Creator. Left to ourselves we are unable to remedy our lost condition. We need Jesus’ substitutionary sacrifice and the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. Being totally depraved does not mean we are as bad as we can possibly be; instead, it means sin has had its effect on every part of our being, resulting in our utter inability to be saved apart from God’s initial, intervening grace (Genesis 1:26, 26; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace (unmerited favor) and received by faith in the one and only Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. Our salvation from the just punishment of God is by his precious blood, shed for the forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 2:8-10, John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).