What We Teach.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
At Impact Community Church we teach that...
Sola Scriptura~ The phrase sola scriptura is from the Latin: sola having the idea of “alone,” and the word scriptura meaning “writings”—referring to the Scriptures. Sola scriptura means that Scripture alone is authoritative for the faith and practice of the Christian. The Bible is complete, authoritative, and true. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Word of God is the only authority for the Christian faith. Traditions are valid only when they are based on Scripture and are in full agreement with Scripture. Traditions that contradict the Bible are not of God and are not a valid aspect of the Christian faith. Sola scriptura is the only way to avoid subjectivity and keep personal opinion from taking priority over the teachings of the Bible. The essence of sola scriptura is basing your spiritual life on the Bible alone and rejecting any tradition or teaching that is not in full agreement with the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:15 declares, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
Sola scriptura points us back to what God has revealed to us in His Word. Sola scriptura ultimately points us back to the God who always speaks the truth, never contradicts Himself, and always proves Himself to be dependable. Only the Bible was “inspired by God” (2 Peter 1:20-21).
Biblical Hermeneutics~ which is the study of the principles and methods of interpreting the text of the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:15 commands believers to be involved in hermeneutics. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to help us learn how to properly interpret, understand, and apply the Bible to our lives.
Biblical hermeneutics is all about finding the correct interpretation of the inspired text. The purpose of biblical hermeneutics is to protect us from misapplying Scripture or allowing bias to color our understanding of truth. God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). We want to see the truth, know the truth, and live the truth as best we can, and that’s why biblical hermeneutics is vital.
Creation ~ God’s revelation of Himself and His will for mankind is the beginning of the creation story. In this beginning, God created everything in the universe (Genesis 1:1). All of creation was completed in six days in all its vast array and wondrous beauty. God announced that His creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). The seventh day is marked by God’s resting. The “rest” does not suggest that God was tired; rather, His “rest” was simply a cessation of work. God was done, and the universe was just as He wanted it to be. God formed man from the dust of the earth He had previously created. After forming man’s body, God breathed life—a soul—into him. Eve was made from Adam’s rib, and when God brought Eve to Adam, the man immediately understood that she was special. She was his counterpart, his complement, and flesh of his flesh (Genesis 2:23).
God made both Adam and Eve in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). The Bible’s creation account establishes the family as the basic building block of society (Genesis 1:24; cf. Matthew 19:5–6). As a God-ordained institution, marriage is to be only between one man and one woman.
God ~ God is “the Supreme Being; the Creator and Ruler of all that is; the Self-Existent One who is perfect in power, goodness, and wisdom.” God is spirit, by nature intangible (John 4:24). God is One, but He exists as three Persons—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:16-17). God is infinite (1 Timothy 1:17), incomparable (2 Samuel 7:22), and unchanging (Malachi 3:6). God exists everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12), knows everything (Psalm 147:5; Isaiah 40:28), and has all power and authority (Ephesians 1; Revelation 19:6).
God is just (Acts 17:31), loving (Ephesians 2:4-5), truthful (John 14:6), and holy (1 John 1:5). God shows compassion (2 Corinthians 1:3), mercy (Romans 9:15), and grace (Romans 5:17). God judges sin (Psalm 5:5) but also offers forgiveness (Psalms 130:4).
God created the world (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 42:5); He actively sustains the world (Colossians 1:17); He is executing His eternal plan (Ephesians 1:11) which involves the redemption of man from the curse of sin and death (Galatians 3:13-14); He draws people to Christ (John 6:44); He disciplines His children (Hebrews 12:6); and He will judge the world (Revelation 20:11-15).
In the Person of the Son, God became incarnate (John 1:14). The Son of God became the Son of Man and is therefore the “bridge” between God and man (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). It is only through the Son that we can have forgiveness of sins (Ephesians 1:7), reconciliation with God (John 15:15; Romans 5:10), and eternal salvation (2 Timothy 2:10). In Jesus Christ “all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9). So, to really know who God, all we have to do is look at Jesus.
Total Depravity ~ total depravity is an acknowledgement that the Bible teaches that as a result of the fall of man (Genesis 3:6) every part of man—his mind, will, emotions and flesh—have been corrupted by sin. In other words, sin affects all areas of our being including who we are and what we do. It penetrates to the very core of our being so that everything is tainted by sin and “…all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). It acknowledges that the Bible teaches that we sin because we are sinners by nature. Or, as Jesus says, “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.” (Matthew 7:17-18). Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19; John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” (Romans 8:7).
Properly understood, the doctrine of total depravity will destroy the hopes of those who place their faith in any type of works-based system of salvation and will recognize that God’s sovereign grace is man’s only hope. While the doctrine of total depravity destroys man’s self-righteousness and any misconceptions about man’s ability to be saved through his own free will, it leaves one asking the same question the disciples asked of Jesus in Matthew 19:25-26: “Then who can be saved?” Of course the answer remains the same: “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:25-26).
Salvation ~ Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone as recorded in Scripture alone for the glory of God alone. Since Scripture is very clear that all of man is affected by sin and so much so that “no one seeks after God,” then how can anyone possibly become a Christian? The answer is that God must overcome man’s depravity in such a way that man is able to recognize his spiritual state and his hopeless condition apart from the grace of God. Man’s spiritually blind eyes must be open and the bondage of sin that renders him hopelessly enslaved must be broken so that he can respond in faith to the gospel message and the atoning work of Christ on the cross. We believe that for a man, who is “dead in trespasses and sins”, to be able to understand and respond to the Gospel in faith, he must first be born again or regenerated by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3). It is only after God infuses spiritual life into a dead sinner that he can “see the kingdom of God.” Those that hold this view see this as being a sovereign act of God, whereby men are born again “not of the blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). The word “salvation” concerns an eternal, spiritual deliverance. Jesus equated being saved with entering the kingdom of God (Matthew 19:24-25). In the Christian doctrine of salvation, we are saved from “wrath,” that is, from God’s judgment of sin (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:9). Our sin has separated us from God, and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Biblical salvation refers to our deliverance from the consequence of sin and therefore involves the removal of sin. Only God can remove sin and deliver us from sin’s penalty
(2 Timothy 1:9; Titus 3:5). God has rescued us through Christ (John 3:17). Specifically, it was Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection that achieved our salvation (Romans 5:10; Ephesians 1:7). Scripture is clear that salvation is the gracious, undeserved gift of God (Ephesians 2:5, 8) and is only available through faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
How do we receive salvation? We are saved by faith. First, we must hear the gospel—the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection (Ephesians 1:13). Then, we must believe—fully trust the Lord Jesus (Romans 1:16). This involves repentance, a changing of mind about sin and Christ (Acts 3:19), and calling on the name of the Lord (Romans 10:9-10, 13).
Baptism of the Holy Spirit ~ God places the believer into union with Christ and into union with other believers in the body of Christ at the moment of conversion. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not, as some suppose, an experiential “Second Blessing” post-conversion which happens to only “elite” Christians resulting in their ability to speak in tongues. It is not an experiential event but a positional event. It is a fact, not a feeling. The Bible never commands us to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. This indicates that all believers have had this experience.
Ephesians 4:5 seems to refer to Spirit baptism. If this is the case, Spirit baptism is the reality for every believer, just as “one faith” and “one Father” are.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit does two things, 1) it joins us to the body of Christ, and 2) it actualizes our co-crucifixion with Christ. Being in His body means we are risen with Him to newness of life (Romans 6:4). We should then exercise our spiritual gifts to keep that body functioning properly as stated in the context of 1 Corinthians 12:13. Experiencing the one Spirit baptism serves as the basis for keeping the unity of the church, as in the context of Ephesians 4:5. Being associated with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection through Spirit baptism establishes the basis for our separation from the power of indwelling sin and our walk in newness of life (Romans 6:1-10; Colossians 2:12).
Election ~ The Bible teaches that God chooses people based on His own purposes and His desire to show grace to underserving sinners. Ephesians 1:4–6 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.” He chose in love, in accordance with His pleasure and will, so that He would be glorified. God’s election has nothing to do with what the elect would or would not do. Election is the gracious act of God by which He chooses to redeem some of mankind for Himself and as a gift to the Son (John 6:37; 10:29; 17:6; Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Timothy 2:10). God’s sovereign election does not undo man’s accountability before God (John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23). God did not choose everyone. If He had, then everyone would come to faith in Christ. He chose some, and He left others to their own desires. Left to ourselves, all of us would continue in our rebellion and reject Christ. God chose to pursue some, convict them of their need, and lead them to faith. It is because of God’s choice that anyone comes to faith in Christ. Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:44).
Many Christians recoil at the doctrine of election the first time they hear it. But, upon further reflection, most believers will admit that God was at work in their lives, drawing them to Himself long before they were even aware of it. They will recognize that, if He had not intervened, they would have continued in unbelief.
Some object to the doctrine of election on the grounds that it stifles missionary and evangelistic activity. After all, if God has chosen to save some, then they will be saved whether or not anyone takes them the gospel—so why bother? This objection overlooks the truth that hearing and believing the gospel is the means that God uses to save those He has chosen to save. Paul believed and taught election (it is a New Testament doctrine), yet he was zealous like no other in his missionary endeavors. Because he knew that God had chosen to save people through the gospel, Paul proclaimed it boldly and was persecuted for it. He explains, “I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:10). Paul endured persecution so that the elect will be saved, because the elect cannot be saved without hearing and believing the gospel. Through evangelism, God allows people to participate in His great plan of drawing a people unto Himself from every nation and language on earth. It is a right understanding of the doctrine of election that gives confidence to our public preaching and personal evangelism knowing that it is God and God alone who convicts and regenerates men’s hearts. Conversions are not dependent upon our eloquence of speech or creative marketing techniques. God uses the proclamation of His Gospel to save those who are His from the foundation of the world.
Justification ~ Justification is God’s declaring those who receive Christ to be righteous, based on Christ’s righteousness being imputed to the accounts of those who receive Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Though justification as a principle is found throughout Scripture, the main passage describing justification in relation to believers is Romans 3:21-26. We are justified, declared righteous, at the moment of our salvation. Justification does not make us righteous, but rather pronounces us righteous. Our righteousness comes from placing our faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice covers our sin, allowing God to see us as perfect and unblemished. Because as believers we are in Christ, God sees Christ’s own righteousness when He looks at us. This meets God’s demands for perfection; thus, He declares us righteous—He justifies us. It is because of justification that the peace of God can rule in our lives. It is because of justification that believers can have assurance of salvation. It is the fact of justification that enables God to begin the process of sanctification—the process by which God makes us in reality what we already are positionally. “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Eternal Security ~ The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand" (John 10:28-29b). Both Jesus and the Father have us firmly grasped in their hand.
When people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their eternal security. Jude 24 declares, "To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy." God’s power is able to keep the believer from falling. It is up to Him, not us, to present us before His glorious presence. Our eternal security is a result of God keeping us, not us maintaining our own salvation. Some object to this doctrine because, they claim, it leads to an “easy believism.” Rightly understood, this is not true. For all of those people – and there are many – who make a “profession of faith” at some point in life but later walk away from Christ and show no evidence of genuine conversion, then it is our position that they were never genuinely saved in the first place. They were false converts (1 John 2:19).
The Church ~ The church is the assembly of believers who have repented of sins and placed their trust in Christ and have, therefore, been placed by the Holy Spirit into the spiritual Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). The church is the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23; Revelation 19:7-8) and He is her Head (Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; Colossians 1:18).
The church is to teach biblical doctrine so we can be grounded in our faith. Ephesians 4:14 tells us, “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.” The church is to be a place of fellowship, where Christians can be devoted to one another and honor one another (Romans 12:10), instruct one another (Romans 15:14), be kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32), encourage one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11), and most importantly, love one another (1 John 3:11).
The church should have and practice the two ordinances of believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:38-42) as well as practice church discipline (Matthew 18:15-20). Any church that does not have these three disciplines is not a true biblical church.
Paul gave an excellent illustration to the believers in Corinth. The church is God’s hands, mouth, and feet in this world—the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). We are to be doing the things that Jesus Christ would do if He were here physically on the earth. The church is to be “Christian,” “Christ-like,” and Christ-following. The chief purpose of the church, just as the chief purpose of man, is to glorify God (Ephesians 3:21).
Spiritual Gifts ~ Romans 12:3-8 and 1 Corinthians chapter 12 make it clear that each Christian is given spiritual gifts according to the Lord’s choice. Spiritual gifts are given for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:7, 14:12). There are, broadly speaking, two kinds of gifts:
1) the miraculous (Apostolic) gifts of tongues, interpretation of tongues, divine revelation and physical healing and 2) the ministering gifts of prophecy (forth-telling, not foretelling), service, teaching, leading, exhortation, giving, mercy and helps.
We believe the Apostolic gifts are no longer in operation today as evidenced by both the Bible (1 Corinthians 13:8, 12; Galatians 4:13; 1 Timothy 5:23) and the vast majority of the testimony of church history. The function of the Apostolic gifts has already been fulfilled and they are, therefore, unnecessary. The Bible is completely sufficient for the individual believer and corporate body of Christ to know God’s will and obey it. The ministering gifts are still in operation today.
As we seek to serve God out of love for the purpose of building up others for His glory, He will bring glory to His name, grow His church, and reward us (1 Corinthians 3:5-8, 12:31–14:1). God promises that as we make Him our delight, He will give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4-5). This would surely include preparing us to serve Him in a way that will bring us purpose and satisfaction.
End times (Eschatology)~
1. Rapture – Christ will bodily return before the 7-year Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 4:16) to remove believers from the earth (1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-5:11).
2. Tribulation – Immediately following the removal of believers from the earth, God will judge it in righteous wrath (Daniel 9:27; 12:1; 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 12). At the end of this 7 year period, Christ will return to the earth in glory (Matthew 24:27, 31; 25:31, 46; 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 12)
3. Second Coming – After the 7 year Tribulation, Christ will return to occupy the throne of David (Matthew 25:31; Acts 1:11; 2:29-30). He will then establish His literal messianic kingdom to reign for a literal thousand years on the earth (Revelation 20:1,7) which will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel (Isaiah 65:17, 25; Ezekiel 37:21, 28; Zechariah 8:1,17) to restore them to the land which they forfeited through their disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15, 68). This thousand year millennial kingdom will brought to its culmination with the release of Satan (Revelation 20:7)
4. Judgment – Once released, Satan will deceive the nations and lead them into battle against the saints of God and Christ. Satan and all those who follow him will be destroyed and cast into the lake of fire, specifically, Hell (Revelation 20: 9-10) and will consciously suffer God’s active judgment for all of eternity.
Those who are positionally and relationally in Christ will be eternally in the presence of the Triune God in a new earth upon which the new heavenly city, the New Jerusalem, will descend (Isaiah 52:1; Revelation 21:2). This is the eternal state. There will be no sin, no sickness, no disease, no sorrow, no pain. As the redeemed of God we will no longer know in part but in full. We will no longer see dimly but will see face to face. We will worship God fully and enjoy Him forever.
2 Timothy 1:13-14
“Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”