Statement of Faith
The following are the core beliefs of Ridge View Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
The sole basis of our beliefs is the Bible, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe the Bible is unique in that it was inspired by the Holy Spirit. It was without error in the original manuscripts and has been passed down to us with great accuracy. It is the supreme and final authority in faith and life in this age. It is to be believed as God’s instruction in all that it teaches, obeyed as God’s command in all that it requires, and trusted as God’s pledge in all that it promises.
We believe there is but one God, everywhere present, infinite in power and knowledge, perfect in justice, goodness, and love; Creator of the universe, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom possesses all the attributes of Deity and the characteristics of personality. The Father sustains and sovereignly rules over all things and providentially brings about His eternal good purposes.
We believe that God created the first man and woman in His own image to love, know and glorify Him, and He appointed them to rule and care for the earth. They lived in perfect relationship with God and each other. God instituted marriage, which is the life-long union of one man and one woman and the foundation for bearing and raising children in a family.
We believe the first man and woman doubted God’s goodness and rebelled against Him. In judgment, God brought death into the world, and creation fell from its state of perfection and has come under the curse of sin. Since then, all human beings are born with a corrupted nature and without spiritual life and are incapable of attaining eternal life apart from Christ.
We believe God the Father, by His own choice, for His own glory, and out of love for sinful men and women, sent his Son, Jesus, the Christ, into the world to reconcile sinners to Himself. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He was God in the flesh, both true God and true man. Jesus lived a sinless life and voluntarily suffered and died as our substitute to pay the penalty for our sins, thus satisfying God’s justice and declaring righteous all those who trust in Him alone.
On the third day after His crucifixion, God raised Jesus from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He lived and died. He bodily ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and man, makes intercession for His own. He is seated at the right hand of the Father and one day, he will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords.
We believe a person is freed from the penalty of sin not as a result, in whole or in part, of their own works, goodness, or religious observances, but by the undeserved favor of God alone which was given through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God forgives and accepts all who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation.
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, and He has come into the world to reveal and glorify Christ, to convict men and women of their sins, and to impart new life to all who place their faith in Christ. He permanently indwells believers from the moment of spiritual birth, places them into the Body of Christ, guides them into truth through the inspiration and illumination of Scripture, endows them with gifts for the edification of the church and the fulfillment of the Great Commission, and empowers them to live a life pleasing to God.
Because the work of salvation is a work of God from beginning to end, we believe a disciple of Jesus can be fully assured that God will complete the work He has begun in them. At the moment of salvation, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit, who is God’s deposit, guaranteeing their eternal inheritance. Good works are not the basis for acceptance by God, but as believers grow in doing good, they grow in their assurance that they are truly children of God and that they will be with the Lord when they die.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ will physically return to earth to reign in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment. The righteous will receive immortal bodies and be welcomed into eternal fellowship with God in a world where all things will be made new.
We believe all true believers make up the Church worldwide as God’s family. As the Body of Christ, they should regularly gather together for worship, prayer, fellowship, serving one another, and teaching in order to become conformed to the image of Christ and to become equipped to carry out the “Great Commission” that Christ gave His followers in Matthew 28.
We believe baptism and the Lord’s Supper (commonly called communion) are symbolic acts commemorating Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Jesus commanded that those who believe in Him are to be baptized in water as a declaration of faith and a symbol of new birth in Christ. He also instructed His followers to regularly partake in the Lord’s Supper as a proclamation of his death and resurrection.