Grace
We come from many countries and church backgrounds. This could tempt us to seek the lowest common denominator to “maintain unity.”
But this would be a mistake. Unity never comes at the expense of truth. Jesus wisely declared “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). This age of relativism makes it even more important for us to declare what we believe, even if it causes some not to join us. But we seek not to go too far here. Otherwise we would become a church of legalism rather than grace.
Articles of Faith
To assure a common core of belief and avoid future doctrinal controversy, all teachers, preachers, and members of Crossroads must agree to the following basics of the Christian faith from Article 4 of our Constitution:
4.1 God – The one true God coexists eternally in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who share the same attributes in one indivisible nature. He alone deserves our worship and service (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19-20).
4.2 Jesus Christ – Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God who is at the same time very God and very man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life but suffered and died in the place of sinful man, was buried, resurrected, ascended bodily into heaven, and will return one day in power and authority to earth to establish His earthly kingdom (John 1:1-14; 14:1-3; Philippians 2:5-11; Revelation 5:10; 19:11–20:6).
4.3 The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit is God who is actively at work in the world. He dwells permanently in every Christian, helps us to pray, equips and empowers us to serve God, strengthens and molds us to be more like Christ, and protects us to guarantee our eternal life (Acts 5:3-4; Romans 8:14-16, 26; Ephesians 1:13-14).
4.4 Angels & Demons – Angels are the innumerable and unseen ministering spirits who serve the causes of God and His people. Satan and demons are fallen and doomed angels who promote evil and oppose God’s purposes to lead men astray, while other angels are “bound in everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day” (Hebrews 1:14; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6).
4.5 Man – Man was originally created sinless in God’s image but through the first man Adam, all mankind sinned, became condemned and separated from God and rendered totally unable to gain God’s favor of forgiveness and eternal life by self-effort (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 5:12-14).
4.6 The Bible – The Bible is the inspired Word of God written without error, our only sure source of knowledge about God and His plans, and our absolute guide for doctrinal teaching and godly living (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
4.7 Salvation – Salvation is God’s act of forgiving sin based on the shed blood of Christ, reconciling people to Him, and giving eternal life to those who believe in Jesus. To be saved from the power and eternal penalty of sin, a person must admit that he/she is a sinner, repent and believe that Jesus died and rose again, and receive the Lord Jesus Christ personally as the only Savior. As a result, that person receives a new nature and becomes a true born-again Christian. Salvation is not a reward for good works but a free gift of God received by faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:3-8; 1 John 5:11-13).
4.8 The Church – The Church is the universal Body of Christ consisting of all born-again Christians made one by the indwelling Holy Spirit. The local church exists for the corporate worship of God, prayer, teaching God’s Word, fellowship among believers, evangelism of a needy world and acts of Christian compassion. Crossroads is a unique local church serving the expatriate and local communities and where the members are born-again believers who agree to abide by the Articles of Faith (cf. Article 4) and Church Covenant (cf. Article 5.4.8). All members of Crossroads and those members of the universal Church who are not members of Crossroads may partake of the symbols of Christ as expressed in the Lord’s Supper(Acts 2:42; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; 12:13).
4.9 The End Times – At death the spirits and souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and remain there in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the glorified body when Christ comes for His own. However, the souls and spirits of the unbelieving remain after death conscious of condemnation and in misery until the final judgment of the great white throne at the close of the millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to undergo punishment eternally. Jesus Christ will come again to reign with believers on earth for 1000 years and to reward God’s people with life with Him forever in the new heaven and earth (Luke 16:19-26; 23:42-43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; Revelation 19:11-21; 20:1-4, 11-14).
Statements
People often want to know where Crossroads stands on certain issues. So download these pdfs if you want to see how we understand the Bible on various issues.
