The core of our belief is the simple faith that God’s own Word, given to us through the Bible, points to His Son as Savior of the world. As Martin Luther summarized; "Grace Alone, Faith Alone and Scripture Alone."
Grace Alone: God loves us unconditionally. We do not have to seek Him, come to Him or do anything to earn His love. The fact is that we don’t seek Him or come to Him and will not/cannot do what His law really requires! The meaning of grace is that God recognizes this, yet still gives us His love as a free gift, never because of anything we do or say, but through the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. No strings attached. It is this grace, freely given, that “saves” us. Only God Himself can restore our relationship with Him through his Son, Jesus Christ..
Faith Alone: Faith means the same thing as trust. We must trust that we receive God’s grace through Jesus. Faith/trust is confidence in the promise God makes to us; a confidence that can never be conjured up through emotions, but can come only from outside ourselves. Faith is the Holy Spirit working in our hearts, allowing us to rely on God’s promise. This promise is that He will forgive all we have and will do against Him and one another, and give us the sure hope of new life in Jesus.
Scripture Alone: In the Bible, God reveals His grace and builds our faith. These sacred Words are, quite simply, all about Jesus and His victory for us on the cross. More than just a book, it is the very Word of God in which he reveals Himself to us. It is through these words that our understanding and relationship with God are formed and the path that he designed for our lives is made clear. Scripture alone is our only source and resource for discovering God’s infinite grace and the practice of our faith.
In his letter to the church in Ephesis the apostle Paul wrote: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." EPHESIANS 2:8-10
