A dad baptizing his young daughter in the Kasilof River during a Summit Church takeover event.
Bold white text on a black background states: 'WHAT WE BELIEVE'.

MISSION STATEMENT

We know Jesus deeply, love one another zealously, and proclaim His Word faithfully to reach generations in Anchorage and unreached people with unshakeable joy in Christ.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Who is GOD?

In Exodus 3:14, God introduced Himself as, "I AM WHO I AM". This statement is the only appropriate descriptor for the transcendent God who exists beyond humanity’s limited capacity to comprehend. As Creator, He is incomparable to all things that are created. However, over the millennia God has revealed attributes about Himself through His Word. The following characteristics of God are listed to capture a glimpse of what we hold to be true about God as He has revealed Himself.

  • Several passages in Scripture reveal that there is only one true God and that He is one entity. Isaiah 46:9 "... for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me". Deuteronomy 4:35, "To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him." 1 Timothy 2:5, "For there is one God...".

  • This three-in-one doctrine is traditionally called the Trinity. The Bible does not contain the word "trinity” but attests to the existence of one God and to the co-eternal, preeminent existence of all three "persons". John 14:15-17 provides an episode where Jesus speaks directly of the Father and the Spirit as distinct entities under the headship of the Father, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you."

  • The Father is God and often appears in Scripture as the Head of the Trinity. In John 5:19, Jesus acknowledged that His own authority was derived from the Father, "So Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.'" Jesus makes a similar statement in John 14:31, "but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father...".

  • Scripture clearly speaks of Jesus' divinity in passages such as 1 John 1:1, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life...", and John 1:1-3, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made." These passages make very clear that Jesus is from the beginning, that He is Creator, and that He is God. Jesus alluded to His own divinity several times although He regularly communicated His divinity and Messiahship through parables. In Matthew 22:41-46 Jesus quoted David as saying that the Christ is David's Lord yet simultaneously the Christ is a Son of David. Jesus used this teaching as an opportunity to quiet the Jewish leaders who would have denied that the Christ was also God. Jesus placed himself on the same level as both the Father and the Holy Spirit in the Great Commission by telling His disciples in Matthew 28:19 to baptize people "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". Jesus claimed in Luke 24:44 that the Old Testament Scriptures were about Him, "Then he said to them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" Jesus also said in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me", and in John 5:46, "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me". That Jesus personally claimed to be the subject of "The Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms" is clear that He was declaring Himself to be God.

  • Scripture provides less details on the person of the Holy Spirit than the other two Persons of the Trinity, but the illumination provided by Scripture clearly identifies the Holy Spirit as - 1) distinct from the Father and Son, 2) a personal entity who is a "helper", can be "grieved", and bears a name by which Christians should be baptized, and 3) is also God. John 14:15-17 is one episode where the Father, Son, and Spirit are each distinct from one another, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." Ephesians 4:30 affirms the distinct personhood of the Holy Spirit who can be grieved, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Acts 5:1-11 records the sin and death of a husband and wife but also reveals the deity of the Holy Spirit. In verse 3 Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…” Then, immediately following in verse 4 Peter stated, “You have not lied to man but to God.” This reveals that lying to the Holy Spirit equates to lying to God, affirming the deity of the Holy Spirit.

  • Scripture tells us in 1 John 4:7-8, "let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." By this statement and the many other commands to love, expectations of love, and examples of love in Scripture we derive that we cannot properly know love without knowing God, and God is the perfect example of love. As followers of Christ, we are to emphasize love as the central motivation for all other acts. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” We hold that any version of so-called-love that disagrees with Scripture’s revelation of God is incompatible with the authentic embodiment of love.

  • There is an absolute standard of good and evil, and the standard for good is God Himself. The Psalmist says in Psalm 92:15 that the righteous "declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." In Mark 10:19 Jesus spoke with a young man who called Jesus "Good Teacher". Jesus’s response to the man acknowledged that God is good and alluded to Jesus' own divinity, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." Because God is good and immutable (see below) we hold that God is always good.

  • Everything that exists does so under the sovereign authority and control of God. God’s sovereignty is not subordinate to or permissive of any form of self-determination outside of Himself. Within God’s sovereignty is a perfect plan that pre-exists creation. As a good, omniscient, and sovereign God, we trust that God’s sovereign plan is the best of all possible outcomes. We see evidence of God’s sovereignty over all things throughout Scripture.

    God is sovereign over the hearts of man. Proverbs 21:1 says, “The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.” In Exodus 10:9, God warned Moses that Pharaoh would not listen to him, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.’” Immediately following God fulfilled His plan in Exodus 10:10, “the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.”

    God is sovereign over the schemes of the enemy, whom God uses as the adversary to accomplish God’s perfect will. In Job 1:8 it was God who suggested to Satan to consider Job, “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job’”. The following episodes in the life of Job show that Satan is only permitted to interfere within the exact limitations which God ordains. Job 1:12 says, “And the LORD said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.’”

    God is sovereign over humanity’s free will. Humanity has a will that is entirely perceptible as self-determinative although it is ultimately subject to God’s sovereign proclamation. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”

    God is sovereign over the elect of His Church. Ephesians 1:11 says, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will…” Jesus foretold of the eventual ordinance of communion then told His disciples in John 6:64-65, “’But there are some of you who do not believe.’ (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him) And he said, ‘This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.’” Paul explained God’s sovereignty over election in Romans 9:1-28 with clear statements such as verse 11, “though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad – in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls”. Also, Romans 9:15-16 says, “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.’ So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.”

  • God is the eternal Judge who will exact judgement on all creation, Ecclesiastes 3:17 says, "God will judge the righteous and the wicked". As the only perfect Judge, ultimate judgement of the wicked is reserved for only God as Paul stated in Romans 12:19, "never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" The judgement of God is a joyous occasion that is welcomed by those who have received God’s gift of reconciliation and atonement as stated in Psalm 98:8-9, “Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.”

  • God knows all things past, present, and future. God knows all thoughts. God knows all things both on earth and in heaven. Psalm 139:4 says, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” Hebrews 4:13 also provides, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

  • God’s knowledge speaks of the vastness of His understanding, but God’s wisdom speaks to the goodness of His plan. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Because God is wise, we can trust that God’s plan is superior to any alternative plan that we could devise. Paul confirms this sentiment in 1 Corinthians 1:25, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

  • God has the power to do all that He pleases, and all that God pleases He does. Jeremiah 32:17 says, “Ah, LORD God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.” This statement acknowledges that there are no degrees of difficulty for God. All things are equally as easy or difficult under His complete power. God’s effort therefore is governed by His divine will, not by limitations upon His power or ability. Psalm 115:3 voices this by saying, “Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” Additionally, Ephesians 1:11 states, “In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

  • God does not change. He does not change His mind, His course, or His promises. Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

WhAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE BIBLE?

The Bible is verbally inspired by God, perfectly inerrant in its original manuscript, and authoritative for the giving of life and revelation of God. 

  • We hold that the authors of Scripture influenced the writing by their personality and vocabulary, but this was under the sovereign direction of God as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:20-21, "knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." Additionally, Paul claimed that God’s inspiration applies to all texts that are Scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” As God’s inspired text, Scripture holds unique qualities that can only be imbued by God Himself. God is omniscient, therefore Scripture is informed by omniscience although it is not omniscient itself. God does not lie, mislead, or change His mind, therefore Scripture is timeless in its truth. God is sovereign, therefore Scripture is prescriptive and authoritative on future events.

  • We hold that the original manuscripts of Scripture are without error, both Old and New Testament. Jesus taught that every small detail of the Old Testament was truth when He said in Matthew 5:18, "For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." In passages like Luke 24:44 Jesus endorsed all three sections of Old Testament Scripture by using the traditional division of Law, Prophets, and Psalms, "Then he said to them, 'These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.'" The New Testament alludes to its own inspiration, inerrancy, and authority. In 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter considered Paul's writing to be on par with the other Scriptures, "... as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures." The Book of Revelation claims its own inerrancy in transcription and leaves a rebuke to those who would edit the text. In Revelation 22:6, the angel that revealed things to John claimed, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” John then warned against alteration in Revelation 22:18-19, “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.” While those two texts specifically speak of the book of Revelation, when taken with other aforementioned texts, such as 2 Peter 3:15-16 and 2 Timothy 3:16, the general principle grants reasonable warrant for inerrancy in the inspiration and authorship of Scripture.

    Following the time of the Apostles, there was a period of time where the church circulated and collected the New Testament letters. As early as the writing of the Muratorian Fragment (possibly early as 170 A.D.) or at least the writings of Origen in the late 2nd - early 3rd Century there was a growing consensus within the church of the unique inspiration and authority of the 27-book New Testament. This 66-book collection of Old and New Testament has generally been accepted as the inspired and closed Canon within Christendom as God has sovereignly sustained it under the power of the Holy Spirit. We hold that as the text is inerrant in its original inspired form, that modern archaeological, critical study, and techniques like the Reasoned Eclectic Model have produced a near-flawless version of the original text. We hold that translations of the Hebrew and Greek texts to languages like English are useful for revealing God's power and do not hinder the transmission of the Living Word.

  • The Bible is the inspired Word of God, which then speaks with the authority of God in all matters that are considered in Scripture. The Gospel of John self attributes its power to reveal God in John 20:31, "these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John also attested to the authority and inspiration of Revelation in Revelation 1:1-2, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw." Paul also attested to His own unique Apostolic authority in 1 Corinthians 14:37, “If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.” The author of Hebrews adds in Hebrews 4:12, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

WhAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT JESUS?

As the founder and perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), Jesus is the head of the Church. We then hold that the following traits and attributes of Jesus are true and helpful for the Church to worship in Spirit and Truth.

  • This Statement of Faith has already shown the divinity of Jesus (see section Jesus is God). Scripture simultaneously reveals Jesus as fully man. Hebrews 2 speaks of God having subordinated Jesus for a time as lower than angels for the purpose of founding salvation through suffering. This passage culminates in Hebrews 2:17-18, “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” As fully God, Jesus could not be tempted by sin as James says in James 1:13, “…God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” Therefore, it was necessary for Jesus to become fully man to become a perfect sacrifice for many.

  • Jesus was uniquely born of a virgin in a manner which was excluded from the seed of man and therefore from the sin nature of man. Matthew 1:18 states, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” The virgin birth was prophesied by Isaiah in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Therefore, the virgin birth is essential for Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice and fulfills an important prophecy that could not be fulfilled outside of a miracle.

  • Although Jesus was tempted, He never sinned. Hebrews 4:15 states, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Because Jesus was perfectly sinless, He was the only possible sacrifice, the spotless Lamb of God.

  • Jesus’ death on a cross was God’s plan from before the foundation of the world. Luke attests to God’s ordaining and foreknowledge in Acts 2:23, “this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” Hebrews 12:2 states, “… for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…”. Jesus did not merely fall into an appearance of death, but fully died bodily as any other human body must die. Philippians 2:8 makes Jesus’ death clear, “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

  • After Jesus fully died, He remained dead until the third day, when He rose again. Paul attests to this clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.” Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead is proclaimed in Scripture to be an essential piece of doctrine for the Christian faith. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” Also in verse 17, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” In Romans 10:9, Paul considered faith in Jesus’ bodily resurrection as essential for salvation, “But if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.”

  • The Christian church exists because of Jesus and for Jesus. Colossians 1:15 states, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.” Since we are created for Him, we seek His guidance and direction in all things. God in Christ Jesus has prepared good works for His church to do, seeking and fulfilling those good works is the earthly ministry of the church, Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

  • Our faith in Jesus is not based solely upon past ministry and revelation, nor is it based solely upon the present leading of the Spirt or Jesus’ interceding on our behalf. Rather, our faith is also grounded on the future hope of significant events that include the eventual bodily return of Jesus. Immediately following His ascension, Luke attests in Acts 2:11 that angels promised the return of Jesus in the same way He ascended, “and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’” The return of Jesus will serve multiple purposes, such as gathering His church (Matthew 24:30-31 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man… and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels… and they will gather his elect…), the binding of Satan (Revelation 20:2, “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer…”) establishing Jesus’ full reign over creation (Revelation 20:4b, “They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years”), and judging the world (Revelation 20:11-12, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”). This future hope of the return of Jesus is called a blessing by Paul in his letter to Titus 2:13, “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” We therefore eagerly await the return of Jesus, knowing that until that return our hope is still not yet fully complete.

WhAT is salvation?

Jesus declared one of his primary motives for His earthly ministry, Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Salvation implies the existence of a threat from which we must be saved. We believe that there is a very real threat, the threat is vast in scope (all humanity) and overwhelming in consequence (eternal condemnation under God’s wrath). Therefore, the salvation of Jesus Christ relieves the greatest need for humanity. After salvation our greatest need is to glorify God, prior to salvation we cannot glorify God and can only desire salvation.

  • To sin is to violate God’s perfect standards of righteousness. Sin pre-exists the written Law of Moses, and therefore violates a standard of righteousness that is inherent to creation that is written on the heart of man. Sin entered into God’s perfect creation through the first man Adam. Genesis 3 captures the event of the first sin as having been instigated by Satan, first committed by Eve, but ultimately attributed to Adam. We believe the significance of Adam’s original sin was due to his being created in the image of God, with the breath of God, with dominion over creation. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” As the head of humanity, Adam was the guilty party for ruining creation by his federal headship and sin. Romans 5:17-19 states, “For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man… Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men… For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners…” We believe that original sin led to a guilt and consequence for all humanity thereafter, however all humanity is equally sinful in their own right. Romans 3:10-12 tells us that “none is righteous, no not one; no one understand; no one seeks God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Humanity takes pleasure in their sin nature as expressed by Paul in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” As pleasure seeking sinners, humanity is unable to please God while still in an unregenerate and condemned posture toward him, Romans 8:8 says, “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

  • We believe that God must and will pour out His wrath on sinners. God’s wrath is the just consequence for all humanity that remain in their sin. In Romans 5:9, Paul shows us the consequence from which Jesus has saved us, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” Jesus said in John 3:36 that those who do not receive His salvation remain in the consequence of God’s wrath, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Also, Paul says in Ephesians 2:3, “among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

  • We believe that Jesus died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins through a full penal substitutionary atonement. That atonement is on display in Romans 6:6, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Jesus took the wrath of God upon Himself rather than leaving the wrath of God on the elect of the church. Jesus then imputed His righteousness on the elect, elevating the church to position of great responsibility and glory in the Kingdom of God. Paul showed both the substitutionary atonement and imputed righteousness in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Therefore, we believe that for those who receive Jesus’ atonement, He has fully paid the penalty on our behalf.

  • We believe Jesus’ salvation is a gift of grace that was given freely by God without any effort or work of the recipient and it is evidenced by faith in the receiver of salvation. Paul makes this clear in Ephesians 2:8, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. We believe this conviction, the miracle of saving faith in Jesus can only be caused by the Spirit of God as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:3, “… no one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit’.” We can compare this statement with another statement by Paul in Romans 10:9 that, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Understanding then that salvation is a gift of grace, that it is acted upon or evidenced by faith, that faith is a conviction of things unseen, that no one can exercise this conviction or belief without the aid of the Holy Spirit, we then believe that salvation is an extraordinary gift bought by Jesus and superintended by His sovereign grace.

  • We believe that just as Jesus freely and unilaterally granted the gift of salvation to His elect, that Jesus also superintends that salvation indefinitely and cannot be lost or removed by human action or inaction. Jesus is actively interceding on behalf of His elect as Paul states in Romans 8:33-35, “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died – more than that, who was raised – who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?” Paul answers his own rhetorical question in verses 37-39, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” These two passages make clear that Christ’s grace and forgiveness are inseparable by anything within the created order. Paul also made clear that there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1), and those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Romans 8:30). Therefore, we live in the assurance of continued salvation that cannot be improved upon or ruined by human effort or sin.

WhAT is MAN?

We believe that man is a created being of great importance to the Creator, with a unique responsibility in the created order. In keeping with Scripture as the authoritative and inspired Word of God, that we can gain essential understanding of the purpose and role of humanity in God’s creation.

  • God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). This title and responsibility are unique to humanity and are not shared by other created beings. As humanity fulfills its role as image bearer, we experience the good news of salvation that even angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12). We see that there is an order of authority in Hebrews 2 as Jesus was made for a little while lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:9), but we also see that for the elect there is a coming day when the saints will judge the world… that we are to judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3), that for the elect, Jesus has raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). We therefore believe that humanity holds a unique and elevated worth in the eyes of the Creator God, that humanity holds a unique dominion over the rest of the created order to steward and care for creation, and we hold a unique function of pointing humanity to God.

  • An image bearer exists not to glorify itself, but to point to the glory of the real thing. Jesus taught His disciples to glorify God by shining His light into the world, Matthew 5:16, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Paul taught us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” These statements provide a common purpose for humanity, to direct all attention and affection toward the beauty and splendor of God. To praise God with one’s full life is the greatest fulfillment of the purpose of humanity, the image bearers of God. This is in accord with the author of Ecclesiastes 12:13, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

  • Part of God’s design for humanity is the distinct creation of man and woman. Genesis 1:27 states, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” God assigned people their gender prior to their birth as He knitted them together in their mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). Scripture makes it very clear that men and women have different roles in ministry (1 Tim. 2:12, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet”) and family organizations (Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.”), however, in Christ men and women are of equal value and equally receive God’s grace (Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”).

WhAT is MAN’S RESPONSIBILITY?

God is purposeful and everything He creates has a purpose. God provides purpose and guidance for people in Scripture.

  • Enjoying God is among the greatest ways to fulfill the purpose of glorifying God. Jesus made the priority of enjoying God very clear in Matthew 22:37-38, “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.’” In this passage we see that loving God is both preeminent and commanded. Loving God is preeminent because it is the chief way to complete the primary purpose of humanity (to glorify God). Loving God is commanded because God only commands good things. As Paul lived out this commandment, he said in Philippians 3:8, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” God gave humanity the ability to enjoy, delight, and find pleasure. Scripture exhorts us many times to use these abilities to enjoy God. (Phil 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Psalm 32:11, Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.) We believe that enjoying God is the most important command and that all other Christian duties are fulfilled by starting with the enjoyment of God.

  • God is righteous and made His creation to exist within a structure of righteousness. This righteousness was stymied by the fall of man and proliferation of sin. This Statement of Faith has already shown that God’s wrath will be poured out on sinners (section 4.B.), God’s standard of righteousness is still commanded upon the elect. Paul said in Romans 6:13, “Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.” This passage clearly speaks to regenerate Christians and clearly states the expectation to become instruments for righteousness. The expectation of righteousness does not necessitate perfection, as John teaches us of repentance in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” John included himself in the exhortation to confess sins and seek forgiveness. Although the elect cannot achieve perfection, they can with God’s help follow Jesus to a great practice of righteousness as 1 John 2:29 states, “If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” The pursuit of righteousness will not result in a greater experience of God’s grace or forgiveness of sin, which is a gift of unconditional grace. However, the pursuit of righteousness is a practical expression of love toward the Creator God who is honored by righteous living when done for His glory.

  • The elect have a responsibility to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those who have not yet received the Gospel. Jesus commanded His followers to carry out the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age.” The proclamation of the Gospel is an important responsibility of the elect that has consequence on the timing of Christ’s return. Jesus spoke of the time of His return in Matthew 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Peter also spoke of our ability to “hasten” the return in 2 Peter 3:12, “waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!” Therefore, we believe that proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus is a blessing because of the love we have for Him, that proclaiming the Gospel is an expectation of the elect, and that when the Great Commission is fulfilled that Christ will return in glory.

WhAT is A CHURCH?

God created the Church. Jesus calls the Church “His bride”. We believe that the Church is a divinely appointed institution that exists as a global reality comprised of local congregations.

  • The Bible speaks of a unified group of elect saints that are unique from the rest of the world because of the salvation of Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of this one unified body in Ephesians 4:4-6, “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” This global church began at the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell upon the Apostles. The church grew through their ministry to include populations in most of the world. This one global church has Jesus as its head, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in all believers. We believe that the only one who knows the identity of the one global church is God Himself and He will make that known when He returns to judge the world.

  • We believe that the One Global Church exists in many local congregations, and that these congregations contain both elect Christians and unregenerate people. Jesus taught in the Parable of the Weeds that it is not the responsibility of Christians to attempt to separate the elect from condemned, Matthew 13:28-30, “…So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Since it is Jesus Himself who separates at the time of the harvest, the local church will contain people who are outside of the fold that may be elect and not yet regenerate. The formation of local churches is a normative pattern modeled by the Apostle Paul as he traveled from city to city appointing elders, Acts 14:23, “And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.” We therefore believe that a local congregation is an individual instance of the global Church, that the local congregation is a self-governing body led by elders with Jesus Christ as the head of the church, and it is not the responsibility of the local congregation to distinguish the elect from the regenerate.

  • We believe that the office of Elder is responsible for leading the local congregation under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and in submission to Scripture. The Apostle Paul modeled a normative pattern of appointing elders in each church. Paul also gave instruction to Timothy and Titus to appoint elders with certain qualifications. 1 Timothy 3:2-7 states, “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.” There is strong reason to believe that the offices of elder and overseer are identical and interchangeable terms as evidenced by Paul seemingly using them interchangeably in Titus 1:5 and Titus 1:7, “appoint elders (πρεσβύτερος)” then in 1:7, “For an overseer (ἐπίσκοπος)”. We believe that a plurality of elders with equal and shared authority provides the form of governance most consistent with Scripture and that members of Summit Church submit to the authority of the elders.

  • The church (both local and global) is a diverse group of people with unique gifts and talents that are interdependent upon one another to fulfill God’s purpose for His church. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:12, “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” We believe that the Christian life is incomplete when separated from the rest of the body, that each member is necessary, and it is an act of love to be present and consistently engaged and serving within the body of the church.

WhAT ORDINANCES/SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH DO WE OBSERVE?

The Christian walk is about faith in Jesus and what He has done on our behalf. However, God has provided certain demonstrative institutions that are universal to all Christians. At Summit Church we honor three ordinances, two of which are commanded in Scripture.

  • Baptism is a commanded ordinance in Scripture that was modeled by Jesus, commanded by Jesus, and continued by the Apostles. Jesus modeled baptism by accepting baptism from John the Baptist in Matthew 3:15, “But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’” Jesus commanded the Apostles to baptize in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. In Acts 2:38, Peter finished preaching the first Christian sermon by exhorting baptism to everyone who was “cut to the heart” by the Gospel of Jesus, “And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” We therefore believe that baptism is an expectation for all Christians.

    We believe that Baptism is to be practiced by those who have expressed faith in Jesus. After Peter exhorted baptism in Acts 2:38, he followed the exhortation with a specific phrase in Acts 2:39, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” The evidence of God calling someone to himself is faith, so we believe that baptism is a rite reserved for those who express faith in Jesus. This is also expressed by Paul in Colossians 2:12, “having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.” This passage shows that baptism and faith are separate events (baptism doesn’t cause faith) but are to be accompanied by one another.

    We believe that baptism is practiced by immersion. The word baptize is a transliteration of the Greek verb βαπτίζω, which means to dip or plunge. Additionally, immersion is the model of baptism seen in Scripture as John the Baptist immersed followers in the Jordan River and in Acts 8:38 Phillip and the Eunuch “both went down into the water”.

    We believe that there is one baptism in the name of Jesus. In Scripture there was a baptism of John that preceded the arrival of the baptism of Jesus, but that once the baptism of Jesus was available that this was the one and final baptism. Paul makes clear that there is one baptism in Ephesians 4:4-5, “There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism…” Since Paul claims there is one baptism and that one baptism is modeled in Scripture as an immersion baptism of faith in the name of Jesus, we hold that this is the only baptism.

    We believe that baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Paul said in Romans 6:3-4, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” As the Christian submits to the rite of baptism, they symbolically die to their previous life, immerse themselves in the tomb of water, and raise to a new life submitted to Jesus and victorious over death.

  • Communion, also called the Lord’s Supper, is the taking of symbols (bread and the cup), which symbolize the body and blood of Jesus, to solemnly commemorate Jesus’ violent and substitutionary death on the cross. Paul provides a summary of the events of Jesus’ final supper with His disciples in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” We believe that the elements of communion (the bread and the cup) remain bread and the cup in substance but are symbols of Jesus body and blood.

    We believe that the taking of Communion is a rite reserved for regenerate believers. That the local church leaders cannot discern who is regenerate and who is not, therefore the taking of Communion is available for all who claim to have faith. We believe that the taking of Communion in an unworthy manner, as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 speaks of the heart of the Christian who attempts to take Communion for any purpose other than to worship Jesus. We believe the taking of Communion is a significant and solemn event that must be done with a contrite and submissive heart and could be a very condemning event if someone were to eat and drink flippantly without reverence to the work of Jesus.

  • We believe that marriage is a God-ordained union of man and woman that serves to point to the greater union between Jesus and His church. One of the clearest New Testament passages concerning the purpose of marriage is Ephesians 5:22-33, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” This passage shows that the relationship of husband and wife contains unique roles that each point to a different aspect of Jesus’ relationship with His church. We therefore believe that every person in a church must respect Scripture’s design for marriage just as they would respect the relationship between Jesus and His church.