United Covenant Church Doctrinal Statement

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The Trinity:

• We believe that there is only one God who eternally exists in three co-equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Deuteronomy 6:4). We believe that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. We believe that each of the persons in the Trinity are equally God. The three are distinct but harmonious persons.

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God the Father:

• We believe that God the Father is the Creator of Earth (Genesis 1:1). We believe that the Father functions in harmony with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the same God found in the Old and New Testament, meaning that he never changes (James 1:17). God the Father rules as the Sovereign Ruler, Judge, and Reconciler. We believe that God is omni-present and that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and everlasting (Revelation 22:13). God is perfectly holy, and we believe that He should be feared in reverence, obedience, and admiration (Isaiah 6:3, Proverbs 28:14). We believe God is in complete control of the world. He has ultimate authority over all of creation and His will is fulfilled, as He overrules any other power (Ephesians 1:11, Romans 8:28-29). We believe God is fully involved with creation but not dependent on it (Acts 17:24-25).

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Jesus Christ:

• We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God (John 3:16) and the Word of God (John 1:1-3). Jesus Christ is fully man and fully God, born into the world as a baby from a virgin (Isaiah 7:14). He faced all the temptations and pain we face, but he never sinned. It is through Christ that people come to know God the Father and receive eternal life (John 14:6). Through Christ, we are adopted into the family of God (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 3:14-16). We believe that Jesus came as God’s promised Anointed One, and His death and resurrection sets us free from the power of sin and death. In Jesus’s death and resurrection, the glorious liberty of the children of God is found. We believe that Jesus Christ leads us into God’s kingdom where holiness, eternal life, and joy prevail.

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The Holy Spirit:

• The Holy Spirit instills in our hearts a desire to turn to Christ and assures us that Christ dwells within us (Romans 8:9-11). It is the Holy Spirit who enables our obedience to Christ, conforms us to His image, and empowers us to continue Christ's mission in the world. The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to us as individuals and binds us together as Christ's body, the Church (1 Corinthians 12). The Holy Spirit convicts and comforts us (Acts 2:37).  As we follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-25).

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The Bible:

• We believe that the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. The Apostle Paul writes that “all scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). The authority of the Bible is supreme in all matters of faith, doctrine and conduct, and is to be trusted. “Where is it written?” was and is the Covenant Church’s touchstone of discussion with regards to faith and practice.

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Christ’s Return:

• We believe that this world is not our home. We await the day when “the kingdoms of this world become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, when He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15). We wait for “the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). In anticipation, we believe in praying together and actively waiting for the fulfillment of the promise of Christ’s return. Until Christ comes, we will continue to worship, work, and witness for the purpose that the whole earth may hear His voice and know of His love. We believe that nobody knows the day or hour of Christ’s return except God Himself (Matthew 24:36, 24:42-44).

 

The Church:

• The Church is the body of Christ and Christ is the head of the Church (Eph.1:22-23). The Church is made up of many parts with many different gifts and abilities (1 Cor. 12:12-31).  We are an apostolic, catholic, reformation, and evangelical church. Apostolic because we confess Jesus Christ and the faith of the apostles as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. We regard the Bible as the authority in all matters of doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16). We are catholic, meaning “universal”, because we are part of a larger community of believers beginning with Jesus’ first followers. We are a reformation church because we stand in the mainstream of the Church renewal of the 16th century Protestant Reformation. We believe that we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. We are an evangelical church because we insist on the necessity of new birth through Christ and His mandate to go into the world and make disciples.  (Matthew 25:31-46, James 1:27, Matthew 28:18-20). We believe that we are to be disciples who make disciples, while nurturing each other toward Christ's likeness and serving each other in love (1 Peter 2:9). We believe the church should carry the gospel of Christ to all the ends of the earth through missions. The church is to be an agent of grace, entrusted with the message of reconciliation, hope, justice, and peace. We, the Church, are to embody the presence of Jesus Christ with head, hands, voice, and heart. We believe the church is a company of sinners, but sinners who have experienced forgiveness and are seeking wholeness in a new relationship with God. All people at all stages of belief and unbelief are welcome to participate in the life of the church.

 

Baptism and Communion:

• We believe the observance of baptism and Holy Communion are sacraments of the church expressly commanded by the Lord (Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 22:16). They are visible signs of the grace of Jesus Christ. We practice both infant and believer baptism.  (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:38-39). The necessity of the new birth is a core belief of the church (John 3:1-21). Partaking in Holy Communion reminds believers of the body and blood of Christ. Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God was sacrificed to take away our sins (Matthew 26:26-29, Luke 22:14-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 1:29.) These sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion are not means of salvation, they are symbols of our new covenant with God through Christ.

 

Salvation:

• We believe that one must be born again in order to be saved from hell (John 3:1-21, 2 Corinthians 5:17). We believe that personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is the foundation for our mission of evangelism and Christian nurture. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God conquered sin, death, and the devil, offering forgiveness for sin and bringing salvation for those who follow Christ (Acts 2:23-24, Acts 10:43-44, Luke 23:33-34). We believe new birth is more than forgiveness or acceptance as it is also spiritual renewal in receiving eternal life (John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10). No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above through Christ (John 3:3). Salvation results in the transformation of the person and enlistment into Christ’s service (Ephesians 4:1-5). We believe that conversion is the act by which a person turns with repentance and faith from sin to God, and salvation is given through a personal commitment to Jesus Christ alone (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Ephesians 4:22-24). Salvation is not obtained by works, only by God’s grace. Through faith, a person becomes justified and righteous (Romans 3:21-26, 4:5).

 

Humanity:

• We believe humanity has been broken since the fall in Genesis 3.  Under the New Covenant, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, humanity is saved through faith in Jesus Christ. Humans will never reach perfection or pure Christlikeness until humanity is restored in the end. However, through the Holy Spirit’s work of sanctification, people can grow to become more like Christ. We believe that the church is made up of imperfect people who are part of an imperfect humanity, but God loves us anyway and he never gives up on us. (Ephesians 4:17-24, Rom. 3:23-26, Rom. 5:6-11).

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Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality:

• We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

• We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

• We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.)

• We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of United Covenant Church as a local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the United Covenant Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by United Covenant Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 5:22.)

• We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 6:9-11.)

• We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of United Covenant Church

 

Marriage Policy:

• Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and Himself, United Covenant Church will only recognize marriages between a biological man and a biological woman. Further, the pastor and staff of United Covenant Church shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one man and one woman. Finally, the facilities and property of United Covenant Church shall only host weddings between one man and one woman.

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Sanctity of Human Life:

• Abortion:

  • We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image (Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139). Human life is of immeasurable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies from conception through natural death. (Genesis 1:27, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:15). We believe abortion to be wrong and grieve whenever an abortion takes place (Exodus 20:13, Jeremiah 19:5).

• Assisted Suicide/Euthanasia

  • We believe that assisted suicide/euthanasia is wrong. Only God should determine the number of our days. (Exodus 20:13, Psalm 139:16, Acts 17:26)

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Other References:

 

The Lord’s Prayer:

• Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

The Apostles’ Creed:

• I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth;

• And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hades; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

• I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy Christian Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed:

• We believe in on God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

• We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through Him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

• We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the lie of the world to come. Amen.