Click here to subscribe to our Podcast!

-Resources-

-Calendar-

September 2010
S M T W T F S
29 30 31 1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29 30 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
<< -=- >>

View All Events

-Contact-

Pastor Bill Branks

(312) 988-RNBC (7622)
pastorbill@rivernorthbc.org

What we Believe

  1. What we Believe about the Trinity. - We believe in the one triune God, eternally existing in three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit--eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and in each having the same attributes and perfections as the Others. (Deuteronomy 6:4, II Corinthians 13:14).
  • We believe in the personal existence of God the Father, the Supreme Being, as both infinite and perfect He possesses all the attributes of eternity, self-existence, immutability, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, holiness, righteousness, justice, love, peace and mercy. He created, now sustains all things. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Genesis 1:1, 26-28, Isaiah 40:21-28, 45:6-7, Zephaniah 3:5, Malachi 3:6, John 3:16, Romans 11:33).
  • We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ,  the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Luke 1:35, John 1:1-2, I Corinthians 15:1-8, Hebrews 1:6).  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death as a representative vicarious and substitutionary sacrifice and that our justification is made by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25, Ephesians 1:20-23, I Peter 1:3-5, 2:24).  We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God.  As our High Priest, He now fulfills the ministry as Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 9:24, 7:25, I John 2:1-2).
  • We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who convicts man of sin.  He is the supernatural agent of regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption.  He is the abiding Comforter, Teacher, and Guide (John 16:8-11, Romans 8-9, II Corinthians 12:12-14, Ephesians 1:13-14).  We believe the Holy Spirit guides believers into all truth.  It is the privilege of believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation and the obligation of believers to be obedient to, and thus controlled by, the Holy Spirit.  We do not believe that the evidence of salvation or being filled is necessarily a supernatural gift, including “tongues” (John 16:13, I Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 1:13-14, 5:18, I John 2:20, 27).
  1. What we believe about the Bible - We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in their original writings, infallible and God-Breathed (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 5:18, John 16:12-13, II Timothy 3:16-17 and II Peter 1:20-21).
  1. What we believe about Man’s sin - We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inheriting a sinful nature and became alienated from God; that man is totally depraved and utterly unable to remedy his lost condition.  Mankind suffered a spiritual and physical death by Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:17, Isaiah 64:6, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 3:10-13, 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-3).
  1. What we believe about salvation - We believe that salvation is the unmerited gift of God given to man by grace and received by repentance and personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of sins (John 1:12, Acts 13:38, Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10, I Peter  1:18). 
  • We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provided the only means for justification and salvation for all who believe; and only those who He calls and receives Him are reborn of the Holy Spirit and thus become sanctified and possess everlasting life with Christ in heaven. (John 3:16, Romans 5:11, Hebrews 7:25, 9:22). 
  • We believe that all the redeemed are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30, Romans 8:1, 38-39, I Corinthians 1:4-8, I Peter 1:5).  We believe that it is a blessing for believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word while remembering that the Word of God clearly forbids the misuse of God’s grace and liberty as an excuse to sin. (Romans 12:13-14, 8:12-13, Galatians 5:16, 25, Ephesians 4:22-24, Colossians 3:10, I Peter 1:14, I John 3:5-9).
  1. What we believe about separation - We believe that all the saved shall live in a manner such as not to bring reproach on their Savior and Lord by practicing  separation from all religious apostasy, worldly and sinful pleasures and by showing this in thought, word and action. We are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; therefore, separation from others whose teachings are contrary to the direct, clear, and revealed Word of God, must be faithfully practiced. (Romans 12:1-2, II Corinthians 6:14, 7:1, Ephesians 5:11, II Timothy 3:1-5, I John 2:15-17, II John 9-11).
  1. What we believe about spiritual gifts - We believe that God is sovereign in the giving of His gifts and that these gifts are given at salvation and are sufficient for the perfecting of the Saints (I Corinthians 12:4-11, II Corinthians 12:12, Ephesians 4:7-12).  We believe that God is the great and only Divine Healer and does hear and answer prayers of faith in accordance with His own will for the sick.  We do not believe the gift of “tongues” which has always been the miraculous speaking of known foreign languages for the furtherance of the gospel, is a gift that is given today.
  1. What we believe about Christ’s return - We believe in the physical, imminent, pre-tribulation and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones; and in His subsequent return to earth with His Saints to establish His Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; I Thessalonians 1:10, 3:13, 4:1, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6).
  1. What we believe about the church - We believe in the universal Church, a living spiritual body of which Jesus Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members.  We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized upon a credible profession of faith and associated together for worship, work and fellowship.  We believe that it is the obligation of the Church to show witness by life and by word to the truths of the Holy Scriptures and to seek to proclaim the Gospel to all mankind.
  1. What we believe about eternity - We believe in the bodily resurrection of all persons - the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46, John 5:28-29, 11:25-26, Revelation 20:5, 6, 12-13).
  • We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, separated from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection; when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43, II Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, 3:21, I Thessalonians 4:16-17, Revelation 20:4-6).
  • We believe that the unregenerate live on after death in Hell, in conscious torment until the second resurrection, when, as soul and body reunited, they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer consciously, eternally. (Matthew 25:14, 47; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude vv. 6, 7; Revelation 20:11-15).