I’M NEW
Our Beliefs
I’m New⸻
Our Beliefs
At Central Pointe Church of Christ, we generally speak where the Bible speaks and are silent where the Bible is silent. The Bible is our only guide— no man-made additional creeds/booklets/instructions are required. We believe that if God, who is the creator of all, said it in his Holy and divine word, then it is more than good enough for us!
The absolute guidance from the scriptures is taken from three hermeneutical principles:
- We follow commandments of the scriptures
- We follow examples from the Apostles
- We derive necessary inferences from the scripture
Our scriptural tenet is taken from Revelation 22:18-19: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
In line with our doctrinal/Biblical beliefs, our worship services always consist of the following practices to mirror the First Century Church in the New Testament:
- Singing
- Preaching (study of God’s word)
- Prayer
- Giving (weekly)
- Communion (weekly)
How Do I Become Saved and Be a Christian?
It’s easy! Once you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, you get baptized to be saved and become a member of God’s family.
We can never be “good enough” by our own accords to be saved. We are all sinners and broken, trying to get as close to God as we can. We know and understand that it is only by God’s abundant grace and mercy that we are saved. Although some may say that you simply have to “believe in your heart” and that makes you become a Christian, there’s no example of that in the Bible. Those people may be well-intentioned, but it goes against what the Bible teaches. Based on what the Bible teaches and says, here are some things that God requires to enter into Heaven:
Hear
You first have to hear the Word of God preached, and you’ll hear it anytime you visit with us. The Bible asks, “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14) “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Rom 10:17)
Believe
After you’ve heard the gospel, you have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that he died for you, as well as all of us so that we have a chance to be with God the Father in Heaven. This is important because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Repent
None of us are perfect— at all. We’ve all made mistakes and haven’t been at our best. So we have to repent of our past sins, which are the things we haven’t always gotten right with our lives. The Bible says that “the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” (Acts 17:30)
Confess
If we seek to become a Christian, we have to acknowledge that Jesus will be the head of our lives. We confess that Jesus is Lord, and that he’s the Son of God. There’s a story in the Bible of a man named Phillip who was with another man who wanted to be baptized, which is the last essential step for reaping all the benefits from God the Father.
He told Phillip, “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, then you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” (Acts 8:36-37) In Matthew 10:32-33, it states that “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Baptism
While you may hear some religious institutions say that baptism is not essential and that all a person has to do to be “saved” is to “believe”, they may be well intentioned, but wrong in regards to what God’s Word says about it. We’re baptized for the forgiveness of our sins and what we’ve gotten wrong in our lives. A baptism isn’t a sprinkle, but a full immersion in water. Only immersion conforms to the description of baptism as given by the apostle Paul in Romans 6:3-5 where he speaks of it as a “burial” and “resurrection”. In every instance in the New Testament, you’ll find that when a person accepted Christ, they were immediately baptized.
Even Jesus, our Lord and Savior, was baptized when he walked this earth as a man. In fact, you’ll read in your Bible that God didn’t publicly acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God until after he came up from the water after being baptized.
If Jesus believed it to be necessary, then so do we. And when you’re ready to be baptized, we won’t wait for a “special service” or on a “special day”. We’ll baptize you right then and there. It’s essential and important to us that you form this covenant with God as soon as you’re ready to. The Bible says “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:16)
Peter, one of the greatest preachers and followers of God that we find in the Bible, said “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38)
Live a Christian Life
Lastly, you just have to live a Christian life and be faithful to God’s commandments and do your best to embody the character of Christ. “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Rev. 2:10)
As soon as you’re ready, we’ll baptize you. Whether it takes you 30 seconds to decide or longer, we’ll be waiting. We just want you in God’s family!