What We Believe
We believe the worship of God is fruitful
WE BELIEVE worship of God is fruitful! Therefore we look for His love in our lives as the greatest evidence that we are truly worshiping Him.
We believe in the inerrancy of scripture
WE BELIEVE in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, in the original autographs, is the inspired, infallible Word of God, a complete and final written revelation of God. We look to the Word of God for the basis of all our faith and practice.
We believe in one God, who manifests himself in three separate persons
WE BELIEVE in one personal, transcendent, and holy God, the creator of all, Who is eternal and who manifests Himself in three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus, though fully God, became man and died for our sins
WE BELIEVE that Jesus Christ, though fully God became a man for the suffering of death, that He is the promised Messiah, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us.
We believe that Jesus poured out his holy spirit on the believers
WE BELIEVE that after Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
We believe that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all
WE BELIEVE that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God.
We believe that all the gifts of the Spirit are given today
WE BELIEVE in the person and work of the Holy Spirit who indwells, seals, and empowers every believer, baptizing them into the Body of Christ. We further believe that the Holy Spirit will come upon any believer who asks in faith, enabling him/her to preach the Gospel in power. We also believe all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. We believe that love is more important than all the gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the church
WE BELIEVE Jesus Christ is the head of the Body, His church, and that church government should he simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy. We desire to be led by the Holy Spirit in all the functions and directions of the ministry of the church.
We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church
WE BELIEVE in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church, and we believe that the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, and participation in baptism by immersion and in Holy Communion.
We believe in the existence of Satan
WE BELIEVE in a devil called Satan who, along with all his evil angels, called demons, is destined to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, and who now seeks to deceive the believers and defeat the work of God, but who can be resisted by believers who are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit, protected by God, and interceded for by Jesus Christ our Lord.
We believe that the nation of Israel has a special place in God’s plan
WE BELIEVE that the nation of Israel has a special place in God's plan and that all the promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled.
We Reject
At Calvary Chapel, we reject some popular doctrines of some Christian groups because
we believe them to be in error scripturally. This does not mean that we will not
fellowship with those holding these views; it simply means that such views are outside
the boundaries of what constitutes a Calvary Chapel church.
We reject the belief that Christians can be demon possessed
We reject the belief that Christians can be demon possessed. The Scripture says, "Greater is He that is in you than he who is in the world " which makes no sense if a believer can be simultaneously indwelt by both the Holy Spirit and evil spirits. Christians can be attacked by demons, but they cannot be possessed or controlled by them.
We reject extreme Calvanistic and Armenianist doctrines
We reject extreme Calvinistic doctrine that teaches that Jesus’ atonement on the Cross was limited, that is, that Jesus died only for a chosen group, His elect, and not for the sins of the entire world. We believe that Jesus died on the Cross for all the sins of all people, and that anyone who so desires can accept Him as Lord and Savior and be born again (John 3:16). We believe that every man has a free will and that he must choose to accept the call of God (Romans 10:8-11). We also reject the extreme Armenianist doctrine that teaches the limited and fragile nature of salvation. We believe that any man or woman who has truly placed his/her faith in Jesus Christ is permanently sealed by God’s Spirit for the day of redemption (2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 4:30).
We reject the teaching of positive confession
We reject the teaching of "positive confession" which is the doctrine that we as human beings can have unlimited health and wealth because we, like God, have the ability to create our own reality by the confession of our lips. Also known as the wealth and prosperity movement, this doctrine teaches that all of these things are given to us by Christ if we have enough faith to claim them, and that sickness and poverty are caused by a lack of faith. We believe that we are living in a fallen world and that the true reward of Christians is not earthly but eternal.
We reject the teaching that any human prophecy can supersede the Word of God
We reject any prophecy that claims to supersede the Word of God. We believe that the Bible is the final authority and the complete Word of God, and that no teaching or prophesy that contradicts the Bible or claims to add to the scriptures can be true.
We reject incorporation of psychology and philosophy into the teachings of the church
We reject the incorporation of humanistic, secular psychology and philosophy into the teachings of the church. We believe that the mission of the church is to proclaim the Word of God and that interpreting the Bible through psychology and philosophy only diminishes the emphasis of the work of God. Psychology emphasizes a humanistic solution to spiritual problems.
We reject the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts and experiential signs and wonders
We reject the over-emphasis of spiritual gifts and experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of Biblical teaching. The focus of our services is on a personal relationship with God through the teaching of the Bible, worship and prayer. We believe that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church today and that they are to be exercised decently and in order.
We reject many aspects of the "Seeker Friendly" and "Emergent Church" movement.
We reject many aspects of the "Seeker" Friendly and "Emergent Church" movements. Specifically, we reject any approach that relies upon anything other than God’s Word as the blue print for Church development, growth, and functioning. We abide fully by the model of the Church given to us in the scriptures and rely completely upon God’s Holy Spirit to build the Church according to His Word.
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