What is the Gospel?

Scriptures
-The Bible is the true, complete, and inerrant Word of God. It is our authority in all of life and cannot be added to, taken away from, or changed in any way. (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
 
The Trinity of God 
-There is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-6; Isaiah 46:9-10; John 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Timothy 2:5). 
-He exists as The Trinity in three divine and distinct Persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each carries out different roles in creation. The Trinity: One God in essence, yet three in person. (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 45:6-7; Psalm 110:1; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19: 7-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 28:17-20; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
-They exist in a selfless and loving relationship within the Godhead. They exist as co-equals in authority and are all fully and eternally God, yet they are perfectly and lovingly in harmony with each other in how they carry out their roles (Genesis 1:26; Psalm 45:6-7; Psalm 110:1; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19: 7-11; Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew 28:17-20; 1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
-*This belief of the Trinity comes from what the Bible reveals and expresses about the true and unchanging nature of God. However, the actual word Trinity is not found in the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19: 7-11; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
 
God the Father
-God the Father is great in power (Isaiah 6; Psalm 72:19; Isaiah 42:8; Psalm 68:35; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 147:5; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Psalm 145:3; Psalm 147:5; Psalm 48:1)
-He is the glorious, holy, and awesome creator of the universe (Gen 1:1; Isaiah 6; Psalm 72:19; Isaiah 42:8; Psalm 68:35; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 147:5; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Psalm 145:3)
-He is just, righteous, good and perfect in every way (Psalm 7:11; Matthew 5:48; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Mark 10:18; Psalm 119:68)
-He is gracious, merciful, and loving (John 3:16; Eph. 2:1-10; Psalm 145:8; 1 John 4:8)
 
Jesus and the Gospel
-Jesus Christ is the Answer to our curse and sin drenched record. This is because He is the forever perfect, righteous, and eternal Son of God (Matthew 1:20; Luke 2:52; John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-3).
-He was born of the virgin Mary, and is both fully God and fully human. (Matthew 1:20; Luke 2:52; John 1:1-4, 14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-3).
-Jesus Christ lived and died as the propitiation and substitutionary atonement. He took the curse for sin in order that people might be forgiven. He then gave His righteousness in order that people may have life in His name and be welcomed into the glorious presence of God (John 1:29; 10:1-18; Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4; 1 Peter 3:18).
-People receive this free gift of God’s grace through repenting of sin and putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Mark 1:15; Acts 3:19; Romans 10:10-13)
-People are then adopted as children of God, coheirs with Christ, and blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3-5; Romans 8:14-17)
-Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead by God’s power in order to prove that we were truly forgiven for our sin and that He is truly the Son of God and our Lord and Savior (Matthew 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-53; John 1:20-21:25; 1 Corinthians 15:12-34).
-Shortly after His resurrection, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven physically.
-In the future, Christ will physically return and there will be a physical resurrection of the dead. Those who have trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be raised to spend eternity with Him. Those who have not trusted and followed Him will experience eternal punishment in hell. (John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58; Psalm 16:11; Rev. 21:2-4).
 
The Holy Spirit
-The Holy Spirit is fully God. According to His will, He gives salvation to people by regenerating their hearts and indwelling believers, causing them to become born again and spiritually alive (Acts 5:3-4; John 3:3-8; Ephesians 2:4-5; Titus 3:3-7).
-He transforms believers into new creations. They were once God’s enemies, but then they become adopted into His eternal, holy, and righteous family (Ephesians 1:3-5; Romans 5:10; 2 Cor. 5:17-21).
-He marks people off as God’s children, and seals them for Jesus return (Ephesians 1:11-14)
-He is the guarantee of believers’ salvation (Ephesians 1:11-14)
-The Holy Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit in every believer. This is the evidence of God’s saving power of grace in each person’s life (Galatians 5:22-24)
-The Holy Spirit gives each of God’s children physical and spiritual gifts that are to be used for the common good of the church and for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 12-14).
-The Holy Spirit works in harmony with the gospel and the Word of God, opening peoples’ eyes, illuminating the Scriptures, speaking to the heart of people, and ultimately transforming believers’ lives to become conformed into the image of Christ (Ephesians 1:18; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12-13; Romans 8:28-30; 2 Cor. 3:18).
-Nothing can separate a true believer from the love of Christ, and the Holy Spirit will spiritually preserve the true children of God until they physically die, or until Christ returns (Romans 8:31-39; Romans 8:28-30; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 1:11-14; John 10:28-30; John 6:37-47).
 
Man
-All humanity, except Christ, is born into original sin. Because of this, humans continually fall short of the glory of God by disobeying His commandments (Genesis 6:5; Psalm 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:23; 5:8, 12-21; 7:18; Ephesians 2:1-3).
-Because of man’s sin all of humanity are under a curse, and deserve death. This is ultimately an eternal physical and spiritual punishment in hell, and man is separated from the Creator’s loving and joy-filled presence (Genesis 2:15-17; Genesis 3:19; Romans 5:12; 6:23; James 1:14-15).
 
Mission of Jesus and His Church
-The mission of Jesus is to make the Kingdom of God a realization to the ends of the earth. He does this by redeeming a people from every tribe, tongue, and nation as His pure, holy, and blameless bride (Matthew 28:18-20; Rev. 7:9; Matthew 6:10; Mark 1:15).
-God’s people are now able to join God on this mission by making disciples as they strive to live in obedience to Jesus’ teaching in their own lives, and by giving of our time, talent, and treasure to see people come to know Jesus Christ through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Every disciple of Christ has a ministry, and the goal of that ministry is to give glory to God through making God’s name and saving power known and through making disciples of all nations (John 14:15; Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Cor. 5:17-21; Romans 10:14-17; John 12:24-26; Luke 9:23-24; Eph. 4:11-12; John 13:35: Matthew 22:37-40).
-In response to Jesus love and grace, every disciple ought to strive to work together in a loving, selfless, humble, and faithful manner. They must put Christ’s mission above their own mission. They must strive together in faithfulness, intentionality, and unity, in order to share and reflect the glorious gospel to the world (Philippians 1:27-30; Matthew 6:33-34; Philippians 2:2-5; John 13:35; Matthew 22:37-40). (This partnership and unity in the gospel between Radiant Church and other disciples and/or organizations only extends as far as our doctrine and values align. Along with this, Radiant Church reserves the right to partner or work together in any way and with anyone with whom it chooses).
 
Future
-Jesus will one day physically return to give us our glorified resurrected physical bodies. When He returns, He will not come back as the suffering servant, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords in order to judge the world. Those who have been born again will be raised to spend eternity with Him. Those who have not trusted and followed Him will experience eternal punishment. (Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 16:27; Matthew 13:37-43; Matthew 13:49; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 1:7; 1 Corinthians 15:12-58; Psalm 16:11; Rev. 21:2-4).
-God promises that in the new Heaven and new Earth, that He will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more. (Rev 21:2-4).
-No eye has seen, nor ear has heard what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:8-10)
-No person knows the time when Christ will return. (Matthew 24:36-38)
 
Christ is the Only Way
-Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is the only way to God and therefore, the only way to salvation. He is the only way we are able to receive forgiveness of sins and obtain God’s righteousness because He is the Son of God who lived perfectly righteous and then died a substitutionary death in our place (John 14:6; Romans 3:21-26; Philippians 3:8-11; Ephesians 2:8-10). 
-A person making Jesus their treasure is the only way they are able to experience the abundant joy-filled life that their Creator designed them to have (Psalm 16:11; John 15:11).
-Because of this, it is in every disciple of Christ’s best interest to treasure Jesus, and to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33-34; Matthew 6:21; John 15:11; John 14:6).
 
Marriage
-Marriage is a beautiful gift instituted and given by God for God’s glory and for man’s joy. This union does this by reflecting the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world. Because of this, this relationship is a covenantal, monogamous, and heterosexual relationship between one man and one woman. (Genesis 1:26-28; Ephesians 6:22-33).
-Therefore, we reserve the right to not be obligated to perform or be a part of any wedding ceremony in any way for any reason that we decide that is not in line with how we interpret the Scriptures, our statement of belief, or the mission of our church.

Made in God’s Image
-All people were made in God’s image. God was purposeful in creating humans male and female, as He intentionally forms every child in their mother’s womb. Along with this, all humans find their worth and value from being made in God’s image and because of this every ethnicity of people is welcomed by God into His family as long as they are followers of His Son. (Gen 1:26-27; Psalm 139:13; Jeremiah 1:5; Revelation 7:9-10).

 
Lords Supper
-The Lord has given us His supper in order to remember and proclaim his death until He returns. This is a symbol in which we celebrate who the Lord is and what He has done for us. We look back and give thanks for Jesus life, death, and resurrection. We praise God that because of Jesus’ sacrifice, the Spirit now indwells inside all believers, and we look forward to the marriage feast of the Lamb where we will feast with our Savior and celebrate the victory that we have in Him. (1 Cor. 11:17-34; 1 Cor. 10:16; Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-26)
-Following the example set by Jesus and the early believers in the book of Acts we are to devote ourselves to the Lord’s supper until He returns. (Acts 2:42)

Baptism
-Baptism is an ordinance of the church. It is an outward symbol of the inward work that the Lord has done in a person’s heart. Just as Christ was put to death on the cross and three days later came back to life, out of obedience to Jesus we are to get baptized and go under the water as symbol of our old self being put to death and come back out of the water as a symbol of us rising to new life (Rom 6:1-11; Matthew 28:18-20)
-The Lord uses baptism to strengthen a believer and uses it to help the believer identify with the Lord, but it does not save a person. (Rom. 6:1-11; Ephesians 2:8-10; Mark 16:16)
-The biblical practice of baptism is for a person to first repent of their sin and believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior and then they are to be baptized. (Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; Acts 22:16)
-The way we see baptism practiced in the New Testament is by water immersion. (Matthew 3:16; Acts 10:47; Acts 8:38).