These are the basic beliefs of The Refuge. If you have questions or would like to discuss any of them please contact Pastor Tim.
1. The Bible is God's Holy Word in its entirety. God's inspired scripture is without error. It is His message to us. Yet, God sent this message through people who were very human. The words of the original Greek New Testament and the original Hebrew Old Testament were the exact words God intended, yet the words also expressed the personality of the human writers. This was a miracle. The Bible is God's message to us and is the primary means God uses to communicate His principles and what's important in life.
2. There is one God, existent in three separate yet perfectly united beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is perfectly righteous, existing from eternity past to eternity future. He is all knowing, all present, and all powerful. While creating everything, He cares about people individually and is involved in their lives.
3. Jesus Christ was born to the virgin, Mary, about 2000 years ago. He was fully God, as well as fully human. He came to die for the sins of the world. Since, God is a God of justice who is committed to what is right, He won't ignore sin. Jesus' death, as the only perfect person who ever lived, provided the sacrifice God required to dismiss our sin. Jesus' death makes it possible for us to have a personal relationship with God.
4. Humans were made by a special act of God. We are created in the image of God. Because God breathed into Adam the breath of life, we are eternal beings. God loves people and He has provided a way for everyone to be right with Him if they trust Him to forgive their sins and commit their lives to Him.
5. The only way any person can be right with God is by accepting Jesus' death as our substitute. A right relationship with God is a gift, not something anyone can earn by being good.
6. God most frequently does His work through His people, the church. The church can be identified as three separate entities, a local body of believers, Christians in an area and all believers worldwide. The church ultimately answers to God, not to human leaders.
7. Baptism is an act of obedience to God that follows salvation. It in no way makes a person right with God. It does, however, reflect the change that occurs at salvation.
8. The Lord's Supper is a means of remembering what Jesus Christ did on the cross and of looking forward to the time when believers will one day join Jesus in heaven.
9. Jesus will one day return again to earth. No one knows exactly when but we are to live as though it could happen at any time. God will ultimately judge Satan as well as those who have rejected Him. Those who have placed their faith in Him will enjoy an eternity with Him and those who have not will be separated from Him forever in eternal judgment.
10. Believers are responsible to share their faith with others. However, they must recognize that no one ever comes to a personal relationship with God by coercion. The decision to commit ones life to Christ is a personal one.
11. Christian growth is a lifelong commitment to become more and more the person God wants us to be. It involves accepting the great gift of Jesus' death and then living lives of appreciative commitment to Him as we move toward the goal of becoming more and more the person God wants us to be.
| 
