We believe the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. It is the supreme source of truth and is reliable. It is the true foundation of Christian union, belief, and living. It stands as the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creed, and religious opinions should be measured (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
God is the Creator and Ruler of all things. He eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, each with distinct attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. God is eternal, all powerful, all knowing, and ever present; perfect in love, justice, and holiness; and worthy to receive all glory, honor, and praise.
The Father: He reigns with providential care over His universe. He is the Father of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, while still one, with both, as God.
The Son: Conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, Jesus perfectly revealed and lived out the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature without sin. He offered Himself as the perfect Sacrifice for sin, and through His death made provision for the redemption of humanity. He rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples, proving His power over death. He ascended into Heaven to the right hand of God the Father, where He mediates reconciliation between God and humanity. He will physically return in power and glory to judge the world and finish His redemptive mission.
The Holy Spirit: He is fully divine. He inspired the writers of the Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He enables Christians to understand truth. He dwells in the hearts of every Christian from the moment of salvation. He bestows spiritual gifts on believers through which they serve His church. (2 Peter 1:20-21; John 16:8-15; Acts 2:38; 2 Corinthians 12:1-11)
Salvation is the process God designed to restore the intimate relationship between Himself and humanity that was lost because of sin. God has extended His grace for all people, in the person and work of Jesus.
Grace: The unmerited favor of a Holy God given to a lost world through Christ’s death, burial, and
resurrection.
Faith: The proper response to God’s grace characterized by believing obedience. In other words, trusting God enough to do what he says. (Romans 3:21-28; Hebrews 11:1, James 2:24-26)
Repentance: A changing of one’s mind and purpose characterized by turning one’s back on sin and turning toward God. (Acts 2:38, 3:19; 2 Corinthians 7:10)
Confession: A public profession of one’s faith. Scripture teaches that the saving conviction in our hearts must be confessed before witnesses. (Romans 10:8-13; 1 Timothy 6:12)
Baptism is a command for all professing believers, announcing to the world that we are submitting to Jesus Christ as the Lord of our lives. It is a primary step in our journey as a Christ-follower. Scriptures confirm that when we are baptized, we call on the name of the Lord, our sins are washed away, we are born again, united with Christ, adopted into the family of God, clothed with Christ, and we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are saved. (Acts 22:16; John 3:3-7; Romans 6:5; Galatians 3:26-27; Acts 2:38; I Peter 3:21)
We do not believe baptism is any more important than faith, confession, or repentance. Neither do we believe there is any virtue in the water. But we believe baptism is an act of obedience commanded by Christ in order to receive salvation. (Matthew 3:15)
Baptism by Immersion: Baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word baptizo which means to immerse completely in water. As such, the act of baptism is a believer’s personal reenactment of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection – demonstrating their belief and trust in His completed work for our salvation.
Subjects of Baptism: All believers are subjects for baptism. No person is commanded to be baptized, unless they are capable of understanding the basic gospel message. We are not aware of any account in the Bible of infants ever being baptized.
Those desiring membership at Riverside Christian Church must be believers who have been baptized by immersion.
In following the practice of the early church, we partake in the Lord’s Supper (communion) every Sunday. Riverside Christian Church practices open communion and invites all baptized believers in Christ to join us for personal examination and reflection, as we remember the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
The Church is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the kingdom of Christ, and the household of Christ on earth, empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue the mission of reaching the lost, and equipping believers to become fully devoted followers of Christ
God is the source of all blessings, so all that we have we owe to Him. We are under an obligation to serve Him with our time, talents, and material possessions. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, proportionally, and liberally for the advancement of the Kingdom. (Matthew 6:19-24; 2 Corinthians 9:7-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11)
The availability and use of spiritual gifting is a matter of great controversy in the church. There are those that believe that some specific New Testament gifts such as tongues, prophecy, and healing exist today. Others believe that these particular gifts were apostolic in nature and only necessary in the church’s infancy. Our position is that we at Riverside do not dispute that there were apostolic gifts. However, we will not seek them out and will refrain from using them in public assembly or small groups for the sake of unity. Each believer is to use his or her spiritual gifting in harmony with and for the benefit of the church body as a whole under the lordship of Christ.
There are two orthodox theologies concerning predestination that have been debated in the church for centuries. One group emphasizes God’s sovereignty, and one group emphasizes man’s responsibility. While we teach and preach with the urgency of free will, we do not dispute the sovereignty of God.
We acknowledge that one can have great confidence in their salvation, understanding that a relationship with Christ is much deeper than any given choice in the moment. Our confidence stems from Christ’s work on the cross and not our own. However unthinkable, should one cease to trust in Christ, salvation is no longer secure (Hebrews 6:4-6).
We also acknowledge that while we have inherited a sinful nature, we still have the capacity to make good choices. The Holy Spirit has a key role in our regeneration, and we can trust in God who knows our nature better than we know our own.
Gender roles in the church is another matter of great controversy. We at Riverside believe in the priesthood of all believers and gender equality. However, we also believe that scripture teaches that certain positions of church government (elder and pastor) are reserved for men. This does not exclude women from teaching, leading, or serving in other areas (I Peter 2:9; Galatians 3:28; I Timothy 3:1-13).
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life (Psalm 139; Genesis 1:27; Exodus 20:13).
Gender: We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two, distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one's biological sex is rejection of the image of God within and natural design of that person (Genesis 1:26-28).
Marriage: We believe that the term "marriage" has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis. 2:18-25).
Sexuality: We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1Corinthians 6:12-20, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We also believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus 18; Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians. 6:9-10).
In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, vice, and all forms of sexual immorality. Christians should be ready to work with all men of good will in any good cause, always being careful to act in the spirit of love without compromising their loyalty to Christ and His truth. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31). Hateful attitudes and harassing behavior directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accordance with Scripture nor the doctrines of Riverside Christian Church.