God has always existed in three distinct personalities: the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. All of creation, both visible and invisible, was
spoken into existence by God according to His perfect will. As a species,
mankind lives in opposition to God's will by embracing thoughts and
activities (sins) that offend God’s holiness and separate us from Him. God
wants us back, but has given us the freedom to make our own choices and will
not force anyone to return to Him
God
became human in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to teach us how to live
according to God's will and to pay our debt of sin so that we can be
reunited with God. To do this He lived a sinless life, and paid for the sins
of all people by dying as a perfect sacrifice on a cross. On the third day
following, He arose from the dead to demonstrate His supernatural power over
death.
He gave His followers the responsibility to tell all people about Him
and how they can receive His gift of eternal life. Then He ascended to
Heaven. He will return again someday to judge all people everywhere and to
mete out eternal and perfect justice to all. Those who have accepted
Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross will spend eternity with Him in
Heaven. Those who reject it will spend eternity apart from Him in Hell.
The Holy Spirit is present in every Christian from
the moment of salvation. He provides power for living, understanding of
spiritual truth, gifts and abilities to carry out Christ’s continuing work
on earth, and guidance in living according to God's will. It is the Holy
Spirit who gathers the followers of Jesus together into the family of
believers called “The Church.”
The Bible was written by human authors, under the
supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. As God's Word, it is the primary
way that He communicates to us. It is not the only way; we believe that He
still speaks to us through the Holy Spirit, but He will never say anything
that contradicts the Bible.
People are the supreme object of God's creation. Although all people have
tremendous potential for good, all of us are constantly tempted to disobey
God and to live outside of His will. This is our innate "sin nature" which
separates us from God and causes many problems in life.
We can resist our sin nature, but we will never be
completely successful. Nor can we ever make up for our sins by
self-improvement or good works. None of us is strong enough, or good enough
to ever earn our way back into God's good graces through our own efforts. It
is impossible for any person to be without sin, or holy, as God is holy, and
we would have to be perfectly holy to return to God on our own merits. God
knows this and has provided a means for our salvation.
Salvation (eternal life in the presence of God in Heaven) is available
to all people by trusting totally in Jesus Christ. We do this by making Him
the Lord of our life by following His commandments. Do this and you can be
assured of spending eternity with God in Heaven, for Heaven is where God is.
Baptism was commanded by Jesus
for all of His followers. The biblical pattern for baptism shows that, to
become a disciple, or follower, of Jesus, one had to “repent and be
baptized.” At Morning Star Christian Fellowship we baptize all who are
prepared to make a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We prefer
baptism by immersion, but we also baptize by sprinkling or pouring upon
request. Although we do not baptize infants, we do offer parents a ceremony
of dedication. In this ceremony, parents dedicate their children to the Lord
and promise to raise them in the Christian faith in the hope that they may
be led to request baptism when mature enough to make the solemn commitment
that profession of faith in Jesus requires.
