What We Believe
At Celebration, it is more important to us that we love God and our neighbor than that we possess the perfect set of doctrinal beliefs. Nevertheless, beliefs matter. Theology matters. For when we believe lies, we are sure to love poorly.
Celebration is a community that believes the Bible is the Word of God. We believe the 66 books of the Bible are inspired by God, His revelation to humanity about Himself, ourselves, and the story of His redemption of humanity. While we recognize that our ability to interpret, understand, and apply the truths of Scripture to the realities of life is limited, we are sincerely committed to doing just those things.
Theology matters at Celebration. Without sound doctrine, we will be tossed back and forth by every new trend in and outside the church. Without being grounded in the Word, we will do a weak job of teaching our kids and preaching to broken hearts. Attitude matters too; so we seek to bring a humble spirit to our study of the Bible and a gracious spirit to what it says about people inside and outside of the community of faith. Nevertheless, we do not apologize for being out-of-step with American society and it’s ever-shifting morals. Here is a summary of doctrinal truths we believe.
Our Essentials
All Scripture, being truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life to the authority of the infallible Word of God, as written in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, a unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority in all matters on which it speaks.
We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, He ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.
The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service, and seals us for the day of redemption.
Being estranged from God, and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace; God credits His righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ.
Jesus Christ will come again to the earth—personally, visibly, and bodily—to judge the living and the dead and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ demands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to “Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.”
"For when we ask whether someone is a good man, we are not asking what he believes, or hopes, but what he loves."