Our Doctrine

Tree of Life Church teaches Reformed Theology. We believe in the total depravity of man concerning his sinful condition before God. We believe in the sovereignty of God in His electing grace for salvation. We believe in the limited atonement of Christ as His saving death is efficient for all believers. We believe in the effectual call of salvation as the Holy Spirit will regenerate God’s People. We believe in the perseverance of the saints as as all believers are eternally secure in the finished work of Christ. Our doctrine also leads us to believe in the Five Sola’s: Scripture alone, Grace alone, Christ alone, Faith alone, and God’s Glory alone. We believe our doctrine informs our decisions and lifestyle. We believe biblical doctrine humbles our pride, causes spiritual transformation, enables a joyful obedience to God’s word, creates a like-minded fellowship within our church, compels us to evangelize sinners, and facilitates a life that glorifies God.

The Bible

We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice.  (II Timothy. 3:16-17, II Peter 1:21, John 17:17)

The Trinity

We believe there is one God, that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are each God, and that the Father and the Son and the Spirit are each a distinct person.  (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19-20, I Corinthians 8:6, II Corinthians 13:14, Colossians 2:9, Acts 5:3-4)

Jesus Christ

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God, fulfill prophecy and redeem sinful man. We believe He accomplished our redemption through His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, His burial, and His bodily resurrection. We believe our redemption and salvation are guaranteed by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that He is the only means of salvation.  (John, 1:1,14; Luke 1:35, Romans 3:24-25, 4:25; John 14:6, Acts 4:15-8, Philippians 2:5-8, I Timothy2:5)

We believe that Jesus Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, the Creator and Sustainer of heaven and earth, and the Head of the church. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God where, as High Priest to His people, He serves as our Advocate and intercedes for us.  (Colossians 1:15-19, Hebrews 1: 3, 3:1, 7:23-25, I John 2:1-2)

The Holy Spirit

We believe God the Holy Spirit is a person who restrains evil in the world and convicts men of sin, righteousness and judgment. He dwells in all individuals who repent and believe the Gospel. From the moment of saving faith into Jesus Christ, the Spirit baptizes believers into the Body of Christ, seals them for salvation, regenerates them to new life, gives spiritual gifts to each believer, and is fully present to continually fill, control and guide His people.  (John 16:7-11, I Corinthians 12:4-11, John 3:8, Ephesians 4:30, 5:18, I Thessalonians 5:19, John 14:16-17)

Some gifts of the Holy Spirit, however, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of miraculous healing were temporary, only given to certain individuals as authenticating signs in the early church (Acts 8:14, 10:44-48, 11:15-18, 19:1-6) and not as final evidence of God’s presence in a believers life nor as confirmations of a “second blessing” or subsequent filling of the Spirit. We believe the gift of tongues in the New Testament always presents itself as a known language (Acts 2:6-13) and not as a private prayer language.

Angels: Fallen and Unfallen

We believe angels are spiritual beings who were created as sinless personalities and that they occupy different orders or ranks. They presently exist in both fallen and unfallen states, the former including Satan and his angels.  (Hebrews 1:13-14, II Peter 2:4, Revelation 7:12)

We believe Satan, by his own choice the enemy of God and His people, is the originator of sin, that led Adam and Eve into sin and now rules as “god of this world.” We believe he was judged at the cross and ultimately, he will be caste into the Lake of fire an eternal hell.  (Isaiah 14:12-14, Genesis 3:1-19, Hebrews 2:14, Revelation 20:10)

Man

We believe man was created innocent and, in the image, and likeness of God, but that man sinned, bringing both physical and spiritual death to himself and his posterity.  (Genesis 1:27, 2:17, 3:19) Man can do nothing to merit God’s favor, and as such, is in need of salvation.  (Isaiah 59:1-2, Romans 3:23) We believe mankind’s sinful nature is rebellious toward God and His biblical design for life and worship.  (Romans 1:20-24, Ephesians 2:1-3) Mankind’s rebellion causes confusion about good and evil, and harm to people, ultimately ending in judgment, despair and death.  (Genesis 1: 31, Galatians 5:16-21, I Corinthians 6:19-20, James 1:13-15)

We believe God created mankind in His image, forming each person in the womb from conception  (Psalm 139:13-16, Isaiah 44:2, 49:5; Jeremiah 1:4-5) until the day of death; and assigning gender to His people, male (man) and female (women), as He created them sexually and biologically different, but with equal personal dignity and value.  (Genesis 1:26-28)

We believe God ordained marriage as a lifelong union between one man and one woman.  (Genesis 2:18, Matthew 19:4-9, Ephesians 5:31-33)  Those who obey Holy Scripture and live within God’s design for sex, biological gender, and marriage experience the blessing of His good design  (Psalm 1:1-3, 128:1-4), and any decisions to change, alter or modify God’s will in marriage, sex or gender are part of man’s brokenness and lead to despair.  (Romans 1:21-22, James 1: 13-15)

We believe God loves and pursues mankind despite our rebellion.  (Romans 5:8) He offers forgiveness, healing and abundant life to anyone who turns to Christ in humble repentance and saving faith.  (John 3:17, 10:10; Titus 3:3-7, I Peter 5:6-7)

Salvation

We believe salvation is a sovereign gift of God and is received by man through personal faith into Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin.  We believe man is justified by grace through faith.  Christ is the only means of salvation and no one is saved apart from a conscious and personal belief in Jesus Christ. We believe that all true believers are the elect of God, once saved, and are eternally secure in Christ. (Ephesian 1:4, Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; John 10:27-30)

Sanctification

We believe sanctification, which is a setting apart from sin unto God, is positional, progressive and ultimate. Positionally, it is already complete since the believer is in Christ and set apart there is need for progressive sanctification as he grows in the grace and knowledge of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, the child of God will be set apart from sin in his practice when he is taken to be with Christ and shall be like Him.  (John 17:17, II Corinthians 3:18, Ephesians 5:25-27, I Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 10:10, 14)

The Church

We believe the Church, the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism, made up of born-again persons in this present age. We believe the Church began at Pentecost and that a believer is placed into the Church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Church is distinct from Israel.  (Ephesians 1:22-23, I Corinthians 12:13, 10:32)

We believe the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are joined together at one locality for the purposes of worship, study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, relational fellowship, equipping for and practice of Gospel service, specifically stewarding our lives for the fulfilling of the Great Commission.  (Acts 2:42-47, I Corinthians 1:1-2, Ephesians 4:11-13, Matthew 16:18, 28: 19-20)

The Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper; both are to be observed by believers until He returns.  (Matthew 28:19-20, I Corinthians 11:23-26)

We believe by water baptism a believer publicly identifies with Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. We believe that infants of believing parents may be dedicated to the Lord but should not be baptized until they can personally articulate their faith in Christ and the purpose for baptism.

We believe the Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death and an expression of our faith in His future coming that is to be continually practiced by all believers. We believe every Christian has the right to partake in the elements of the Lord’s Supper but that participation must always be preceded by solemn self-examination.

The End Times

We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. This event, commonly called the rapture, will be followed by great tribulation on the earth and will culminate in the visible and bodily return of Jesus Christ to the earth, commonly called the Second Coming, to rule the nations, and to establish His millennial kingdom.  (I Thessalonians 4:13-18, Philippians 3:20, Matthew 24:15-31, Zechariah 14:4-11, Revelation 19:11-21, 20:1-6)

The Eternal State

We believe the souls of believers in Jesus Christ do, at death, immediately pass into His presence, and there remain with Him until the resurrection of our earthly bodies at His second coming for the Church, when our souls and imperishable bodies shall be with Him forever in glory called Heaven. We believe the souls of unbelievers remain after death in constant misery in Hades until the final judgment at the Great White Throne at the close of the millennium when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord in a place called Hell.  (Luke 16:19-26, 23:43; I Corinthians 15:42-44, II Corinthians 5:8, Philippians 1:23, II Thessalonians 1:7-9, Revelation 20:11-15)