What We Believe
What We Believe
WATERFRONT CHURCH DC

Our Statement of Beliefs

HOLY BIBLE

The Holy Bible, and only the Bible, is the authoritative Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining all doctrinal truths. In its original writing, it is inspired, infallible and inerrant (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5; Romans 16:25-26)

There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal (I John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11). 

We believe that Jesus existed.  We believe that Jesus is the Son of God (he was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life).  We believe that Jesus died on the cross.  We believe that Jesus rose from the dead.  We believe that Jesus is the perfect atoning sacrifice for our sin.  We believe there is nothing you can do to get to God on your own, but access to God, in all His holiness, only comes through believing in what Christ has done for us on the cross.  

The blood that Jesus Christ shed on the Cross of Calvary was sinless and is 100% sufficient to cleanse mankind of all sin. Jesus allowed Himself to be punished for both our sinfulness and our sins, enabling all those who believe to be free from the penalty of sin, which is death (John 1:1; 1:14; 3:16; 14:6; 20:28, Isaiah 9:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Matthew 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35; Isaiah 7:14, 1 John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 5:9; John 1:29).

Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is in Jesus Christ, the Son of God (Gen.1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-21).

The inward evidence to the believer of his/her salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit. The outward evidence to all men is a life of holiness (1 Thessalonians 4:7, 2 Timothy 1:9, Matthew 3:8, John 13:35, Romans 8:16).

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; His death, burial, and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22).

Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives and to follow Christ, which allows us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and salvation (Acts 2:21, 3:19; 1 John 1:9).

Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to continue the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life (1 Thessalonians 4:3, 5:23; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 6:14-18, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, Romans 8:29, 12:1-2, Hebrews 2:11).

Christians are people who have invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to him thus making Jesus the Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead (John 1:12; John 14:17, 23; John 15:4; Romans 8:11; Revelations 3:20).

Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His Ascension, to empower the church to preach the Gospel throughout the whole earth (Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 3:11; Mark 16:17; Acts 1:5, 2:1-4, 17, 38-39, 8:14-17, 10:38, 44-47, 11:15-17, 19:1-6). 

The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11, 12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; 2 Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10).

The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations. The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (Matthew 28:19–20, Acts 2:41–47, Ephesians 1:22–23).

Water Baptism

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38). 

The Lord’s Supper

A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of the bread and the cup which represent, the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; 1Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25).

Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21). 

Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; 1 Peter 1:4).

We believe that Hell is a real place and those who have not been saved through believing in Jesus Christ will dwell in Hell eternally, separated from God and his perfect love  (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8).

We believe that Christ is coming again, and that we are to be hard at work proclaiming the Gospel to the world until that day comes (Matthew 24:30,  26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7).