What We Believe
Coastal Bible Fellowship is a self-governing congregation under the primary headship of Jesus Christ. We also voluntarily place ourselves in an accountable relationship with the Evangelical Free Church of America. The Evangelical Free Church of America is an association of autonomous churches united around the following theological convictions, which Coastal Bible Fellowship fully affirms:
God
1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.
The Bible
2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors.
As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Human Condition
3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by
Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from
God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued,
reconciled and renewed.
Jesus Christ
4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two
natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of
the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the
dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and
Advocate.
The Work of Christ
5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross
as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection
constitute the only ground for salvation.
The Holy Spirit
6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He
convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union
with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides,
equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.
The Church
7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God's grace through
faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He
is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be
composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s
Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of
salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish
the believer.
Christian Living
8. We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and
purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our
faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With
God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the
spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all
people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
Christ’s Return
9. We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The
coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed
hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny
10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to
Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead
bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious
punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and
the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.
Denominational Affiliation
