The following are the core beliefs of Aldersgate Church of the Brazos Valley based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.
We believe that the Bible is the only written Word of God, recorded by holy men inspired by the Holy Spirit, accurate in its communication of the truth, reliable in its purpose, plan, and promises, and the supreme and final authority in all matters of godly faith and holy living. We believe the Bible contains the Gospel, by which a believing soul is saved.
We believe that the God of the Bible is the One True Eternal God, Creator and Ruler of the universe. God exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is holy and perfect in judgment and unchanging in mercy, love, and grace.
We believe that Jesus Christ is the unique, one and only, Son of God. He was
begotten by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life and was physically crucified and He suffered, bled, and died as a substitutionary atoning sacrifice for sinners. He physically rose from death and the grave and ascended into heaven, thereby securing eternal redemption and life everlasting for whoever believes in Him.
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God, Eternal and One with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, grants spiritual new birth to those who believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, baptizes them into the body of Christ, giving spiritual gifts to each new believer to equip them for ministry and to build up the church. The Holy Spirit fills and uses those who yield to Him in obedience.
We believe that God created an innumerable company of spiritual beings known as angels. While created as a higher order of creature than mankind, possessing great power, moral judgment, and intelligence, they are not to be worshipped. They exist to serve God and minister to believers. One angel of highest rank, “Lucifer, son of the morning”, sinned through pride and thus became Satan and the originator of sin. A great company of angels followed Satan, becoming demons, active in the execution of Satan’s unholy purposes. He is the enemy of God and God’s people and, together with the fallen angels, will be judged righteously by God in the end times and cast into the lake of fire.
Man, Woman, Sex, and Marriage
We believe that God created Adam and Eve, male and female, in His image, without sin and full of dignity and worth. God created them for relationship and fellowship and it is only in a relationship with God that each person achieves their highest calling. We believe that God has given a gift in marriage and sexual intimacy. In keeping with Biblical teaching through the ages and throughout the Church universal, we believe that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a single exclusive union. We believe that God intends faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness.
We believe that Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan to disobey God’s command and chose to rebel, severing their relationship with God through their sin. The penalty for their sin was spiritual death and separation from a holy God. Every person since then has been born in a lost and sinful condition, in need of salvation. Sin is both inherited and active in the lives of fallen mankind, demonstrated in selfish thoughts, words, and actions. The only remedy for sin is forgiveness through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. The believer who trusts in Christ as Savior and Lord personally receives and experiences the justifying and sanctifying grace of God.
We believe that becoming right with God and having our relationship with God
restored is what the Bible calls salvation. It is being born again of the spirit. Salvation
is God’s free gift to us. It is offered to all and given by grace alone to those who are
justified by faith alone in Christ alone. There is no other salvation outside of Christ.
His perfect sacrificial death on the cross was followed by His burial, His bodily
resurrection from the dead after three days, and His ascension into heaven where
He presently reigns. Every believer is authorized to share this good news of
salvation with the whole world, thus fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission: “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have
commanded you.”
We believe that all who are united to the risen and ascended Son of God are
members of the Church which is the body and bride of Christ. We believe that by the
Holy Spirit all believers are baptized into one body and, having become members
one of another, are called to love unconditionally, to pray fervently, to serve joyfully,
and to keep vigilantly the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, loving one another
with a pure heart and growing in sanctifying grace and holiness. The Church
regularly celebrates Holy Communion and Baptism according to the teachings of
Christ during His earthly ministry and as instructed in His Word.
We believe in the resurrection, hope for the rapture of the saints, expect the great
tribulation, and anticipate the second coming of Christ, which includes the personal
and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His
kingdom. We believe that God in Christ will judge every person who has ever lived
and reward them or punish them on the basis of His righteous judgment. The
blessedness of a new heaven and a new earth await the righteous while the lake of
fire awaits the Devil and his demons and the unredeemed. We are to look with hope
for the soon and coming day of the Lord and thus live holy and godly lives.
