Aletheia Christian Church

The Scriptures

We believe the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit. As God’s Word, the scriptures are inerrant in their original writings and authoritative. The Bible is therefore the final source for doctrine and life. It must be believed and obeyed. We do not recognize the Apocrypha as belonging to the scriptures.

God

The Bible teaches that God is a Trinity. This one God exists in three eternally distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of all that exists apart from himself. He is morally perfect and is unlimited in power, knowledge, and love.

Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He existed from all eternity as the second person of the Trinity. At the appointed time, He took to himself a body of human flesh, entering the womb of the virgin Mary. From that moment on, He was human in every way, yet without sin. Even as He was fully man, He did not cease to be God. Jesus fulfilled the law perfectly, lived sinlessly, suffered and died on the cross, and was buried. On the third day following his death, Jesus’ physical body was raised to life. He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and will return to judge the world.

Humanity

All persons have been created in God’s image, are loved by him, and possess immense value. However, due to our rebellious sinful nature, we are spiritually dead. Because of our sin, we made ourselves enemies of God, alienated from Him. Nevertheless, it is God’s desire that all humanity be reconciled to Him.

Salvation

God has made reconciliation and salvation possible through Jesus Christ as a free gift for any who receive it. We are therefore reconciled to Him not by doing good works but by grace through faith in Jesus. His atoning sacrifice on the cross is entirely sufficient for our salvation. Nothing can be added to his work. Those who believe, placing their faith in Christ, are made spiritually alive by the Holy Spirit and they become new creations. Those who persevere in faith until death will live forever with God. Those who remain in their sins will be separated from God forever in hell.

The Church

This local church body is part of the larger Church, of which Jesus is the head. The Church is made up of all those who have received salvation through Christ, and we gladly take our orders from Him. The Church is commissioned by God to live together in love and carry out the work of Christ on earth.

An Important Word on Non-Essential Doctrines

Aletheia recognizes a distinction between essential doctrines of the faith and non-essential doctrines. Examples of essential doctrines would include: Jesus’ physical death and resurrection, humanity as sinful and in need of forgiveness, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, God as a Trinity, and others. Basically, if someone denies an essential doctrine of Christianity, he/she should not be considered a Christian. Non-essential doctrines, on the other hand, are those on which Christians can and historically have disagreed. A few examples would include: questions about events leading up to the end times (eschatology), questions related to Arminianism/Calvinism, Bible translations, the age of the earth, the Sabbath, spiritual gifts (cessationism vs. continuationism) and so on. Though these questions are important and deserve to be explored, Aletheia has a diversity of viewpoints on these matters and we practice Christ-like tolerance in areas of disagreement.

Beliefs