SOVEREIGN REDEEMER CHURCH
That In Everything Christ Might Have The Supremacy - Col. 1:18b
Distinctives
2 Timothy 3:16-17 - All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
The word of God is sufficient. It is sufficient for faith. It is sufficient for practice. The word of God ought to define what a church believes and what a church does, because it alone is the voice of God, given to thoroughly equip us for every good work.
We believe the Bible makes a father responsible to lovingly lead and teach his wife the Scriptures, and to bring his children up in the training and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 5 and 6, among others). We embrace and encourage this design of God.
Because of this belief, our primary source of daily discipleship is families worshiping God each day in the home. In addition to this, the Body of Christ (the Church) meets regularly in worship to hear God's Word proclaimed, for fellowship, the breaking of bread, and for prayer. We whole-heartedly declare and embrace this as God's design for the Christian family. When we are satisfied with God’s plan in this way, we find that our homes and His church become vital places of fellowship, ministry, and evangelism for families, single parents, the fatherless, singles, and all that the Lord would draw unto Himself.
With that in mind, we hereby commit ourselves to the following principles and practices:
* The Centrality of the Gospel – All activities and messages of the church have their source in the gospel of Christ, that sinners are justified by faith alone, that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers by God’s decree alone, that this righteousness is the only righteousness that justifies, and that genuine faith is evidenced by works (1 Cor 15:1-4; Rev14:6-7).
* Expository Preaching – We believe that a steady diet of expositional preaching is the most effective way to build up the body of Christ. Preaching and teaching through books of the Bible will be a key discipleship method of this ministry (Deut 6:4-9; Ezra 7:10; Neh 8:1-12; Matt 4:4; 1 Tim 4:13; 2 Tim 3:14-4:5; Titus 1:3, 9; Heb 4:12; 1 Pet 1:22-2:3).
* Baptism and The Lord’s Supper are ordinances of positive and sovereign institution, appointed by the Lord Jesus, the only lawgiver, to be continued in his church to the end of the world. Sovereign Redeemer Church will receive communion together the first Sunday of each month, and as appropriate throughout the year. New believers will be baptized, thus identifying with Christ, and testifying to His miraculous work of raising them from the dead, granting them the forgiveness of their sin, and giving them new life in Christ (Mat 28:19-20; 1Co 11:26; Acts 2:8-41; Romans 6:4; 2 Cor. 5:17).
* Fervent Prayer – Every aspect of the church’s life and ministry ought to be under-girded with regular, fervent prayer. Elements of a godly prayer life (individually and corporately) include: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and intercession (Neh 1; Psalm 51; Matt 6:5-15; Luke 19:46; Phil 1:3-11; Col 1:3-12; James 5:13-18).
* Worship – Worship of the living God is marked by biblical truth, personal and corporate genuineness and spiritual depth. Elements of worship include prayer, singing, Scripture reading, preaching, and the Lord’s supper (Psalm 24, 33, 42, 95; Isa 6:1-8; Matt 4:10; John 4:24; Rom 12:1-2; Heb 13:15; Rev 4-5; 1 Cor 11:23-34).
* Loving Community – We will cultivate Christian love, rejoicing, unity, and community in the family of God through mentoring relationships, benevolence, and biblical instruction (Acts 2:44-47; 6:1-7; Eph 4:1-16; 1 Tim 5:3-8; 2 Tim 2:2; Titus 2:3-5; James 1:27).
* Church Discipline – We will exercise biblical church discipline administered in a spirit of obedience and humility and believe that this practice protects the purity of the church and offers restoration to the wayward (Prov 28:13; Matt 5:23-24; 18:15-20; 1 Cor 5:6-8; 11:17-34; Gal 6:1-5; Eph 5:25-27).
* Evangelism – We will equip and send the church into the community to bring the message of the cross to our own households, neighborhoods, workplaces and the world (Matt 28:19-20; John 20:31; Acts 4:12; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Pet 3:15).
* Church Planting – We will make intentional efforts to reach the world for Christ by praying, giving, going and planting as God leads, and as we rejoice in God’s plan to be a blessing to the nations (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 13-14, 16-21).
* The Sufficiency of Scripture – We will honor Scripture as sufficient for life and godliness, consulting it for all things. We will use it for reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness to speak into the lives of those in the congregation (2 Tim 3:16-4:5).
* The Regulative Principle – We will regulate church life by Scripture alone, recognizing that God has instituted in the Scriptures everything He requires for worship in the Church and that everything else is prohibited. Therefore, the only permissible elements of worship are those that are instituted by command, precept, or example or by good and necessary consequence and that whatever is not warranted by Scripture is forbidden. This is another way of saying that Christ has authority over His church through the Word of God (Matt 16:18; Rom 1:16; 10:17).
Essential Doctrines
The following serves as the “Statement of Faith” in the Sovereign Redeemer Church Constitution:
1) We believe the Bible as contained in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.
2) There is one and only one God. This God has revealed Himself to us in the Scriptures as a personal being existing eternally in three persons (the divine Trinity): God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
3) We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, begotten of the Father before all worlds, very God of very God, willingly humbled Himself in love for mankind, was born of a virgin, fully human. He led a sinless life, died a substitutionary, atoning death on the cross. Three days later he rose bodily from the dead. He ascended into heaven and now intercedes for His brethren on the right hand of His Father. He will one day return bodily to the earth to rule His Kingdom.
4) We believe a person is saved, or justified, by an act of God’s free grace and not on any merit of his own. God pardons his sins and accepts him as righteous in His sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us (through Christ’s substitutionary atoning death and bodily resurrection) and received sola fide, by faith alone.
5) Those who are justified will live eternally in the presence of God and all the redeemed, and those who are not justified will suffer eternal damnation in hell.
Doctrinal Statement
We adhere to and embrace THE FIVE SOLAS of The Protestant Reformation, which clearly defines Protestants from the teachings of Rome.
THE FIVE SOLAS: SOLA SCRIPTURA (Scripture alone), SOLAS CHRISTUS (Christ alone), SOLA FIDE (faith alone), SOLA GRATIA (grace alone), and SOLI DEO GLORIA (glory to God alone).
We adhere to and embrace COVENANT THEOLOGY & THE DOCTRINES OF GRACE also known as CALVINISM. The following article, as well as the confession below are a good starting point to understanding these biblical truths.
founders.org/articles/the-five-points-of-calvinism-and-covenant-theology/
We are in general agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession and believe it is useful for the practical application of God’s Word to matters of faith and practice. TO VIEW: CLICK HERE
SRC ELDERS: Pastor Eric Mason, Roy Jackson, Bob Le Vene
SRC DEACONS: Shannon Crawford, Justin Rawlins, Jeremiah Johnson
SRC POSITION PAPERS & POLICY DOCUMENTS:
SRC MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION: CLICK HERE
SRC WATER BAPTISM: CLICK HERE
SRC WATER BAPTISM FOR CHILDREN: CLICK HERE
SRC CHILD DEDICATION: CLICK HERE
SRC CHURCH CHILD PROTECTION POLICY: CLICK HERE
SRC MARRIAGE POLICY: CLICK HERE