Beliefs
Glorifying Jesus
Making disciples
Living on mission
Salvation
Jesus Christ judges every person when they die. Because “everyone has sinned,” and “the wages of sin is death” (eternal separation from God), a person must confess his or her sins, repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in order to be cleansed from sin and receive eternal salvation (John 3:16; Acts 3:19; Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15).
We believe that salvation is an irrevocable gift from God given on the basis His grace through our faith, and not on the basis of our works (John 10:27-29; Ephesians 2:8-9).
We believe that good works are not the root of salvation; but are the fruit of salvation (Ephesians 2:10; James 2:14-26; Galatians 5:6).
Triune God
God eternally existing in three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God, possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of our worship and service (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-4, John 10:30; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
God
God, the Father, is the creator and sustainer of the universe (Genesis 1:27).
He is sovereign over all creation and all history (Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:16-17; Isaiah 45:7-9; Proverbs 16:33).
God loves lost people, desires them to be saved, and has set forth His purposes from eternity to reconcile mankind to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:3-14; Colossians 1:15-23; 2 Peter 3:9).
Jesus Christ
Jesus of Nazareth (as prophesied in the Old Testament and described in the Gospels) is the Messiah – the promised Christ, the Son of God. He is God in human form. We believe the virgin-born Son of God died for our sins, was buried, rose from the dead on the 3rd day, and is coming again. We believe He is both fully God and fully man (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6; Micah 5:2-3; John 1:1-14; John 14:7-11; Philippians 2:5-7; Colossians 2:9).
We believe in the literal, bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead as prophesied. We believe He was physically present with His followers before He ascended into Heaven to be with His Father (Acts 1:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8).
We believe in the literal return of Jesus as promised, when He will raise the dead to be judged (John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Peter 3:3-4, 10, 13; Revelation 19:11-16)
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the 3rd Person of the Triune God, sharing in all the divine nature with the Father and the Son (Matthew 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 14:15-17; Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:4-7).
We believe that when a person receives Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, he or she also receives the Holy Spirit who leads and directs the believer through God’s Word and ministers to the believer, sanctifying, shaping, and guiding him or her to the truth (John 16:13; Acts 2:38; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 12:13).
We believe spiritual gifts are given to all believers by the Holy Spirit for works of service to benefit and build up the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:1, 4-7; Ephesians 4:11-16).
Scripture
The entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. The Bible is therefore without error (inerrant) in its original manuscripts. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible, and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life, providing encouragement, guidance, comfort, and instruction for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
Mankind
Man was created in the image of God by direct act of God and for His glory. Because sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam, man is born with a sin nature, is separated from God, and is incapable of saving himself by his own effort or merit. Man can only overcome sin through accepting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior (Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 43:7; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:23-24, 5:6-12; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Salvation
Without Jesus, we are lost. But God, in His love and mercy, offers us salvation through faith in His Son. When we confess, repent, and believe, we receive eternal life—a gift we could never earn.
(John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9)
Baptism
Every believer is spiritually “baptized” and born again by the Holy Spirit, when they place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:1-8; Acts 2:36-38; 1 Corinthians 12:3, 13-14).
We believe that every believer should be physically baptized as a public act of faith in Jesus and identification with His death, burial, and resurrection, as commanded by Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17, 28:19; Mark 1:9-10; Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-4).
A believer’s baptism by immersion in water is the biblical and proper method of baptism, when possible. Therefore, this is our only practice.
We do NOT believe that water baptism is what saves us; but it is the physical act of confession and faithful obedience for those who have come to saving faith in Christ. (Luke 23:39-43; 1 Peter 3:21-22).
(Therefore, we do require that all Eastridge members have been baptized as confessing believers of Jesus, whether at Eastridge or previously, elsewhere. We require that all baptisms at Eastridge be done by immersion; however, we do accept the baptism of one who was baptized by sprinkling as a confessing believer, prior to coming to Eastridge. Those baptized as infants and/or not as confessing believers will be required to be baptized at Eastridge by immersion.)
Marriage and Sex
God created and approves only of marriage that is between one man and one woman. In marriage, God joins husband and wife in a “one flesh” union, both physically and spiritually. This union reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church (Genesis 2:18-25; 1 Corinthians 7:2; Ephesians 5:22-33).
Sexual intimacy is a good gift from God for the purposes of procreation and pleasure. However, we also believe that sexual intimacy is only appropriate within the confines of a marriage relationship between 1 man and 1 woman, as prescribed by God for human flourishing (Genesis 2:21-24; 1 Corinthians 7:1-5; Matthew 19:4-6; Deuteronomy 22:13-24; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5).
Marriage is a union of mutual submission between husband and wife, with the husband given the role as the spiritual leader of wife and family. As such, we believe that Christian marriage should reflect the Gospel relationship between Christ (the husband) and the Church (the wife), as the husband loves and leads the wife as Christ loves and leads His church, and the wife submits to her husband as the Church submits to Christ (Ephesians 5:21-33).
A Christian should not choose to enter into a marriage relationship with a non-Christian; but should choose a spouse that is “equally yoked” in faith (2 Corinthians 6:14).
Those who are married should remain married (even Christians and non-Christians). We believe that the only grounds which justify divorce are marital unfaithfulness or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. Even then, we believe that divorce should only be pursued as the last resort (Matthew 5:31-32; Matthew 19:4-6; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16).
All of the following are sins of sexual immorality:
A lustful heart (Matthew 5:28)
Any sexual activity outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (Mark 10:6-9; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 7:9)
Adultery (Exodus 20:14)
Prostitution (Proverbs 23:27)
Incest (Leviticus 18:6-18, 1 Corinthians 5:1)
Bestiality (Leviticus 18:23)
Orgies (Gal 5:19)
Homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22, 1 Corinthians 6:9, Romans 1:26-28)
The Church
The Church is the worldwide and eternal Body of Christ, made up of believers in Jesus from every tribe, tongue, and nation who are united by faith in Jesus and the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that the local church is a body of believers who are united in Christ and His Spirit, and who under the care and leadership of appointed elders/pastors. The elders are men called by God and appointed by the Church to lead the local church as faithful shepherds of God’s flock. Likewise, the members of a local church body must submit to the leadership of the elders, who are under the ultimate authority of Christ and His Word (Philippians 1:1-2; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Acts 14:23, 20:17-38).
Members of the church must care for one another with the peace of Jesus Christ ruling in their hearts; and use the spiritual gifts and physical resources, which God gives to them, to help, serve, and build one another up in Christ (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:25-27; Ephesians 4:4; Colossians 3:15).
The mission of the church is to be witnesses for Christ, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ, baptizing them and teaching them to obey Jesus in everything (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20; John 13:35; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 4:8,11).
The Lord’s Supper (Communion)
The Lord’s Supper is a significant physical and spiritual ceremony commanded by Jesus for believers to remember and confess His sacrificial and atoning death for our sins. Before participating in the Lord’s Supper, a person should examine himself or herself, repent of sin before the Lord, and never forget the tremendous price paid by our Savior for our salvation (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
We do not require that a person be a member of Eastridge in order to participate in communion. We do believe that a person should a Christian who has been baptized and is walking in daily faith and repentance in Christ Jesus. We believe that each person is accountable to God for his/her own actions, and will be judged accordingly. Therefore, we leave it up to each person to rightly examine themselves, and to partake or refrain from partaking in communion according to their own faith and obedience or lack thereof.
Sin, Judgement, and Hell
Sin is any intention or action which impugns the glory and character of God and transgresses His Law by either the willful rebellion against His Law or the ignorant inability to follow it. In short, sin is the transgression of God’s Law and the rejection of His glory (Romans 1:18-32; 1 John 3:4).
We believe that all people are born with a sinful nature, that we have all “sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” and are “dead in our trespasses and sins” (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1).
Therefore, we believe that all people are guilty before God as unrighteous, and are deserving of His just judgement and punishment by eternal death and separation from God in Hell (Ephesians 2:1-3; Romans 1:18; Romans 3:1-20; Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 14:10-11).