The following are the core beliefs of Calvary Chapel River Cities 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 the Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, to be the completely inspired Word of God and entirely free from error. We believe that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and supersedes all earthly laws. We believe the Bible is the foundation upon which the church operates and the true basis of Christian union.
We believe in one Triune God, the Creator of all things, who is holy, sovereign, and eternal, existing as three equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We believe in God the Father, the Creator, Preserver, and Ruler of all things. He is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy, and is unchangeable—He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God mercifully cares for humanity and saves all who come to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, adopting them as His children.
We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal and only begotten Son of God. Jesus was supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and is both fully God and fully human. He possesses both deity and humanity in perfect unity. We affirm His sinless life, miracles, teachings, substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, and ongoing intercession for His people. Therefore, Jesus is the sole and all-sufficient mediator between God and humanity.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit regenerates, sanctifies, and empowers all who believe in Christ. Through regeneration, the Spirit unites the justified believer to Christ and His church, making the redeemed part of God's family. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, serving as an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. The primary evidence of a Spirit-filled life is the fruit of the Spirit, especially love.
We believe that man was directly created by God in His image and likeness. We believe that Adam, the first man, sinned and, due to his disobedience to God, man lost his innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, and became subject to the wrath of God. We believe man has no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself; therefore, man is hopelessly lost because of man's sin nature. We believe man’s salvation is thereby wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe God created mankind as man and woman. As such, He created them differently so that they could complement each other. God created the institution of marriage as a lifelong, monogamous union between one man and one woman, for His glory and as the general pattern for human flourishing.
We believe that salvation is a gift from God, given by grace, and received only through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Because of the effect of sin and spiritual death, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born again. Our redemption is accomplished solely through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, who died as our substitute. The new birth of the believer is a gift of God by the Holy Spirit and is revealed through faith in Christ. Repentance is an essential aspect of believing, but it is not a separate or independent requirement for salvation. Likewise, acts such as confession, baptism, prayer, or faithful service should not be added to faith as conditions for salvation. Therefore, salvation is found by grace through faith in Christ alone.
We believe in sanctification, the gracious act of God by which believers are set apart from sin and consecrated unto God. Sanctification is both positional and progressive. It is positional in that it occurs immediately at the moment of salvation, when the believer is united with Christ through faith in the gospel and declared holy before God. It is progressive in that it continues throughout the believer’s life as the Holy Spirit works to conform the believer into the image of Christ. Through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, believers are convicted of sin, led to confession, and cleansed from unrighteousness. Although believers may still sin, the dominion and love of it is broken, and a growing desire for holiness is produced as they yield to the work of the Spirit rather than to the flesh. Sanctification involves being set apart for Christ Jesus and for good works, enabling believers to represent Him faithfully in the world. Scripture presents sanctification in the past, present, and future—believers have been sanctified, are being sanctified, and will ultimately be fully sanctified in glory. Through this divine process, our faith is anchored in the truth that we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ, moving from glory to glory, with the assured hope that one day we shall see Him face to face.
We believe that everyone who places their faith in Jesus Christ is immediately united by the Holy Spirit into a single spiritual body—the church, the bride of Christ—with Christ as its Head. The church is a unique spiritual organism created by Christ, consisting of all believers who have been born again. We believe the Bible clearly teaches the establishment and ongoing life of local churches, and that believers are called to gather together in such assemblies. Christ alone is the supreme authority over the church, and leadership, spiritual gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all determined by His will as revealed in Scripture. The biblically appointed offices under Christ's authority are Pastors, Elders, and Deacons, each of whom must meet the qualifications found in the Bible. The church’s purpose is to glorify God by growing in faith through biblical teaching, fellowship, discipleship and spreading the gospel to the whole world.
We believe in the personal and imminent second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth for His Church. We affirm the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, when all believers will meet Jesus in the air and be taken from the world before the Tribulation begins. We also believe that Jesus will return in righteousness and judgment to establish His millennial kingdom and fulfill God's will during the tribulation period, bringing justice to a world that has rejected Christ.
We believe water baptism is a public declaration of a person's inward faith. It serves as an outward sign of the transformation that has already taken place in the life of someone who has been born again through faith in Jesus Christ. We hold that only those who have genuinely committed their lives to Jesus should be baptized, in obedience to His command. Based on Scripture, we do not practice infant baptism, since infants are not able to understand or respond to God's Word. However, children who can understand and receive God's Word may be baptized. We also believe that baptism itself does not grant salvation. The Bible teaches that salvation comes by grace through faith and is a gift of God's mercy. Salvation is a result of faith in the Gospel, not the act of baptism. Therefore, baptism is an act of obedience, not a means of salvation.
We believe that Jesus Christ established the Lord's Supper, also called communion, on the night before His death as He shared the Passover meal with His disciples. The bread (cracker) symbolizes Christ’s body, which was beaten and broken for us as He died for the sins of humanity. The cup of wine (juice) symbolizes His blood, which was shed for us as He paid for our sins. We believe anyone who takes part in communion should first be a believer. We must also prepare our hearts beforehand, ensuring we do not approach the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner. Before participating, we should examine our lives for any unconfessed sin. When we search within our hearts and confess our sins, we may then take part in the Lord’s Supper in a worthy way.
We believe that marriage is a covenant between one man and one woman, established and blessed by God. The marriage of believers should reflect the loving relationship between Christ and His church. Husbands are called to love their wives as Christ loves the church, and wives are called to submit to their husbands’ leadership as the church submits to Christ. Marriage is intended to mirror Christ’s relationship with His church; therefore, believers should marry only those who share their faith and new life in Christ. We teach that sexual intimacy is reserved for a man and a woman who are married to each other. God commands that intimate sexual activity occur only within marriage. We believe God opposes divorce, permitting it only in cases of unrepentant sexual sin or abandonment by an unbelieving spouse. Remarriage is allowed only to a partner of the same faith, and only when the divorce was biblically justified; otherwise, it is considered adultery.
