The following Doctrinal Statements summarize what we believe as church:
- The Bible is the Word of God. It is absolutely true and tells us everything we need to know in order to receive eternal life and to live the Christian life.
- There is only one God who eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- Jesus Christ is both God and man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He died on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. He arose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven at the right hand of God the Father.
- The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bring glory to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also convicts people of sin and gives a believing sinner new life. The Spirit lives in, guides, instructs and empowers the believer for godly living and service.
- Man was created in the image of God but fell into sin and is therefore spiritually lost. Only through spiritual rebirth by the Holy Spirit can people be saved from the penalty for sin and have new life.
- The shed blood of Jesus Christ and his resurrection provide the only way for people to have a right relationship with God. Only those who believe and receive Jesus Christ can experience spiritual rebirth through the Holy Spirit and become children of God.
- Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances (acts that are ordered by God) for Christians to observe. However, they are not a means of salvation.
- The one and only Church is made up of all people who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, and as a result, have been spiritually reborn through the Holy Spirit. All such believers are united together in the Body of Christ (the Church), of which Jesus is the Head.
- Only those who are members of the one and only Church should be eligible for membership in a local church.
- Every local church has the right under Christ to decide and govern its own affairs.
- Jesus Christ will personally come again for all who have believed in Him. When he returns he will also establish and rule his kingdom on earth for 1000 years.
- Every person who has ever lived and died on earth will be raised bodily from the dead. Believers will be raised to experience everlasting joy with the Lord. Unbelievers will be raised to experience everlasting judgment and punishment.
God’s Gift Offer
“The wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
We want to share God’s gift offer of eternal life with everyone who comes into contact with the Sidney Evangelical Free Church. In order to receive this gift of life, people must first understand the fact that they are separated from God because of their sin. As a result, they are destined for eternal death and separation from God in hell. They must also understand that because of God’s love for mankind, Jesus Christ came into the world to suffer the punishment that we all deserve by dying on the cross for our sin.
Finally – at some point in this life, they must trust the risen Christ to forgive them and give to them eternal life. Turning away from sin and self, and humbly turning to Jesus Christ by faith alone is the only way that anyone can have a right relationship with God the Father. “To all who received Him (Jesus), to all who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God…” (John 1:12)
Please contact us if you would like to know more about receiving this life changing “gift of God”.
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Romans 3:23
“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Romans 6:23
“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
John 14:6
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'”
Ephesians 2:8-9
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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.”
Romans 10:9-10
“If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
1 John 5:11-13
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”