What We Believe
Core Beliefs
Below you'll find a series of statements that we believe and uphold at Sacred City - Moline. These Core Beliefs capture the contours of Christian theology and practice. Anyone pursuing baptism or church membership at Sacred City - Moline must agree with these beliefs.
The Triune God
We believe there is one God: infinite, eternal, almighty and perfect in holiness, truth and love. In the unity of the Godhead, there are three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent, co-equal and co-eternal. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the Father. Yet each is truly Deity. One God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—is the foundation of Christian faith and life.
Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:36-39; Isaiah 45:5, Mark 12:29; Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 33:27; Romans 16:26; Isaiah 40:28; John 1:1; John 8:58; Exodus 3:14; Hebrews 9:14
GOD THE FATHER
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Luke 10:21, 22; Matt 23:9; John 3:16; 6:27; Rom 1:7; I Tim 1:1,2; 2:5, 6; I Pet 1:3; Rev 1:6
GOD THE SON
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth.
Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 8:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9, 10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Timothy 3:16
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and the Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is our abiding helper, teacher and guide.
John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26,27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26
THE SCRIPTURES
The Scriptures are true, authoritative, sufficient and without error. They are the sole basis of our belief and are comprised of 66 books known as the Old and New Testaments. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Scripture speaks with God’s authority while also reflecting the backgrounds, styles, and vocabularies of these human authors. In its original manuscripts, the Scriptures are truth without any mixture of error.
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31, 32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32
Regeneration
We believe that man was created by God in His own image; that he sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual and eternal death, which is separation from God; that as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under condemnation. We believe that those who repent and forsake sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become new creatures, delivered from condemnation and receive eternal life.
Genesis 1:26; 5:2; Genesis 3; Genesis 2:17; 3:19; Ecclesiastes 2:11; John 3:14; 5:24; John 5:30; 7:13; 8:12; 10:26; Romans 9:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Revelation 19:3, 20; 20:10; 14, 15; 21:18; Psalm 51:7; Jeremiah 17:9; James 1:14; Romans 3:19; 5:19; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:9; John 3:16; John 1:13; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 8:1
The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ and their children, baptized in water in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit, and associated for worship, work, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the task of making disciples of the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God, and teaching them to obey all Christ commanded.
1 Corinthians 7:14; Ephesians 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 5:19-21; Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:23-25; Matthew 28:16-20
The Sacraments
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two sacraments to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe in Christian baptism administered in water into the name of the triune God. We believe in the Lord’s Supper as instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
The LAST THINGS
We believe God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord.
Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15
THEOLOGICAL DISTINCITVES
Our Elder Team consists of men who subscribe to either the Westminster Confession of Faith or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, two of the great Reformed confessions that came out of the Protestant Reformation. These and other theological distinctives mark areas of conviction that are debated even among Bible-believing, gospel-preaching churches. In other words, these are in-house issues. Because of that, agreement with every particular of these confessions isn't required for church membership. However, we would have you know that we will preach, teach, and counsel consistency with these convictions.
Some categories of secondary conviction you can expect from the pastors of Sacred City - Moline include the following.
Biblical Anthropology and gender roles
We believe that God created men and women in the image of God and therefore absolutely equal in dignity, worth, and value. We also believe that men and women are divinely designed to be different and thus to occupy different—yet complementary—roles within the Church and the home, specifically in the areas of teaching and authority. Because of this, only men may serve as Elders at Sacred City Church. We affirm a Christlike father-rule within the home, often referred to as biblical patriarchy.
Genesis 1:26–27, 2:18, 1 Corinthians 11:3, 5–12; 7:4–5; Ephesians 5:15–33; Colossians 3:18–4:1; 1 Timothy 2:9–15, 3:1; Titus 1:5–6; 1 Peter 3:1–7
CALVINISM
We believe that God is sovereign in salvation, that he ordained to raise the spiritually dead through the resurrecting voice of his Spirit, bringing them to salvation in Christ. The Shepherd calls and the sheep hear his voice and obey. We are therefore jovial Calvinists.
Genesis 45:5–8, 50:20; Exodus 4:11, 21, 7:3–5; Judges 9:23; Psalm 33:10–11, 15; Proverbs 21:1; Isaiah 46:9–10; John 3:1–21, 6:37–44, 10:28–29, 9:3, 12:37–43, 17:2, 9; Acts 2:23; 4:26–28, 13:28; Romans 8:28–32; 9:1–33; Ephesians 1:3–14, 2:8–9; Philippians 2:13; Colossians 1:3–5; 2 Timothy 1:9; 1 Peter 1:2, 2:8–9; Revelation 17:17
BAPTISMAL CATHOLICITY
For those who are credobaptistic in their convictions, we administer baptism upon profession of faith by immersion. We also baptize the infants of one or more believing parents via sprinkling for those with paedobaptistic convictions—agreeing to partner together across this disagreement as we pursue likemindedness and unity on this issue.
Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41, 8:36–38, 10:47–48, 18:8; Romans 9:6–8; Galatians 3:26–29; Ephesians 2:1–9; Colossians 2:6–15;
CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT
We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring His lordship to bear on every dimension of life. Jesus commands us to let our light shine before all men, so they may see our good works and give glory to our Father who is in heaven. Therefore we do not want to retreat from the culture nor conform to it. Rather, with humility and truth, we seek to engage our culture boldly as we see our city’s transformation and submission to the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 5:13-16, 10:5-25, 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19, 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10, 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10