The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The word gospel means “good news.” The good news is this: God has acted to rescue sinners through His Son, Jesus Christ.
God created us to know Him, love Him, and live in joyful fellowship with Him. Yet all of us have rebelled against Him. The Bible calls this rebellion sin. Because God is holy and just, our sin places us under His judgment. We cannot repair this broken relationship by trying harder or becoming better people. God requires perfect righteousness — something none of us can produce on our own.
But God has not left us in our sin.
In love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life we have failed to live. On the cross, He bore the penalty our sins deserve. He willingly gave Himself for us, and on the third day He rose again, conquering sin and death.
We do not earn salvation, but receive it. Everyone who turns from sin and trusts in Jesus Christ alone is forgiven, declared righteous before God, adopted as His child, and given the hope of eternal life.
This is the heart of what we believe and proclaim at Christ Ridge.
If you have questions about the gospel or would like to talk with someone about following Christ, we would be honored to speak with you. We invite you contact us or simply join us for worship and hear this good news proclaimed.
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10)
Scripture: We receive the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as God’s inspired, inerrant,and infallible Word, given to reveal himself and to direct his people how to live a life pleasing to him. God’s people need to know, believe, and live out the whole counsel of God in order to grow in spiritual maturity (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21; Ps. 19:7-10).
God: We believe in one holy, eternal, unchanging God who exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God created all that there is and made mankind in his own image, calling us to live a life of perfect obedience and worship to him (Deut 6:4; 1 Cor 8:6; 1 Tim 1:17).
Sin: The first man, Adam, fell into sin by rebelling against God’s just rule over his life. Consequently, all men and women are born sinners, guilty in the sight of God and deserving his wrath. We are without hope in being saved by our own efforts (Ps. 14:3; Rom 5:12; Rom 6:23).
Jesus: Because of God’s great love for sinners, he sent his son, Jesus, into the world. Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. Jesus lived a perfect life without sin and died on the cross for our sins. After three days in the grave, he was resurrected from the dead and ascended to Heaven. One day he will return to judge the world in righteousness (John 3:16; John 14:6; 1 Tim 1:15).
Salvation: We are saved by trusting in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. Those who repent from their sins and trust in Jesus have eternal life. Their sins are forgiven, and they are adopted as sons and daughters of God. After death, Christians will spend eternity with the Lord in perfect joy (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8-9; 1 John 3:1).
The Christian Life: Those who have been given new life in Christ are called to live a life of obedience to Christ, expressed in love for God and one another. While none of us is without sin and we will never be perfect, we seek to be holy as God is holy with all our strength, mind and soul (Matt 22:37-38; John 14:15; 1 Pet 1:15-16).
The Church: The church, made up of all Christians worldwide, exists to call sinners to put theirfaith in Christ and to perfect God’s people in Christlikeness. Christians grow spiritually through the means of grace: the Word, Prayer, Sacraments, and Fellowship with God’s people. It is everyChristian’s privilege and responsibility to belong to a local body of the church. The church is commissioned by Christ to make disciples of Christ from all nations (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 2:42;Heb 10:25).
Our Denomination: Christ Ridge Presbyterian Church is a member of the Fellowship Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The Presbyterian Church in America was founded in 1973 and is a conservative, Reformed denomination spanning from Virginia to California, and Florida to Washington State. The PCA seeks to be faithful to the Scriptures, true to the Reformed faith, and obedient to the Great Commission. This vibrant and growing denomination holds a high view the Scriptures, the divinity of the Lord Jesus, and the universal need for people to repent and believe in Jesus. The governing documents of the PCA are: Westminster Confession of Faith with Shorter and Larger Catechisms, and The Book of Church Order.