What We Believe

What is the Gospel?

The Scriptures contain some good news and some bad news.

The bad news is that we have all sinned and as a result we are separated from God. Most of us notice this and recognize that something is missing in our lives. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one” (Romans 3:10). This means that we cannot work our way into heaven through good deeds. No matter how many good deeds we do they are still not enough to earn everlasting life in heaven. All of the following simply will not earn everlasting life:

• Going to church
• Giving to charity
• Helping the poor
• Being a generally good person

Now for the good news!

Since there is no way we can work our way to God, He came to us. Jesus died in our place. Romans 5:8 tells us, “God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Suppose you were in a hospital and dying of an incurable disease and someone came and offered to take the diseased cells from your body and into theirs. If that were possible what would happen to you? To that person? You would live and that person would die in your place. Similarly, Jesus has offered to take the sin cells that will result in a physical and spiritual death from your body into His. He took upon Himself the sin penalty that we deserved and placed it upon Himself. He died in our place. Thus, your sins have already been paid for by Jesus—this is the Good News! This is the Gospel.

And there’s more good news! Three days later Jesus rose again victoriously over sin and death. Sin and death were conquered!

What does that mean for you?

It means that you can be saved (rescued) through faith in Christ! You need to trust exclusively in Jesus for forgiveness and everlasting life. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one should boast.”

What should you do?

Ask Jesus to forgive you of all your sins and place your trust in Him for your forgiveness. Below is a sample prayer that you can pray. Keep in mind that it’s not the prayer itself that saves you. This prayer is simply an example of telling God what you are doing. “Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that my wrongs deserve to be punished. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and rose from the grave. I trust in Jesus alone to be my Savior. Please forgive me for my sins and take me to Heaven when I die. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Now what?

Grow to be like Him. As a brand-new follower of Jesus, begin studying His teachings in the New Testament. We recommend that you start with the Gospel of John (the fourth book in the New Testament).

• Pray. Begin spending time each day in communication with God.
• Worship with other believers at a local Bible-believing church (contact us and we may be able to recommend one in your area).
• Tell others! Let people know what Jesus has done for you. Contact Pastor Bobby at Bobby@azrgr.org
• Get baptized. We do our baptisms in the Verde River or we can make other arrangements for you.

Essential Christian Doctrine

We believe in the traditional and orthodox Christian truths that have been handed down from the Apostles. Essential Christian doctrine is the set of beliefs that are non-negotiable whereas non-essential Christian doctrine can be debatable within the body of Christ. The following would be non-negotiable essential Christian doctrines that we believe:

The Bible: The belief in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as being inspired by God and without error in the original writings and that as God’s revelation, they serve as the final authority in issues of faith and life (2 Tim. 3:16).

The Incarnation and Virgin birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 1:26-38):  We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.

The Deity of Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus is God (Matt. 3:17, Matt. 26:63, 64, John 14:6) and thus He alone has the credentials to offer forgiveness and everlasting life.

The Trinity: The belief in one God (Deut. 6:4), eternally and simultaneously existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17).

Salvation is exclusively through Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Gal. 1:9, 10; Eph. 2:8-9):  Jesus Christ died in our place for our sins according to the scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are purchased and declared justified because of His blood sacrifice.  All who receive, by faith, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ are born of the Holy Spirit and thereby become children of God in which they are eternally secure.

The Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ (John 20:26-29): Following His resurrection, the risen Lord Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11) where He represents believers today as our High Priest and Advocate.

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ: We believe that Jesus could return at any moment and pray that He will sooner than later (Acts 1:11, Rev. 22:20).

The Moral Depravation of Humanity (Rom. 3:10, 23; 6:23): We believe humanity was created in the image of God but sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach moral responsibility, are sinners in thought, word, and deed in need of redemption through Jesus Christ who graciously forgives all who ask (John 3:16; Rom. 10:13).

God is the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe and Humanity (Gen. 1-2): We believe that God spoke creation (including humanity) into existence as is recorded in the opening chapters of Genesis.

Church: We believe that while it’s not perfect, the Church is a spiritual body made up of all believers in Christ from every race and is God’s primary vehicle for communicating His message of grace and love (Matt. 29:19, 20). We believe that the Church should regularly assemble and is responsible for administrating sacraments of baptism, communion, and marriage.