What We Believe

At Elmont we believe in the power and authority of the scriptures, but we also believe that the interpretation and application of the scriptures is rarely a reason for division in the Body of Christ. As a result of this position we have established four Absolutes. These Absolutes are required beliefs for anyone who would call Elmont their Church Family. We also have Convictions. Convictions are beliefs that we preach and teach at Elmont but are not required to be a part of the Family. And finally we have our Opinions. Each and every person has a unique journey with Christ where He may lead them to accept or reject certain activities in their lives. At Elmont we give each other the freedom to take our own individual journey’s with the Lord and celebrate that journey, even if we may not hold to the same Opinion.

We believe that the scriptures are the inspired Word of God and are without error or fault. More fully we believe that the Bible, including the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, as the written Word of God. The Bible is the essential and infallible record of God’s self-disclosure to mankind. It leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Being given by God, the Scriptures are both fully and verbally inspired by God. Therefore, as originally given, the Bible is free of
error in all it teaches. Each book is to be interpreted according to its context and purpose and in reverent obedience to the Lord who speaks through it in living power. All believers are exhorted to study the Scriptures and diligently apply them to their lives. The Scriptures are the authoritative and normative rule and guide of all Christian life, practice and doctrine. They are totally sufficient and must not be added to, superseded or changed by later tradition, extra-biblical revelation or worldly wisdom. Every doctrinal formulation, whether of creed, confession, or theology, must be put to the test of the full counsel of God in Holy Scripture.
 
*2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; Mark 13:31; John 8:31,32; 20:31; Acts 20:32

We believe that Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us!” We believe that He was God made flesh, completely human and completely God. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh, supernaturally conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. He is perfect in nature, teaching and obedience. He is fully God and is fully man. He was always with God and is God. Through Him all things came into being and were created. God the Son was before all things and in Him all things hold together by the word of His power. He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born over all creation and in Him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Jesus is the only Savior for the sins of the world having shed His blood and died a vicarious death on Calvary’s cross. By His death in our place, He revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, the third day He rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death and the powers of darkness and for a period of 40 days appeared to over 500 witnesses performing many convincing proofs of His resurrection. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people and rules as Lord over all, awaiting His victorious return. Jesus Christ is the Head of His body, the church, and should be adored, loved, served and obeyed by all.

*Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1; 20:28; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9,10; 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Hebrews 7:25; 9:28; 1 Timothy 3:16

We believe that the only way for a person to be saved from their sin and given new life in Christ that will culminate with their admission into Heaven is through placing their faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning work on the cross. Jesus Christ is the gospel. The good news is revealed in His birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension. Christ’s crucifixion is the heart of the gospel; His resurrection is the power of the gospel and His ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is the substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. This means that it satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases His holy wrath. It also demonstrates His mysterious love and reveals His amazing grace. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name by which men must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and the infinite privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what He has accomplished. Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches, and ministries to proceed from and be related to the gospel.

God created us to be with Him and bring Him glory. (Genesis 1,2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sin cannot be removed by good deeds. (Genesis 4 – Malachi 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matt. – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone has eternal life. (John)
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever. (Acts – Revelation)
*1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Isaiah 53:10,12; John 3:16; Romans 4:25; 5:8; 8:32; Ephesians 1:12

The proper response to the gospel is faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a faith that is naturally accompanied by repentance from sin. Biblical repentance is characterized by a changed life, and saving faith is evidenced by kingdom service or works. While neither repentance nor works save, unless a person is willing to deny himself, pick up his cross and follow Christ, he cannot become His disciple.
 
This response to the gospel is rooted and grounded in the free and unconditional election of God for His own pleasure and glory. This gospel of grace is to be sincerely preached to all men in all nations.
 
*John 20:31; Acts 15:8,9; 16:30,31; Romans 1:16,17; 3:21-31; 4:4,5,13; Galatians 2:16; 3:11,26; Ephesians 2:8,9; Philippians 3:9; 2 Timothy 3:15; 1 John 5:4,5,13

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 and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly Deity. One God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is the foundation of Christian faith and life.

*Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1,3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19,20; Ephesians 4:5,6

The Church, which is the body and espoused bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons. We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. We believe in the autonomy of the local churches, free of any external authority and control.

The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It also exists to serve Him by faithfully doing His will in the earth. This involves a commitment to see the gospel preached and churches planted in the entire world for a testimony. The ultimate mission of the Church is worship and the means by which this is accomplished is the making of disciples through the preaching and embracing of the gospel. Upon conversion, newly redeemed men and women are added to a local church through baptism and devote themselves to teaching, fellowship, the Lord’s Supper and prayer.

*Acts 13:1-4; 14:27; 15:19-31; 18:22; 20:17,28; Romans 16:1,4; 1 Corinthians 3:9,16; 5:4-7,13; 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22,23; 5:25-27; 1 Timothy 3:1-3; Titus 1:5-11; 1 Peter 5:1-4

Water baptism is only intended for the individual who has received the saving benefits of Christ’s atoning work and become His disciple. Therefore, in obedience to Christ’s command and as a testimony to God, the church, oneself and the world, a believer should be immersed in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that his former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts a person’s release from the mastery of sin.

the Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is to be observed only by those who have become genuine followers of Christ. This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf, and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. We do not in any way believe that these elements become the real body and blood of our Lord as we partake of them, but serve only as symbols of a greater reality.

The Holy Spirit empowers believers for Christian witness and service. The promise of the Father is freely available to all who believe in Jesus Christ, thereby enabling them to exercise the powers of the age to come in ministry and mission. The Holy Spirit desires to continually fill each believer with power to witness, and imparts His supernatural gifts for the edification of the Body and the work of ministry in the world. Particular spiritual gifts do not prove the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor are an indication of deep spiritual experience. All the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in the church of the first century are available today and are to be earnestly desired and practiced in an orderly manner. The gifts are essential in the mission of the Church in the world today.

*John 15:7; Acts 1:8; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11,13; 1 Cor. 13; Ephesians 4:7,8; 1 Peter 4:10,11; 1 John 5:14,15

All people, men and women, are created in the image of God and are His highest form of Creation. Men and women are absolutely equal in the eyes of God though they each have complementary roles in the family and in the Church. Husband’s are to love their wives sacrificially, even to the point of death. Women are to submit to the Spiritual Leadership of their husbands as the church does to Christ.

Within the church women are allowed to hold any office or ministry of the church excluding the role of Elder. Because the Senior Pastor is the “First Among Equals” within the Elder body a woman is excluded from holding the office of Senior Pastor.