What We Believe
About the Bible
The Bible is the main way God speaks to us today. It is God’s living word that is as relevant and impacting today as it was the day it was written, thousands of years ago. We believe God inspired men to write His words, without error.?(2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16)
About God
We believe that God is eternal, with no beginning or ending, and that He never changes. We believe this one God exists in the form of three persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. The term for this is called the Trinity.?(Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 3:22; Matthew 3:17; Matthew 28:19; Luke 10:35; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
About Mankind
We believe God created mankind so that we could enjoy a relationship with God that honors Him, while giving us the fullness of His character displayed in us. However, mankind chose to seek our own greatness and, as a result, brought “sin” into the world. Because of that sin, we were separated from the relationship we had with God.
About Sin
We believe a sin is committed anytime we reject God’s will for our life and pursue our own. It is in our nature to reject God and live corrupt lives. Even our best attempts to do good, fall short of the perfect holiness of God and, therefore, we cannot remove the guilt of sin ourselves.?(Romans 3:23)
About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is God who became human. He was one person, both human and divine. We believe He came to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could have the gift of salvation, if we believe in Him and accept what He did for us on the cross. We believe His resurrection from death was our victory over sin and our hope for eternal salvation with Him.?(John 1:1; Phil 2:5-11; John 3:16-17)
About the Christian Life
We believe our response to what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross is to let Jesus be Lord of our life and to follow His commands and allow the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside, out. We are given Spiritual gifts that are used to build up the church and carry out God’s plan for our life. Our new life is a daily process of transformation where we become more Christ-like in letting His characteristics “shine” through us.?(2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:4; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 4:11-13)
About the Christian Church
We believe that there exists both the spiritual church and the local church. The spiritual church is made up of all Christians who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord; regardless of their particular denomination. The local church is made up of people committed to helping each other grow in their faith as well as carry on the purposes of Jesus Christ, which is to share the good news of salvation to everyone within our sphere of influence, and beyond.?(Matthew 16:18; Matthew 28:28-30)
Heartland Church is part of a denomination known as the Christian Reformed Church (http://www.crcna.org) that first came into existence in North America in 1857. The denominational name Christian Reformed Church (CRC) was chosen to signify our strong beliefs. We are “Christian” because we believe in the traditional Christian truths found in God’s Word, the Bible. We are “Reformed” because we believe there is an ongoing transformation process in the Christian life where the Holy Spirit adjusts every area of our life to be in line with what the Bible teaches. We are, therefore, reforming our life to reflect the character of Jesus Christ. We are a “Church" because we know we belong to Jesus Christ and are part of one body, made up of both our local church and the broader body of all Christians everywhere.
