Our Core Commitments
We believe the following commitments flow naturally from both our stated mission and our doctrinal commitments. Because we exist for the glory of God, our desire is to follow and worship Jesus Christ while influencing others to do likewise. This Christ-following life, the life of a disciple, takes a particular shape. Some of the most central aspects of this discipleship are outlined under following five headings: Word, Prayer, Holiness, Love, and Mission.
Holiness
"As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct" (1 Peter 1:15). When God saves his people, he sets them apart and calls them to live lives distinct from the world.
- We commit to live personal lives of repentance from sin (1 John 1:8-9)
- We commit to live lives of tangible and sacrificial love for others (John 13:34-35)
- We commit to live by the marriage and sexual ethics set forth in the Bible (Hebrews 13:4)
- We commit to live lives of integrity that are above reproach in our homes, workplaces, church, and community (1 Peter 2:11-12)
The pursuit of holiness is central to the life of the Christian. But what is holiness? Does holiness simply mean churchy or something outside of standard cultural norms? There is a sense in which to be holy is to be distinct. James 1:27 says, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Keeping oneself unstained from the world, that is, living a life distinct from the surrounding culture, is an important aspect of holiness. Beginning with his people in the Old Testament, and moving into the time of the New Covenant and the church, God has called those who follow him to look different than the world around. We are not to worship false gods (Exodus 20). We are not to center our lives on money (Matthew 6). We are not to indulge in illicit sexual relationships and practices (Romans 1). A life that doesn't chase the gods of this world, one wherein we refuse to submit ourselves to covetousness, lust, or the desire to get ahead at the expense of others will be a life which seems very odd to those around us. Holiness has a sense of purity, of being separate from sin. The moral purity of God demands this. In Habakkuk 1:13 the prophet, speaking to God, says your eyes are too pure to look upon evil.
But is holiness just a list of things we don't or won't do? It doesn't seem so. Notice that in James it gives us a positive statement of religion before the negative side. And this sort of idea is pervasive in Scripture, that our separation from the world consists not only in what we won't do, but what we do. The four we draw specific attention to in our Core Commitments are not exhaustive, but they are of vital importance.
Repentance from sin because, perhaps paradoxically, holiness begins with the acknowledgement that we are not holy. Only God is holy, and our sins are offensive to him. But in Christianity we don't then try and make that up to God and hope he gets over the bad stuff and focuses on our good side. We don't do good works to impress God. Instead, we confess our sin to him in full confidence that because of Jesus sacrifice on the cross, God will offer complete forgiveness. It is because of this assurance that we can walk in the light of God's holiness and learn to live in obedience to him. It all starts with repentance, and we never get past the need to keep on repenting.
Because we have been made right with God through Jesus, he not only accepts us as his individual children, but he brings us into his family. This family takes shape on earth through local congregations of believers called churches. And within these churches we have the opportunity to know and be known, and in knowing people, the good the bad and the ugly, we have the opportunity to pour out love. Love in the form of prayer, encouragement from the word, and tangible acts of service. It is striking that Jesus issues his command to love one another, even as I have loved you while wrapped in a towel that he has used to wipe his disciples nasty feet. This kind of sacrificial love is the sort of thing which only can empower.
Perhaps one of the areas in which Christian holiness is most odd today is in obedience to the marriage and sexual ethics set forth in Scripture. The prohibition on sex outside of the context of monogamous heterosexual marriage seems absolutely foreign to many, even inside of the Christian community. Why is it so important? In Ephesians 5 Paul tells us that God has designed marriage, including its sexual component, as a picture of Christ's total commitment in self-giving love to the church. Any sexual expression then, outside of what God has ordained, is essentially speaking blasphemously about Christ. Christians must then hold the marriage bed in honor, and in so doing hold in honor the God of marriage.
The final commitment of these four is the commitment to integrity. The very word integrity is important in that it represents a life that is integrated, that is to say, what we believe and how we live lines up. The Christian life is to be wholistic in that our desire to do what is right, to be honest, and to pursue the good of those around us should go beyond Sunday morning and follow us throughout the week into our homes, our schools, and our workplaces. Christians should displayed an evident kindness and goodness that make accusations of wrongdoing slip off us like butter off a Teflon skillet.
None of this is for our own glory, our own chest-thumping, or to show off our own greatness. It is simply the logical way to live as those who have been purchased by a holy God. As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct...Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. (1 Peter 1:15, 2:12)