What We Believe
Calvary Chapel was formed as a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Our supreme desire is to know Christ and to be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not a denominational church, nor are we opposed to denominations as such, only the over-emphasis of the doctrinal differences that have led to the division of the Body of Christ. These are our beliefs:
God
We believe in one personal, transcendent, and holy God, the creator of all, Who is eternal, and Who manifests Himself in three separate persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus Christ, though fully God, became a man for the suffering of death, that He is the promised Messiah, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided for the atonement of our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, and ever lives to make intercession for us. After Jesus ascended to Heaven, He poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill His command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
Holy Spirit
We believe in the person and work of the Holy Spirit who indwells, seals, and empowers every believer, baptizing them into the Body of Christ. We further believe that the Holy Spirit will come upon any believer who asks in faith, enabling him/her to preach the Gospel in power. We also believe all of the gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Scriptures are valid for today if they are exercised within the scriptural guidelines. We believe that love is more important than all the gifts, and without this love all exercise of spiritual gifts is worthless.
The Bible
We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, that the Bible, Old and New Testaments, in the original autographs, is the inspired, infallible Word of God, a complete and final written revelation of God. We seek the Word of God in such a way that its message can be applied to an individual’s life, leading that person to greater maturity in Christ. We reject doctrinal viewpoints or spiritual phenomena which are based solely on experience. We look to the Word of God for the basis of all our faith and practice.
The Church
We believe the only true basis of Christian fellowship is Christ’s (Agape) love, which is greater than any differences we possess, and without which we have no right to claim ourselves Christians. We believe Jesus Christ is the head of the Body, His church, and that church government should be simplistic rather than a complex bureaucracy. We desire to be lead by the Holy Spirit in all the functions and directions of the ministry of the church.
Salvation
We believe that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption, and forgiveness are freely offered to all by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person repents of sin and accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, trusting Him to save, that person is immediately born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit, all his/her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God.
Worship
We believe worship of God should be spiritual. Therefore, we remain flexible and yielded to the leading of the Holy Spirit to direct our worship. We believe worship of God should be inspirational. Therefore, we give a great place to music in our worship. We believe worship of God should be intelligent. Therefore, our services are designed with great emphasis upon teaching of the Word of God that He might instruct us how He should be worshiped. We believe worship of God should be fruitful. Therefore, we look for His love in our lives as the supreme manifestation that we have been truly worshiping Him.
Humanity
We believe in a personal devil called Satan who, along with all his evil angels, called demons, is destined to spend eternity in hell, and who now seeks to deceive the believers and defeat the work of God, but who can be resisted by believers who are in-dwelt by the Holy Spirit, protected by God, and interceded for by Jesus Christ our Lord. We believe that the nation of Israel has a special place in God’s plan and that all the promises of God to Israel will be fulfilled. We believe that marriage is exclusively the legal union of one man and one woman. We also believe that legitimate biblical sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Hence, sexual activities, such as, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, transgender, bisexuality, cross dressing, pedophilia and bestiality are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and the Church. Additionally, lascivious behavior, the creation and/or distribution and/or viewing of pornography, and efforts to alter one’s gender, are incompatible with a true biblical witness.
Christ's Return
We await the pretribulational rapture of the church, and we believe that the second coming of Christ with His saints to rule on the earth will be personal, pre-millennial, and visible. This motivates us to holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God’s Word, regular fellowship, and participation in baptism by immersion and in Holy Communion.
Calvary Chapel Distinctives
Beginning in the 1960's, Calvary Chapel embraced barefoot, long-haired hippies and shared with them the love and hope of Jesus Christ. Although the time and culture have changed, it's important to be reminded of what make Calvary Chapel distinct so we are able to pass the baton to the next generation. In this series of videos you will hear from first generation Calvary Chapel pastors who were mentored by Pastor Chuck Smith. Listen as each of them share their experiences in the ministry and teaches distinctly (Neh. 8:8) on each chapter from Chuck's book, "Calvary Chapel Distinctives". These are key points taken from the Word of God on important doctrinal matters that the church desperately needs to understand today. Once we know this, we will recognize our position in the body of Christ.
