• Trinity
• Bible
• Jesus Christ
• Humanity and Sin
• Virgin Birth
• Salvation
• The Church
• Priesthood of all Believers
• Baptism into Water
• Worship
• The Holy Spirit
• Supernatural Existence
• Second Coming and Resurrection
• Communion

Trinity: There is only one true God who is revealed in three personalities: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Creator of everything that exists and exists outside of and apart from creation. He is a personal being, not some vague force or subjective “truth.” (1 John 5:7; Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:1-17, 28:19; Isaiah 9:6)

Bible: The Bible is God’s authoritative means of communicating His truth to us. Its truths do not change in relation to a person’s interpretation of them. Men wrote 66 different books of the Bible as God inspired them, communicating through different times, circumstances, cultures, personalities and literary genre with harmony and continuity. Only the Bible is 100% the Word of God. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Proverbs 30:5)

Jesus Christ: Jesus is the personality of God described as “Son.” He is both 100% God and 100% man. He was crucified, though He had done nothing wrong. Three days later He physically came back to life, although His body had been transformed to a spiritual one. (Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 3:16, 2:5; John 1:1, 14, 20:28; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-6)

Humanity and Sin: God created mankind to live forever and enjoy the creation with Him. However, humanity rebelled (we call any disobedience of God’s standards “sin”) and was, therefore, excluded from relationship with God and destined to suffer eternal punishment in Hell after death. Because of that rebellion, absolutely no individual apart from Jesus is able to come to God; each is incapable of pleasing Him. Abraham’s faith was counted as redemption since the redeemer had not yet come. (Genesis 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Romans 5:12, 3:10-18)

Virgin Birth: Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus, because He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. He is the only son born to the Father, although He existed from eternity. Although Mary must have been of special character to be chosen by God to give birth to and raise the Son of God, she was still a member of sinful humanity and needed salvation herself. (Matthew 1:18,20,23; Luke 1:27-35; Isaiah 7:14)

Salvation: God, in the person of Jesus Christ, took mankind’s place in the punishment of death for humanity’s sin. Since Jesus was innocent Himself, He was the only one who could act as a legal substitute for every human. He is the only mediator between mankind and God. His physical death was all that was needed to be mankind’s substitute. However, each person must accept Jesus’ death as the only means of his/her acceptance before God, confess that Jesus is his/her Lord, and believe that He was physically raised back to life. No degree of following God’s standards for living or abstinence from sin can bring a person back into relationship with God (because of the initial rebellion) – only trusting that Jesus took his/her sentence can clear up the original sin. Even the one who has never heard about Jesus will be judged according to what he/she already knows from the nature of things and conscience. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 2:12, 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22; Colossians 1:22)

The Church: At the moment one accepts the death of Jesus as his/her path to God, he/she (hereafter referred to as a “believer”) becomes a part of the church. The New Testament of the Bible uses the metaphor of a body to describe the church. This is the body of God’s followers, not meaning the church as in the building.

Each believer is a part of that body and has a specific role and function according to their talents and abilities. In a very real and practical sense, the church is the Body of Christ; it is the life within God’s plan; being a part of the church means that the believer no longer belongs to himself/herself, but to the community of believers and the purpose for which it exists. (1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 12:3-8, 14:7)

Priesthood of all Believers: Every believer is a priest in that he/she is called to minister both to God and to other people. Because of Jesus’ mediating work, no one who trusts in Him has any other mediator. The Holy Spirit, who lives in every believer, assists him/her in direct access to God through prayer. No other assistance is needed. He/she is also called to be a minister to others by proclaiming the Good News of Jesus and demonstrating the power of the Holy Spirit in a holy life, miracles and faith in God. The work of the ministry is no longer solely the work of the spiritual leaders, but of the people they train. Every believer is “anointed” or empowered by God because of the Holy Spirit who lives in each. No anointing is greater or different than the other, although each believer has a different call, by God’s own choosing not by special merit of deed, that will express that anointing differently. (Ephesians 1:13, 18-23, 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 12:1-8; Acts 4:23-31, 8:4, 26-40; 1 John 2:20,27)

Baptism into Water: Every “believer” after decision of faith should be baptized into water to restore himself/herself into relationship with God. This symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and is a sign to the world that he/she has identified Christ as his/her substitute and only means of salvation. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Romans 6:1-4; Colossians 2:12)

Worship: Not only should God alone be worshipped, but He deserves as much as can be given. Worship should include every part of a person, since the whole being belongs to God—mind, will, emotions, body and lifestyle. When we worship at Pathways, you may see people clapping or raising hands. These are just natural expressions of joy, reverence, surrender, and love for God and all the good things He has done for us.

The Holy Spirit: The essential accompaniment of a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ is a life of holiness and obedience, attained by believers as they submit to the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Trinity. He was sent in to the world by the Father and Son to apply to mankind the saving work of Christ. He enlightens the minds of sinners, awakens in them a recognition of their need of a Savior and regenerates them. He indwells believers to become their source of assurance, strength, and wisdom, and uniquely endows each believer with gifts. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the means of the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between Spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one, just as He determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. The Holy Spirit guides believers in understanding and applying the Scripture. His power and control are appropriated by faith, making it possible for the believer to lead a life of Christ like character and to bear fruit to the glory of the Father. (1 Corinthians 12:7-12)

Supernatural Existence: The physical universe is not the only reality outside of God. There is a literal heaven, Hell, Satan, and angelic and demonic realm. The Bible does not deal with these topics in-depth except to explain their relationship to the human world. (Hebrews 11:16; John 17:24, Matthew 5:20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34, 41; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8; Mark 9:43-48; Colossians 1:16)

Second Coming and Resurrection: A time will come when Jesus will return to Earth to restore it to its original state. At that time, He will bring dead believers back to life with new immortal bodies, and transform the bodies of the believers still alive. He will judge the dead and living unbelievers for their deeds and imprison them, Satan, and his angels in Hell to meet the requirements of justice. He will set up His Kingdom on earth where He will live with believers forever. The chronology of these events and the time of their occurrence in respect to each other is debatable and not specifically revealed in the Bible. (Revelation 1:7; Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8; Philippians 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15; Acts 24:15; Hebrews 9:27)

Communion: The Bible reveals that the purpose of communion, or the Lord’s Supper, is threefold. In communion, the believer identifies himself/herself with the death of Jesus since the bread and wine (or grape juice) represent His body that was crucified and His blood that was shed for the salvation of mankind. The believer also identifies himself/herself as a part of the church, the Body of Christ. Lastly, Jesus’ “dying wish” was that we would remember Him while He was away by performing His supper. This wish reveals His heart toward us – that He considers us friends and desires a relationship with us. (1 Corinthians 10:15-17, 11:23-26; Luke 22:17-20)