What We Believe

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, provides the only way to the forgiveness of sin. God freely offers salvation to those who place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin. Salvation cannot be earned; it is a gift from God.

The following are the core beliefs of Shepherd Gate Church based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God and that men were moved by the Spirit of God to write the very words of Scripture. Therefore, we believe the Bible is without error.

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct functions: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.  God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom,  justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  We believe Jesus Christ to be the virgin-born Son of God who lived in flesh, died for the sins of the world, was buried, rose again bodily, and ascended to the Father.  We believe in the Holy Spirit who regenerates and indwells every believer in Jesus, assures us of our salvation, guides us into all truth, glorifies Jesus, and convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He comforts us, gives us spiritual gifts, and empowers us for service.

We believe that all people were created in the image of God to have fellowship with him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, people are incapable of regaining the right relationship with God through their own efforts.

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time.

We believe that the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross, provides the only way to the forgiveness of sin. God freely offers salvation to those who place their faith in the death and resurrection of Christ as sufficient payment for their sin. Salvation cannot be earned; it is a gift from God.

We believe in the universal church, the body of Christ, of which Jesus Christ is the head. The members of the church are those who have trusted by faith in the finished work of Christ. The purpose of the church is to glorify God by loving him, obeying Him, and bringing the gospel to the world.

We believe in the personal, visible return of Christ to the earth and the establishing of His Kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, and in the final judgment. We believe that our eternal destination of either heaven or hell is determined by our response to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Marriage is a holy covenant between a biological man and a biological woman instituted by God
that unites one man and one woman in a lifetime commitment to each other (Gen 2:23-24; Matt
19:4-6). Marriage provides for intimate companionship, pure sexual expression (Gen 2:25; Eph
5:31-33), procreation, and reflects the relationship of Christ and the church (Gen 1:28; Prov 5:15-19;
1 Cor 7:1-5).

We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female (Psalm
139:14). God has designed each person in His image, purposefully with the biological gender with
which he or she was born. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image
and nature of God. We believe gender is defined by the normal chromosomes in the body that
make a person a male or female. Altering one’s appearance cosmetically or surgically cannot
change the underlying reality of a person’s biological make-up. We don’t believe someone’s
gender is defined by how they feel or identify with being male or female.