WHAT WE TEACH
The Bible
The Bible in its entirety (all 66 canonical books) is inspired by God; absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content and inerrant in its teaching. (Mark 12:26-36; John 16:12,13; Acts 1:16, 2:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21)
Trinity of the Godhead
The Godhead eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:6-8; Isaiah 63:8-10; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)
God the Father
God is the eternal Creator of all and the Sustainer of life, the Father of Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who believe in Christ. (Malachi 2:10; Matthew 3:17, 4:17; John 1:14, 3:3, 3:16-18; Romans 8:15-17; Revelation 20:11)
The Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, in the flesh, was both God and man, was born into this world of a virgin, and is the exclusive way to be reconciled to God the Father. He lived a sinless life in which He taught and performed many miracles. The entire Bible focuses on Him, His Person and work, His sacrificial death for us, His bodily resurrection, His present intercession, and His imminent coming again. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23)
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person, and has all the attributes of God. He was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Christ to the members of the Church, to indwell believers, to enable them to serve Christ, to comfort, instruct, lead and build them up in Christ. He has also been sent to convince sinners of sin, to teach them of Christ's righteousness, and to warn them of coming judgment. (John 7:38-39, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13-15; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4)
The Creation, Fall and Depravity of the Human Race
The human race, created by God in His image, is now alienated from and guilty before God through the disobedience of Adam. The consequences of that sin were the infliction of the penalty of death, loss of spiritual life, subjection to the power of sin. Being spiritually dead, human nature is pervasively corrupt, and this depravity has been transmitted to the entire human race, placing every person in desperate need of salvation from Christ and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Isaiah 64:6; John 5:40, 6:53; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6; 1 John 3:8. Genesis 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; Romans 5:12-19)
Salvation by Grace through Faith
Salvation is only by the sovereign grace of God and received as a free gift through faith alone in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It is entirely apart from any tradition or good works, such as baptism, church membership and giving. Salvation includes the forgiveness of sins, the receiving of a new nature, and the guarantee of eternal life. (Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14)
Atonement by the Shed Blood of Christ
Release from the guilt and consequences of sin requires a payment, and this payment has been fully accomplished solely by the shed blood of Christ who died in our place for our sin. His sacrifice is acceptable to God and is effective for every sinner who receives Christ as Saviour in faith and repentance. (Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:28; John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:24)
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Because of sin, depravity and spiritual death, no one can enter God's Kingdom except by God’s grace, born of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. (John 3:5-8; Galatians 6:15; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 5:1)
Security in and Assurance of Eternal Life
Salvation and eternal security are assured to all who are born again by the Spirit of God from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their personal Saviour. (John 5:24, 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39; 2 Timothy 1:12)
Sanctification
The members of the Body of Christ have been given a unique position through Christ. They have been sanctified (set apart) to God. This is a permanent position; however, because believers still retain their sin nature, they are to "grow in grace" - a life-changing process whereby they are being changed by the Holy Spirit through obedience to the Word into mature believers. The time will come when believers will see their Saviour face to face and will be completely like Him. (John 17:11-19; Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24, 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:11, 10:10, 13:12; 1 John 1:7-9; Jude 1)
The Church, The Body of Christ
All believers together form the universal church, having been placed into this universal body at the moment of regeneration by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Each local church is intended to be a visible, practical and organized expression of that body, led by male elders (who's belief & practice align with this statement) under the headship of Christ for:
fellowship, edification, encouragement, protection and correction of believers, as well as the continuation of Christ's commission on earth. For specific information about St.4 Church, please see 'WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE ST. 4 FAMILY' below. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 5:11 & 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:3-10; Colossians 2:19; Matthew 18:15-18; Acts 20:27-28; 1Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9 & 3:9-11; 1Peter 5:1-3)
The Great Commission
All believers are to make the most of every opportunity to clearly, effectively and boldly communicate the gospel to the lost world around them as well as mentor and disciple other believers through lifestyle, action, and word. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
The Second Coming of the Lord
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church is imminent and will initiate the eternal age of the new heaven and earth. (Zechariah 14:4-11; Acts 15:16,17; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
The Resurrection of the Body
Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead and all believers who die go immediately to be with Him. When Christ receives the Church to Himself, the bodies of believers who died will be raised as glorified bodies, similar to Christ's resurrected body and will share in His glory. (Psalm 90:3-4; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Romans 1:4, 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:5,6)
The Eternal Blessedness of the Saved and the Eternal Punishment of the Lost
Reconciliation to God or enmity toward God is revealed eternally at death, and believers will be forever with the Lord and will become joint heirs with Him in His inheritance. Those who die still refusing to accept God's gift of salvation in Christ will eventually be resurrected bodily and judged, and are destined to suffer eternal, conscious separation from Christ in the lake of fire, there to remain forever in varying degrees of torment according to their works. (Daniel 7:22-27, 12:3; Romans 8:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:11)
The Personality of Satan
Satan is a person, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning and the great deceiver of the nations. He was defeated by Christ's death on the cross and will eventually be cast into the bottomless pit for one thousand years followed by eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Genesis 3:15; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 6:12-16; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10)
Ordinances
The Scriptures teach the practice of observing two ordinances:
Baptism - Baptism by immersion was the practice of the early church and part of the commission of Christ. A believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection is publicly demonstrated through the act of baptism. A person should not be baptized unless and until he or she professes their personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 8:12)
The Lord's Table - Christ commanded believers to partake of the bread and cup as a recurring celebration of His presence and a memorial of His atoning death until He comes again, according to His promise and the Father’s revealed plan (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Marriage and Family
As a matter of belief and practice, the term “marriage” is reserved for the covenant union, created by God, between one (heterosexual, biological) man and one (heterosexual, biological) woman, as the foundation of the family and an expression for human sexuality, to the exclusion of all other unions. (Genesis 1:27; 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6, Romans 1:26-27)
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE ST. 4 FAMILY?
God designed the Christian life to be a community project. and among several metaphors, the bible speaks of local churches as a 'household of God'. (Gal.6:10; Eph.2:19; 1Tim.3:15; Heb.3:1-6; 1Pt.2:5 & 4:17). It is within this essence of family, that St. 4 Church seeks to minister. Receiving the gospel of grace and turning to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith as the exclusive way of salvation from sin, is the only criteria for belonging in the household of God, and so it is with the St. 4 family. We endeavor to be a visible community of Jesus' disciples who are in, but not of the world; practically representing Christ’s kingdom in the way we follow His commands (Mt.28:20), in how we interact with each other (Jn.13-3435), and with the world around us (1Pt.2:12).
An underlying commitment to diligently work together, to selflessly serve one another and to thoughtfully look out for one another underpins every healthy family, and with this in view, St. 4's 'family covenant' is a commitment to pursue the glorious call & blessings of Romans 12 together. With His Word and the compassionate, patient devotion of a local church family, God provides the instruction and community in which our spiritual weaknesses can be graciously addressed and our strengths can be constantly nurtured. Being part of the St. 4 Church family is more than occupying a place at the Sunday gathering, it’s identifying and affirming our commitment to the spiritual well-being of the family with whom we worship, serve, pray, learn and fellowship; it’s acknowledging our bond around mutual growth in faith through God’s Word & Spirit, and working in a concerted effort to make new disciples of Jesus Christ in the world around us (Rom.12:3-21).
Like any family, St.4 is distinct from others in some regard. Though St. 4 Church claims no absolute command of Scripture and does not expect uniformity on all matters, we do hold the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, and seek to follow Jesus according to the best understanding of Scripture that God has granted us (https://station4church.weebly.com/what-we-teach.html). The ‘simple’ model in which St. 4 operates also makes it unique (https://station4church.weebly.com/blog). There is no paid staff, no budget, no facilities or property, and no legal or corporate structure. However, St. 4 is committed to the essentials of church: weekly gathered worship, corporate teaching of Scripture, generous use of resources for kingdom purposes, musical praise, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, baptism & the Lord’s Table. We believe God has granted each believer with specific opportunities and resources to boldly minister the gospel in their particular context, and it is the goal of St. 4 Church to encourage, pray for, equip and galvanize one another as effective disciple-makers and evangelists where, with whom and with what God has uniquely granted each of us. All families host guests and it's the desire of St.4 to warmly embrace all those who would like to worship Christ with us, and welcome them to consider if perhaps, God may be calling them to be a part of our little family of faith.
The Bible
The Bible in its entirety (all 66 canonical books) is inspired by God; absolute in its authority, complete in its revelation, final in its content and inerrant in its teaching. (Mark 12:26-36; John 16:12,13; Acts 1:16, 2:4; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:21)
Trinity of the Godhead
The Godhead eternally exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience. (Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:6-8; Isaiah 63:8-10; Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)
God the Father
God is the eternal Creator of all and the Sustainer of life, the Father of Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who believe in Christ. (Malachi 2:10; Matthew 3:17, 4:17; John 1:14, 3:3, 3:16-18; Romans 8:15-17; Revelation 20:11)
The Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ, in the flesh, was both God and man, was born into this world of a virgin, and is the exclusive way to be reconciled to God the Father. He lived a sinless life in which He taught and performed many miracles. The entire Bible focuses on Him, His Person and work, His sacrificial death for us, His bodily resurrection, His present intercession, and His imminent coming again. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:35; John 5:39; Acts 17:2-3, 18:28, 26:22-23, 28:23)
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is a Person, and has all the attributes of God. He was sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to reveal Christ to the members of the Church, to indwell believers, to enable them to serve Christ, to comfort, instruct, lead and build them up in Christ. He has also been sent to convince sinners of sin, to teach them of Christ's righteousness, and to warn them of coming judgment. (John 7:38-39, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:13-15; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4)
The Creation, Fall and Depravity of the Human Race
The human race, created by God in His image, is now alienated from and guilty before God through the disobedience of Adam. The consequences of that sin were the infliction of the penalty of death, loss of spiritual life, subjection to the power of sin. Being spiritually dead, human nature is pervasively corrupt, and this depravity has been transmitted to the entire human race, placing every person in desperate need of salvation from Christ and regeneration by the Holy Spirit. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Isaiah 64:6; John 5:40, 6:53; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:6; 1 John 3:8. Genesis 6:5; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:6; Romans 5:12-19)
Salvation by Grace through Faith
Salvation is only by the sovereign grace of God and received as a free gift through faith alone in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. It is entirely apart from any tradition or good works, such as baptism, church membership and giving. Salvation includes the forgiveness of sins, the receiving of a new nature, and the guarantee of eternal life. (Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14)
Atonement by the Shed Blood of Christ
Release from the guilt and consequences of sin requires a payment, and this payment has been fully accomplished solely by the shed blood of Christ who died in our place for our sin. His sacrifice is acceptable to God and is effective for every sinner who receives Christ as Saviour in faith and repentance. (Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:28; John 1:12; Romans 5:6-9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19, 2:24)
Regeneration by the Holy Spirit
Because of sin, depravity and spiritual death, no one can enter God's Kingdom except by God’s grace, born of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ. (John 3:5-8; Galatians 6:15; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; 1 John 5:1)
Security in and Assurance of Eternal Life
Salvation and eternal security are assured to all who are born again by the Spirit of God from the very moment in which they trust Christ as their personal Saviour. (John 5:24, 10:28-29; Romans 8:33-39; 2 Timothy 1:12)
Sanctification
The members of the Body of Christ have been given a unique position through Christ. They have been sanctified (set apart) to God. This is a permanent position; however, because believers still retain their sin nature, they are to "grow in grace" - a life-changing process whereby they are being changed by the Holy Spirit through obedience to the Word into mature believers. The time will come when believers will see their Saviour face to face and will be completely like Him. (John 17:11-19; Romans 15:16; 1 Corinthians 6:11; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24, 5:25-27; Hebrews 2:11, 10:10, 13:12; 1 John 1:7-9; Jude 1)
The Church, The Body of Christ
All believers together form the universal church, having been placed into this universal body at the moment of regeneration by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. Each local church is intended to be a visible, practical and organized expression of that body, led by male elders (who's belief & practice align with this statement) under the headship of Christ for:
fellowship, edification, encouragement, protection and correction of believers, as well as the continuation of Christ's commission on earth. For specific information about St.4 Church, please see 'WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE ST. 4 FAMILY' below. (Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 5:11 & 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:3-10; Colossians 2:19; Matthew 18:15-18; Acts 20:27-28; 1Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9 & 3:9-11; 1Peter 5:1-3)
The Great Commission
All believers are to make the most of every opportunity to clearly, effectively and boldly communicate the gospel to the lost world around them as well as mentor and disciple other believers through lifestyle, action, and word. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19)
The Second Coming of the Lord
The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church is imminent and will initiate the eternal age of the new heaven and earth. (Zechariah 14:4-11; Acts 15:16,17; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:9; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)
The Resurrection of the Body
Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead and all believers who die go immediately to be with Him. When Christ receives the Church to Himself, the bodies of believers who died will be raised as glorified bodies, similar to Christ's resurrected body and will share in His glory. (Psalm 90:3-4; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2; John 5:28-29; Romans 1:4, 8:23; 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:5,6)
The Eternal Blessedness of the Saved and the Eternal Punishment of the Lost
Reconciliation to God or enmity toward God is revealed eternally at death, and believers will be forever with the Lord and will become joint heirs with Him in His inheritance. Those who die still refusing to accept God's gift of salvation in Christ will eventually be resurrected bodily and judged, and are destined to suffer eternal, conscious separation from Christ in the lake of fire, there to remain forever in varying degrees of torment according to their works. (Daniel 7:22-27, 12:3; Romans 8:17; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Peter 2:9; Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8, 22:11)
The Personality of Satan
Satan is a person, the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning and the great deceiver of the nations. He was defeated by Christ's death on the cross and will eventually be cast into the bottomless pit for one thousand years followed by eternal punishment in the lake of fire. (Genesis 3:15; Job 1:6-12; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 6:12-16; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10)
Ordinances
The Scriptures teach the practice of observing two ordinances:
Baptism - Baptism by immersion was the practice of the early church and part of the commission of Christ. A believer’s union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection is publicly demonstrated through the act of baptism. A person should not be baptized unless and until he or she professes their personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 8:12)
The Lord's Table - Christ commanded believers to partake of the bread and cup as a recurring celebration of His presence and a memorial of His atoning death until He comes again, according to His promise and the Father’s revealed plan (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28).
Marriage and Family
As a matter of belief and practice, the term “marriage” is reserved for the covenant union, created by God, between one (heterosexual, biological) man and one (heterosexual, biological) woman, as the foundation of the family and an expression for human sexuality, to the exclusion of all other unions. (Genesis 1:27; 2:22-24; Matthew 19:4-6, Romans 1:26-27)
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE PART OF THE ST. 4 FAMILY?
God designed the Christian life to be a community project. and among several metaphors, the bible speaks of local churches as a 'household of God'. (Gal.6:10; Eph.2:19; 1Tim.3:15; Heb.3:1-6; 1Pt.2:5 & 4:17). It is within this essence of family, that St. 4 Church seeks to minister. Receiving the gospel of grace and turning to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith as the exclusive way of salvation from sin, is the only criteria for belonging in the household of God, and so it is with the St. 4 family. We endeavor to be a visible community of Jesus' disciples who are in, but not of the world; practically representing Christ’s kingdom in the way we follow His commands (Mt.28:20), in how we interact with each other (Jn.13-3435), and with the world around us (1Pt.2:12).
An underlying commitment to diligently work together, to selflessly serve one another and to thoughtfully look out for one another underpins every healthy family, and with this in view, St. 4's 'family covenant' is a commitment to pursue the glorious call & blessings of Romans 12 together. With His Word and the compassionate, patient devotion of a local church family, God provides the instruction and community in which our spiritual weaknesses can be graciously addressed and our strengths can be constantly nurtured. Being part of the St. 4 Church family is more than occupying a place at the Sunday gathering, it’s identifying and affirming our commitment to the spiritual well-being of the family with whom we worship, serve, pray, learn and fellowship; it’s acknowledging our bond around mutual growth in faith through God’s Word & Spirit, and working in a concerted effort to make new disciples of Jesus Christ in the world around us (Rom.12:3-21).
Like any family, St.4 is distinct from others in some regard. Though St. 4 Church claims no absolute command of Scripture and does not expect uniformity on all matters, we do hold the Bible as the inerrant Word of God, and seek to follow Jesus according to the best understanding of Scripture that God has granted us (https://station4church.weebly.com/what-we-teach.html). The ‘simple’ model in which St. 4 operates also makes it unique (https://station4church.weebly.com/blog). There is no paid staff, no budget, no facilities or property, and no legal or corporate structure. However, St. 4 is committed to the essentials of church: weekly gathered worship, corporate teaching of Scripture, generous use of resources for kingdom purposes, musical praise, prayer, fellowship, evangelism, baptism & the Lord’s Table. We believe God has granted each believer with specific opportunities and resources to boldly minister the gospel in their particular context, and it is the goal of St. 4 Church to encourage, pray for, equip and galvanize one another as effective disciple-makers and evangelists where, with whom and with what God has uniquely granted each of us. All families host guests and it's the desire of St.4 to warmly embrace all those who would like to worship Christ with us, and welcome them to consider if perhaps, God may be calling them to be a part of our little family of faith.