Cornerstone Cooperative

Statement of Faith

1. We believe the Bible alone to be the only divinely inspired and eternal Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God-breathed. (Psalm 119:89, 152, Isaiah 40:8, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21)

2. We believe the Bible consisting of both the Old and New Testament is the only inspired, infallible authority, the Word of God, our only rule of faith and practice. We believe God spoke, using the words of men, to convey divine truth. (2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21).

3. We believe that there is but one God only, eternally co-existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are themselves co-eternal and co-equal.  (Isaiah 44:6, Colossians 1:16-19)

4. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in the sufficiency of His atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. We affirm that all the fullness of God was revealed in Christ in bodily form. (Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:35, Hebrews 1:3, 4:15, 1 Peter 2:24, Acts 1:9, Colossians 1:16-19, Revelations 19:11, 16) 

5. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict and regenerate mankind, and to indwell, guide, instruct, and empower the believer for godly living and service. (John 16:7-14, Titus 3:5, I Corinthians 6:19, 12:13, Romans 8:14, Ephesians 5:18)

6. We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell, and that all those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord. Those who reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord. (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:3, 5:22, 18:9, 25:31-34; Mark 9:42-49; Luke 12:5; John 3:18; Hebrews 12:23; I Peter 1:4; Revelation 14:10-11, 20:11-15)

7. We believe that all fell into sin through the disobedience of Adam, violating God’s righteous requirements and His holy character both by nature and act. All are therefore lost, unable to justify ourselves before God. (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:16-17, 3:6; Romans 3:10, 23, 5:12, 18)

8. We believe that salvation is the free gift of God given to the sinner by grace and received by personal faith in Jesus Christ alone, as Savior and Lord, whose substitutionary death on the cross paid the penalty for man's sin. This free gift of salvation is not received by any personal works whatsoever. (Ephesians 2:8,9, Titus 3:5, John 1:12, 5:24, Romans 5:15, 6:23, 10:9-13, Acts 16:31)

9. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who repent, confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ and being born again by the Spirit. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom 10:9-10; 8:1:1; 1 Cor 6:9-11.)

10. We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is His personal, visible return to Earth, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16, 20:11-15). 

11. We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that all disciples are called to attend, worship and serve Him in a local congregation or fellowship that is part of His Body, the Church. (Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 12:12, 13; Galatians 3:26, 28)

12. We believe that life begins at conception and all life is sacred. From the moment of conception, each bears His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception, through natural death.  We therefore defend, protect and value all human life. (Genesis 1:26, 28; 5:1, 2, Psalms 139:13-14) 

13. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male and female.  These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image of God.  Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person being contrary to God’s revealed will and good design for His creation. Attempts to physically alter or disagree with one’s predetermined biological sex, including but not limited to: elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary “gender-queer” acts or conduct is prohibited and sinful.  (Genesis 1:26-28, Romans 1:26-32, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

14. We believe that God created two genders: male and female.  We believe and trust in God’s design over our gender at birth. (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 5:2, Matthew 19:4-5)

15. We believe that marriage, by divine design from the beginning of creation, is only between one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in the Bible. It is intended to be an enduring covenantal relationship which reflects Christ’s own unconditional commitment to the Church, and is intrinsically ordered to procreation and biological family, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child. Consequently, we affirm the sexual complementarity of man and woman and resist all same-sex sexual attractions and refrain from all same-sex sexual acts or conduct, which are intrinsically disordered. We believe that all other types of unions and sexual immorality (including but not limited to adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, prostitution, and use of pornography, polygamy, polyamory, etc.) is sinful and offensive to God, and goes against God’s good design and purposes for His creation. (Genesis 1:27, 2:24, Exodus 20:14, Matthew 19:4-8, Mark 10:5-9, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,1 Corinthians 7:10-14, Ephesians 5:25–27, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Hebrews 13:4, Revelation 19:7-9, Revelation 21:2) 

16. We hold as belief and conviction that children are given by God as a stewardship to the parent and not the state, and that parents have the wherewithal and authority to teach and educate their own children. (Proverbs 22:6, Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Ephesians 6:4, Psalms 127:3-5)   

17.  We do not believe in extra biblical texts as holding any authority as the inspired Word of God outside the 66 canonized books in the Old and New Testaments. (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Proverbs 30:5-6)

18.  We do not believe in praying to the saints or any other person than to God the Father through Jesus Christ His only Son. (John 14:6, 1 Timothy 2:5, Matthew 6:9)

This Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe.