• God is the creator of universe and everything in it 
• God is the ultimate Sovereign over all things, which means everything that happens is ultimately under His divine control 
• God is the sustainer of the universe, upholding everything by the word of His power 
• God exists as one being, yet in three divinely distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit:

• • This divine community is known as The Trinity¹
  • Have distinct roles, yet are mysteriously one

• The Trinity is a perfect community that has always existed
• God is perfect in all His attributes. For instance, He is both perfect love and perfect justice

Supporting Scriptures: Exodus 34:6–7; Numbers 14:18–19; Psalm 8:3–9; Nehemiah 9:26–31; Romans 11:34–36; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:15–20; Hebrews 1:1–3 

• Mankind is the special creation of God and not the result of a natural, evolutionary process 
• Mankind is created in God’s spiritual image
• This means we are to be like Him

• • For instance, we think, reason, and are intellectual because God is perfect knowledge. We are relational beings because we represent a relational God. We are creative, moral, spiritual beings along the same lines

• Adam and Eve, along with all mankind, were created to:

• • Enjoy a loving and personal relationship with God
  • Show one another what God is like

• In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve rejected God by disobeying Him, causing a break in the relationship they had with Him and a distortion in how we represent God to one another
• Adam’s disobedience and rebellion led to all mankind inheriting a ‘sinful nature’:

• • From the womb, every human is separated from that loving relationship with God
  • This sinful nature can be seen in our sinful thoughts, emotions, and actions which distort the way we were created to live
  • These sinful thoughts, emotions, and actions are NOT the main problem, but are evidence of a deeper heart problem

• All mankind is in need of rescue from self, sin, and death

Supporting Scriptures: Genesis 1:27, 3:6–8, 11–13, 23; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 1:18–32, 1 Corinthians 1:18; Ephesians 2:1–3, 4:17–19 

• Jesus is not only a historical figure, but the one and only unique Son of God and second person of the Trinity. Fully God and fully man
• Jesus was supernaturally conceived and born of a virgin. Still fully God. Fully man
• He was the long-awaited Messiah of Israel, prophesied throughout the Old Testament
• Jesus lived a sinless and perfect life in our stead
• He also died in our place as the FINAL sacrifice for sins
• This plan was in motion long before God created all things
• He arose in bodily form three days after His death

• • Securing victory over sin, death, and the grave for those who believe in Him for salvation

• We are saved by His finished work
• We are now one with Him. As a result, He now stands between us and God the Father on our behalf

Supporting Scriptures: Mark 10:35–45; Luke 1:26–38, 19:1–10; John 1:1–14, Romans 3:21–27; 9:5; Hebrews 4:15, 9:15; Titus 2:13; 1 John 2:1–2; 1 Peter 2:21–25; 2 Peter 1:1

• Heaven and Hell are real places that exist as eternal destinations 
• Hell = being separated from God forever and enduring everlasting suffering

• • Hell is a place people go to as a result of living a self-centered, self-absorbed life 
  • Hell reveals the justice of God by judging wickedness and evil, giving him glory as a good and fair judge 

• Heaven = enjoying God forever in a loving relationship

• • The joy of heaven is not ultimately found in a mansion or streets of gold, but in the eternal union of our souls with God, who is the author of life and joy 

• According to the Bible, there is no purgatory
• Upon death, where we will spend eternity becomes real for each of us

Supporting Scriptures: Daniel 12:2–3; Matthew 25:31–46; Mark 9:42–48; Luke 16:19–31; John 3:14–21; Revelation 14:9–11, 20:10–15, 21:1–8, 22–27

• Humans are guilty and separated from a loving relationship with God because of our sinful nature and resulting sinful behavior 
• But Jesus died in the place of sinners so that all who repent and place their trust in Him are rescued, made alive, and reunited to God
• Repentance means to agree with God’s view of us and our sin, resulting in a change of heart 
• When someone realizes they cannot save themselves, their only hope is to trust in what Jesus has done in their place
• Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone
• Through faith in Christ, we are accepted, forgiven, made alive, made new, and ultimately adopted into God’s family 

Supporting Scriptures: Mark 2:13–17; John 3:14–18; Romans 3:21–27, 4:5, 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:17–21; Galatians 3:10–14, 4:1–7; Ephesians 2:1–10; 2 Timothy 1:8–10; Titus 3:3–7

• Those who have come to authentic, saving faith are secure forever. Biblically, true saving faith always endures to the end
• This salvation is protected by God, even though we participate in the process 
• If someone sins, God is grieved, but their salvation is not lost
• Yet eternal security does not give Christians the license to sin

• • Someone who has truly experienced the saving love of Jesus will have a change of heart that moves their life in the direction of God’s purposes, rather than to a constant state of sin and rebellion
  • Biblically speaking, there is no such thing as “fire insurance” 

• Through the Holy Spirit, God continues to work in us to desire, pursue, and become more like Jesus

• • This happens through continual confession and repentance of sin
  • This also happens through continuing to believe the gospel and its implications for all of life 

• We never arrive at perfection in this life, nevertheless there is real, tangible progress in spiritual growth 

Supporting Scriptures: John 6:37, 39; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18, 7:9–11; Romans 7:7–8:13, 8:28–37; Ephesians 1:13–14; Philippians 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14; 1 Peter 1:3–5, 9; 1 John 2:1–2

• The Holy Spirit is God— the third person of the Trinity
• Christians receive all of the Spirit at the moment of salvation
• The Holy Spirit lives within all Christians
• The Spirit is given to help Christians understand spiritual truth and empower them to live, daily, like Jesus
• The Holy Spirit makes us aware when we have sinned so we can turn from it to Jesus
• Christians are to daily live under His control and power

Supporting Scriptures: John 14:16–17, 26, 15:26–27, 16:7-14, Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9, 12–13; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:22–26; Titus 3:5

• The local church is a gathered group of people, not a building

• • Our mission is to make disciples who make disciples to the ends of the earth

• The local church is led and cared for by biblically qualified elders and pastors
• The local church gathers regularly for biblical teaching, prayer, and worship through music and song
• The church is an imperfect group of people who are growing and changing at different rates
• Baptism and communion should be a regular part of the church’s gatherings
• Each Christian has been given gifts and natural abilities to love and serve others to advance the kingdom of God on Earth 

Supporting Scriptures: Matthew 16:15–19, 22:34–40, 28:18–20; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:3–8; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:1–31; 1 Timothy 3:1–15, 4:14; Titus 1:5–9; 1 Peter 5:1–4

Members and attendees of Stonegate hold a diversity of positions and opinions concerning a few areas of doctrine and theology. Below are two of those sections. The first includes biblical truths that are essential. We must come to agree on these. The second includes disputed matters where many in our fellowship hold diverse positions. These disputed matters are NOT ESSENTIAL for personal salvation or our fellowship with one another. Both learned theologians and church members have wrestled with the specifics of these positions for centuries.

We hold to the adage, “In the essentials unity, in the non essentials diversity, in all things charity (love).” 

– St. Augustine

Spiritual Gifts | Essentials

• God gives various spiritual gifts to each Christian
• The Holy Spirit gives these gifts power in order to help one another
• The Bible instructs our gatherings to be done in order and peace for the common good of all
• Spiritual gifts are never about the one using them, but about glorifying God by helping others see and love Jesus

Spiritual Gifts | Disputed

• Some think the miraculous gifts are active, still given, and useful, while others do not

Key Scriptures: Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 14:1, 33, 40; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11

Supporting Scriptures: Romans 12:9-21; 1 Corinthians 12:1, 12-30, 14:1-40

1 Corinthians 12:7 | ESV

”To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

Romans 12:6a | ESV

”Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”

1 Peter 4:10–11 | ESV

”As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied

grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who

serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Last Things | Essentials

• Jesus is coming again
• Jesus’ second coming will be to judge the wicked, reward the faithful in Christ, and mend all that is broken and affected by sin
• The exact timing of the second coming is unknown to all except God the Father

Last Things | Disputed

• The specifics of certain events on the timeline are hotly debated

Key Scriptures: Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 4:13–5:10; 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10; Revelation 20:4–6, 11–15

Supporting Scriptures: Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13

Matthew 16:27 | ESV

”For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will

repay each person according to what he has done.”

Acts 1:11 | ESV

““Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken

up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.””