More of what we believe and what the bible teaches

RMG holds to the bible as the only and full authority for all areas of life pertaining to how we should live and how we know God. We hold to the reformed teaching of scripture as seen in the TULIP or Doctrines of Grace. We believe that God has made known to us everything we need for life and Godliness and that through His Spirit we grow in holiness and knowledge through His holy word. Below is a thorough yet not exhaustive list of what we believe and what the bible teaches. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of our doctrine please contact us and we will be glad to do so.

Scripture We believe that the bible is the full and only authority for all things and that it is blameless and without error in the original writings. We also believe that God has given us English and other translations of the bible that are accurate translations of the original writings and therefore are inspired by the Holy Spirit as the word of God. We believe that the bible is made up of 66 books compiled into two testaments known as the old and the new. We believe that God breathed the writings of scripture and that the author of scripture is the Holy Spirit through the pens of men chosen by God to scribe His holy word. (2 Tim 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)

God We believe God is God and there is no other! There is ONE God and he is manifested in three persons (Father, Son, Spirit). God is the creator of all things and made all things in six literal days and then rested on the seventh. He is the author of all life and sustains all things by His power and will. God is love, just, holy, good, wrath, righteous, kind, truth, life, wisdom, sovereign, pure, and more. He is above all and over all things. God is about His own glory. That glory is displayed in all His creation through the finished work of Christ, and the work of the Spirit. God is eternal. God is without sin, and is full of compassion and abounding in love! (Genesis 1-3, John 14, John 17, Romans 3:23-26, Col 1:15-17, 2:2-3, Deut 6:4, 1 Tim 2:5, Eph 4:6)

Jesus Christ Jesus is God. He came in the flesh as fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of a virgin in Bethlehem. Jesus was without sin! He came to save sinners from God’s wrath, due to the penalty of their sins. He made atonement at the cross for all the elect (those who believe) by taking on himself their sins, and suffering the wrath of God the Father for them. Jesus was buried and was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit after three days. He defeated sin and death forever, and made a public spectacle of Satan and his demons. He appeared to over 500 brethren and after 40 days returned to heaven where he now rules over all things. He will return again to gather his elect for glorification, and to bring judgement on all those who disobeyed the gospel. He is Lord of lords and King of kings. He is the ONLY way to God. He is the ruler of all things, and all things hold together by his power and will. He is the Good Shepherd, the Vine, Bread of Life, Resurrection and the Life, Way, Truth, Life and more. He protects his sheep for glory, and fully made atonement for all their sins once for all! (Luke 1-2, Matt 1:21, Hebrews 4:15, 9:28, 10:14, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Cor 15:3-6, Col 1-2, John 6, 10, 11, 14, 15, Acts 17:31, 2 Thess 1:6-10, John 19:30)

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit is God. He created all things with the Father and the Son. He is the author and means by which the scripture came to us. He is truth. He leads the elect into all truth and guards us from the lies of sin, Satan, and the world. He speaks what he hears and reminds us of all that is true. He lives within believers and is the vehicle of regeneration. He applies the finished work of Christ to all the elect and produces fruit in them in regards to sanctification. He causes the elect to persevere till the end and keeps them safe and sealed until glory. He teaches believers the word and applies all truth to our hearts and minds. He grants spiritual gifts to the church for the edification of the body of Christ until Jesus returns. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. (Genesis 1, John 3, 14, 16, 2 Tim 2:19, 2 Cor 5:5, Eph 1:14, Romans 8, Titus 3)

Man We believe that man was created good and without sin in the garden. God commanded that they not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil for the day they ate of it they would surely die. They disobeyed God and ate of the fruit and thus sinned. They were punished for their sin and thrown out of the garden. They were cursed by God and through that sin death entered into the world. Adam and Eve had two sons and Cain murdered his brother Abel. Sin corrupted the whole earth except Noah and his family whom God saved through the ark during the flood. God flooded the whole earth because of man’s wicked hearts with rebellion and sin towards God. That didn’t fix the problem of sin in the human heart, and even after the flood men continued to sin. To this day man’s heart is still wicked apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. All people are born sinful and enemies of God, deserving His full wrath. Unless the LORD steps in and changes the nature of a person, they will reject God and willingly go to hell in rebellion. Man is “totally depraved” in that their heart and nature are wicked to the core and they have no ability in themselves to turn from their sin and believe in Christ, and thus be saved. Man is lost and hostile to God in his heart and mind thus producing bad fruit leading to death. (Genesis 3-8, Romans 1-6, John 3, Mark 7, Col 1:21, Eph 2:1-3)

Salvation This is the act of God by which he makes a rebellious, hard hearted, condemned, guilty sinner saved from the punishment and wrath they deserve. Because sin has separated us from God and made us enemies of God, we therefore deserve God’s just wrath in being condemned. But God provided a way to rescue His elect through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Salvation is the exchange of our sins onto the sinless Jesus Christ, for the righteousness of Christ in having all our sins paid for at the cross. Jesus took on all the sins of those who did and would believe in him. Christ suffered the judgment for the sins of many, thus making them acceptable towards God. He bridged the gap of hostility and made us justified or right with God. So salvation is being saved from God’s wrath for the penalty of sin. This is all possible because Jesus suffered on the cross, was buried, and then rose from the grave victorious over sin’s death grip! This salvation is brought into effect on the sinner by the Holy Spirit in what is called new birth or regeneration. He applies the gospel message to the hearer through faith, so they believe the truth and become born again. This is the supernatural work of God and results in the believer turning from their old life of sin towards God. The Spirit brings the depraved sinner to an awareness of their sinfulness and condemnation. He then points them to Christ, and his marvelous work on the cross. This satisfied God’s wrath for their sin, resulting in their believing and being saved! This is the power of God for salvation for all who believe. Once the person is converted, a complete change of nature takes place resulting in new life that is defined by holiness and perseverance in the faith. The believer will progressively grow in holiness and be made more and more into the image of Christ until they are taken home to glory. Conversion/ salvation will result in good works and victory over sin. If not than that profession is not true salvation. So salvation converts, sanctifies, and perseveres the believer all the way home to Heaven! To quote Jesus, “it is finished.” (Eph 1, 2:8-10, John 3, 19:30, Titus 3, Col 2-3, Romans 4, 6, 8, Gal 5, Phil 1:6, Hebrews 7-12, James 1-2, John 10, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53, 2 Cor 2-5)

Last Things We believe that Jesus is already ruling all things! He is waiting for his elect to be fully brought into the fold. He will then return to gather them for glory, and judge the world for their disobedience of the gospel. We believe that the 1000 year reign from Revelation 20 is figurative and already taking place now. We believe that the tribulation is already at hand, and that Christians suffer persecution here and now, and will until Christ returns. We deny the “secret” rapture teaching that does not come from scripture. We as Christians should be waiting for Christ with eager expectation, and thus be living our lives in light of eternity with zeal and confidence. Christ will receive all those for whom he died, and the day of glory will unveil that in full reality. (Hebrews 9:27-28, Romans 8:30, 2 Cor 5:5, Revelation, 2 Thess 1:6-10, Matt 24:36-51, Col 1:15-17, Acts 3:20-21)

Old vs New We believe the bible points to Jesus in all its fullness as the theme and fulcrum of how it hangs together. We see from scripture that God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 & 15 stating that through him the nations would be blessed. We see that the fulfillment of that covenant was Jesus Christ, and the true children of Abraham are those who have faith in Jesus. We deny any separation of the church and Israel in regards to God’s plan of salvation. We deny the teaching that God has set aside special promises yet to be fulfilled for Jews that the church hasn’t already received in Christ. We believe the church is made up of Jews and gentiles and those who are in Christ are His chosen people and always have been. We also see from scripture that God made a covenant with Moses at Sinai and it was not a gracious covenant. It was a covenant of works, and was given so that the trespass might increase, pointing people to Christ. It was never intended to save, even though it was holy, perfect, and good. We see the Mosaic covenant fulfilled in Jesus, as he perfectly obeyed it and upheld its commands. Jesus abolished the Mosaic law with its commandments and regulations, and as the true High Priest established a new law in the New covenant of his blood. The law of Christ is not a relative law that the believer can make up as he goes. It’s all the teachings of scripture within the context of Christ, that apply to the new covenant believer as to how we should live to please God. These are all summed up with loving God and loving others. We don’t hold to the 10 commandments as the law of God in the new covenant. We believe that the sabbath was fulfilled in Christ and that the believer can choose to set apart any day or time to spend unto the Lord. We do however, deny the teaching/ practice of some, who forsake the gathering together as a local body to hear the teaching of scripture, corporate worship, and prayer. We see the command for elder and deacon run churches and that men only hold those roles. We hold to believer’s baptism and deny the false teaching of infant baptism as a “covenant sign” given to Christian parents. It is ONLY through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that anyone is saved. Baptism is a SIGN of salvation following repentance and faith. We believe the love of Christ compels us to live holy and upright lives in this present evil age, and that the regenerate have an everlasting flowing love for God that is shown by obedience in serving Him until they’re taken home to glory! (Gen 12, 15, Exodus, Leviticus, Hebrews, 2 Cor 1-4, Romans 6-8, Matt 5-7, Col 2, 1 Tim 3, Titus 1, 1 John, Col 2:11-12, Romans 6)