God
We believe in the only true God—John 17:3. We believe that 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 honor, confidence, and obedience—Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 4:3-4. He created all things—Revelation 4:11 and upholds all things by the Word of His power—Hebrews 1:3. In Him we live and move and have our being—Acts 17:28. He is a God of truth and without iniquity, He is just and right—Deuteronomy 32:4. He shall judge the world—Psalm 9:8.
Jesus Christ
We believe in the total deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His eternal Sonship. We believe He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. We believe He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe Him to be true God and true man, sinless and perfect and Savior of the world—John 1:1,14,18; 14:8-9; 1 Timothy 3:16.
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with God the Father and God the Son and of the same nature. We believe that the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ—John 16:14. The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner upon belief in Christ, baptizing the believer into one body of which Christ is the head. The Holy Spirit indwells, seals, guides, instructs, fills, comforts and empowers the believer for godly living—Mark 13:11; John 14:26; 16:13; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of God’s righteousness and of coming judgment—John 16:8-11 and He bears witness to the truth of the gospel in preaching and testimony.
Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings. We believe the 66 books of the Old Testament and the New Testament are God’s complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God’s authority for the total well-being of mankind—Psalm 119:97-104,160; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16.
Creation
We believe in the biblical account of the creation of the physical universe, angels and man by God in six literal days. We believe the biblical account is a literal, historical account of the direct creative acts of God. We believe that man was created by a direct work of God and not from previously existing forms of life. We believe all men are descended from the historical Adam and Eve, first parents of the entire human race—Genesis 1; Genesis 2; Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3.
Man
We believe man was created in innocence under the law of his Creator but, by voluntarily transgressing, fell from his sinless state. Consequently, all mankind is sinful—Romans 5:12. All people are born with a sin nature. As sinners they are under just condemnation without defense or excuse—Romans 3:23; 6:23. We believe that every man and every woman is totally depraved and needs a Savior—Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 3:10-19; 1:18; 1:32.
Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice— 2 Corinthians 5:21. We believe that the salvation of sinners is initiated by God—Ephesians 1:4. We believe that each person who by faith receives Jesus Christ as personal Savior is justified on the basis of Jesus Christ’s shed blood on Calvary. Each person who receives Christ as personal Savior is born again of the Holy Spirit and thereby becomes eternally secure as a child of God—John 3. We believe the Holy Spirit places each believing person into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation—Romans 8:37-39; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 12:13.
The Gospel
We believe the gospel (The Good News) is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures—1 Corinthians 15:3-4. After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, and He is presently the believer’s High Priest and Advocate—Acts 1:3; 1:9; Hebrews 7:25-26.
Security of Believers
We believe that all who are truly “born again” (John 3), are kept by God the Father for Jesus Christ. They are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14) and are secure in their salvation, having been given eternal life—John 3:16; 10:28-29; Romans 8:35-39. We also believe that God does a purifying work in each believer until the Day of Jesus Christ—Philippians 1:6.
Church
Upon accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, a believer becomes part of His body, which is the church. There is one church universal, composed of all those throughout the world who acknowledge and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers—Ephesians 5:23; Romans 12:1;Acts 2:42-46; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Matthew 28:18-20. Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church (local church) under the oversight of elders. The church’s members (immersed believer’s) are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ—Ephesians 4:16.
The Devil, or Satan
We believe in the reality and personality of satan, the Devil; and that he was created by God as an angel but through pride and rebellion became the enemy of his Creator. At his fall, he became the unholy god of this age and the ruler of all powers of darkness and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire—Matthew 4:1-11; John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10.
Heaven, Hell, and the Return of Christ
We believe in the blessed hope: the bodily, pre-millenial, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in Heaven—Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7. The lost are raised to eternal torment in Hell in conscious separation from God—Matthew 8:12; 10:28; 13:49-50; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8.
Statement on Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God—Genesis 1:26-27. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
Statement on Marriage
We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture—Genesis 2:18-25. We believe that marriage between one man and one woman, for life, uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church—Ephesians 5:21-33. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other—1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery and other sexual activity outside of marriage; homosexual behavior; bisexual conduct; or use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God—Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Lakeside Fellowship as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to Lakeside members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Lakeside in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality—Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22.
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ—Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity—Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Lakeside Fellowship Church.
Statement on the Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in 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 are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life—Psalm 139.