What we believe

Maranatha is a service of Aspir Technologies. It is not a church, and partner churches are independent. This statement describes the shared convictions we ask partner churches to agree with. It is written in the tradition of historic, evangelical Christianity.

1. The Bible. We believe the Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the inspired Word of God, without error in its original writings, and the final authority for what we believe and how we live.

2. God. We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory. God created all things and rules over all things.

3. Jesus Christ. We believe Jesus is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man, born of the virgin Mary, who lived a sinless life, died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended to the Father.

³For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,

1. The Holy Spirit. We believe the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, gives new life to those who believe, lives in every believer, and equips and empowers the church.

2. People and sin. We believe every person is made in the image of God and has great worth, and that every person has sinned and is separated from God and unable to save themselves.

3. Salvation. We believe salvation is a free gift of God's grace, received through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not by our works. All who trust in Jesus are forgiven and made God's children.

⁸for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹not of works, that no one would boast.

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only born Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

1. The church. We believe the church is the body of Christ, made up of all who believe, gathered in local congregations for worship, teaching, fellowship, baptism, the Lord's Supper, and mission.

2. Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe in the two ordinances Jesus gave his church, as signs of the gospel. Individual partner churches may hold different views on the mode and timing of baptism.

3. Mission. We believe Jesus calls his followers to love God and neighbor, to make disciples of all nations, and to seek justice and mercy.

4. Return of Christ. We believe Jesus will return personally and visibly, will raise the dead, judge the living and the dead, and make all things new. This is the hope in the word Maranatha: "Our Lord, come."

²⁰He who testifies these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Yes, come, Lord Jesus!

Secondary matters

Where believers may hold differing views on secondary matters, we choose charity and humility.

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (WEB), public domain.