The Bible

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired word of God and is God's revelation of himself to man. The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible, and God-breathed and therefore are the final authority for life and faith, and are "profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and for training in righteousness." The Holy Spirit gives divine understanding to all Scripture. (II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 1:1-2, 4:12; I Peter 1:23-25; Romans 16:25-26; I Corinthians 2:10-16; II Corinthians 3:14-16; John 6:63).
 

The Trinity:

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. We believe He eternally exists in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – each coeternal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfection (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14; John 14:10-26; Genesis 1:26; Isaiah 6:8, 9:6; Hebrews 3:7-11; Ephesians 4:6; Acts 5:3-4).

God the Father:

 We believe that God the Father is the Creator, and maker of all things. As the Source of the eternal plan and purpose, all things originated in the Father’s heart for Himself. As a result, The Father has designated the Son to be central and supreme, having first place in all things in the eternal plan and purpose. God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. The Son was given by the Father to ultimately reveal and manifest the Father Himself. The Father has sent the Son to be the Agent by whom this purpose was fulfilled. According to this eternal plan and purpose, the Father has consequently commissioned the Holy Spirit to be the Activator, Energizer, and Source of power to carry into existence the eternal plan and purpose. The ultimate ministry of the Holy Spirit under this plan is to make manifest and reveal the Son as having the preeminence in all things (John 16:12-15; Hebrews 3:4, 11:10; Colossians 1:15-19; Ephesians 1:19-23).

Christ the Son:

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became a man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2; II Corinthians 5:19-21; Galatians 4:4-5; Philippians 2:5-8). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His sinless life and death on a cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice, and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Acts 2:18-36; Romans 3:24-25; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24, 3-5; Ephesians 1:7). We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven and in a statement of His permanence is now exalted and seated at the right hand of God. As our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2).

 Holy Spirit:

We believe that Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. He is the Supernatural Agent of redemption and teaches us all things (Luke 12:12; John 14:26, 16:8-11; Ephesians 1:13-14). We believe that all believers should seek and expect the promise of the Father, the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of the early church. With the baptism comes power, the bestowment of the gifts and their uses in the work of ministry. This experience is distinct from the experience of the new birth and could and should occur at salvation, but does not always happen that way (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8; I Corinthians 12:1-31; Acts 2:38, 10:44-46, 11:14-16, 15:7-9). We believe the work of the Holy Spirit in every believer’s life is manifold. The Holy Spirit’s work in our lives is to be one of changing us into the likeness of Christ by His indwelling, sealing presence in our hearts. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. The Holy Spirit comes also to empower us by grace to accomplish all spiritual ministries and gifts given to us by God’s own choosing. 

Creation: 

We believe that God created the universe in six literal (24 hour) days. We reject all unscriptural theories of origin. Any biological changes that have occurred since the Creation week have done so within the original created kinds. The special Creation of Adam and Eve in the image of God, and their subsequent fall into sin is the basis for our belief in the necessity of a Savior for all mankind.

We believe that death is the result of Adam’s sin and that no created life of any kind existed prior to the literal six-day Creation. We believe that the great flood described in the Genesis account was an historic worldwide flood in its extent and was a catastrophic event. (Genesis 1-2; Exodus 20:11).

Satan:

We believe that Satan is a being who is the originator of sin and whose rebellion empowered the fall of man. He is the open and declared enemy of God and man and is referred to as a liar and deceiver. We believe that as a usurper, he now rules as "the god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4) and "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." While judged at the cross, he is not yet executed, but at the second coming of Christ, will be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years, after which he will be loosed for a short season and then, "He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire" where he "shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever" (Colossians 2:15; Job 1:6-7; Isaiah 14:12-17; Matthew 4:2-11, 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

The Fall and Redemption:

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin, the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature and became alienated from God. Fallen man is totally depraved, and of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. This sin causes a separation from God and, therefore, a need for a Savior. God by His great love provided this Savior in His Son, Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus on a cross and the shedding of innocent blood, we may enter into fellowship with the Father. Through this redemption we have a restored relationship with God as was intended from creation (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:25, 5:12, 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:17-19; Isaiah 59:2; I John 1:7-9; Hebrews 9:14, 13:12).

Repentance: 

We believe that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. God has always required a sacrifice for man’s sin, and in His love and desire to make a more perfect way, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life. His blood that was shed on the cross is the only sacrifice sufficient to cleanse us from our sins. When we place our faith in Christ Jesus and repent of our sins that have separated us from a Holy God, we are freed from the penalty of eternal punishment (John 1:29; Romans 3:10-12, 5:9; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 4:15, 7:27, 9:22; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5, 5:9). We believe that repentance is the act of willfully turning away from sin in every area of our lives to follow Christ Jesus. Through repentance we individually receive forgiveness of sins and receive salvation (Luke 24:27; II Peter 3:9; II Corinthians 7:10).

Salvation: 

We believe that universal death through sin, was brought into the world at the fall of man. As such, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again. We reject any notion of a "sinner's prayer" but rather do affirm and believe that only those who have repented of their sins and received new life implanted by Holy Spirit, can receive salvation, and thus enter into eternity. We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. Once an unregenerate person exercises their faith in Christ as described in the New Testament, that person passes immediately out of spiritual death and into spiritual life as a new creation. (John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; I Peter 1:18, Galatians 2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Acts 4:10-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17).

Marriage:

The Holy Bible defines marriage as the exclusive, comprehensive, and “one flesh” union of one man and one woman, intrinsically ordered for the revelation of God, for the joy of man and woman, for procreation, and in furtherance of the moral, spiritual, and public good of binding father, mother, and child. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-9; Mark 10:5-9; Ephesians 5:31-33) We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in covenant for LIFE (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23). We will not perform any marriages that are same sex, plural, or involve anything other than one man and one woman.

Human Sexuality:

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 homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, adultery, and pornography are a sinful perversion of God’s gift of sex which is designed to bond a man and his wife together. Sex within marriage should be fun, frequent and free and scripture does not restrict sexual activities outside of intercourse within marriage so long as they involve ONLY husband and wife and are by mutual agreement. (Genesis 2:24, 19:5, 26:8-9; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Corinthians 7:5, 7:2; Song of Solomon 4). 

Divorce and Remarriage:

We believe that God hates divorce and intends marriage to last until death. Divorce and remarriage is regarded as adultery except on the grounds of fornication/adultery (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6).

Abortion:

We believe that human life begins at conception and that an unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of an unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well being of the mother are acceptable. For anyone who has had an abortion, we believe that the shed blood of Jesus offers mercy and forgiveness for sin. We believe some of the strongest champions of life in the womb will be those who once took it and have found forgiveness in Jesus Christ (Job 3:16; Psalms 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1, 5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)

The Church:

We believe that Jesus Christ Himself established and builds the church universal, composed of all born-again believers in every time and place, of every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. The universal church is His body and espoused bride, a new and holy nation and people, through which God has purposed to glorify Himself in the world (Matthew 16:18, 21:42-43; Revelation 5:9-10; I Corinthians 12:12-14; II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:13-22, 3:20-21, 4:4-6, 5:25-32; I Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 21:1-4). We believe that Christ also ordained the local church as an expression of His universal church in a particular place (Matthew 18:15-18). We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 27-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). We believe in the autonomy of the local church free of any external human authority or control (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31; Romans 16:1,4; I Corinthains 3:9, 16, 5:4-7, 13; I Peter 5:1-4). We believe denominationalism is divisive and carnal. Each local church has the privilege and sober responsibility to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit’s leading for the planted group of believers in that particular time and place in the economy of God’s spiritual civilization on earth.

Giving:

We believe that every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, should freely give financial support to the local church. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving, but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the gospel. (Genesis 14:20; Proverbs 3:9-10; Acts 4:34-37; I Corinthians 16:2; II Corinthians 9:6-7; Galatians 6:6; Ephesians 4:28; I Timothy 5:17-18; I John 3:17)

Elders: 

We believe that once the senior leaders of Second City Roanoke have pioneered and established the foundation, they will then lay hands on a team of elders who will become the primary spiritual leaders of the congregation that are also referred to as overseers or pastors in the New Testament. Their responsibilities will include:

1. Ruling the flock of God (Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24; I Timothy 3:4-5, 5:17; Romans 12:8; I Thessalonians 5:12-14; I Peter 5:2-3).
2. Teaching the flock of God (Hebrews 13:7; I Timothy 5:17; Titus 1:9; II Timothy 2:24).
3. Shepherding the flock of God (Acts 20:17, 28; I Peter 5:2; John 21:15-17).
4. Overseeing the flock of God (Acts 20:28; Titus 1:7; I Peter 5:2-3).
5. Caring for the flock of God (James 5:14-15; Ezra 34; Jeremiah 23:1).
6. Governing the flock of God (I Timothy 5:17; I Corinthians 12:28; Isaiah 9:6; II Peter 2:10).
7. Safeguarding the flock of God from false ministries (Acts 15; Revelation 2:2; Acts 2:42, 16:4-5; I Timothy 4:1).

The Sacraments: 

At Second City we observe two sacraments: (1.) Believer's baptism and (2.) Communion. We believe in the ordinance of baptism by total immersion in water for all that have repented and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord. In doing so, they declare to the world that they have died with Jesus and have been raised with Him in newness of life (Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Romans 6:4).

We believe that the Lord’s Supper, consisting of the elements of bread and juice, is the symbol expressing our sharing of the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ, a memorial and remembrance of His life, suffering and death, and a prophesy of His second coming. It is enjoined on all believers until He comes. Believes should partake in communion as often as possible. (John 6:48, 51, 53-57; Luke 22:19-20; II Peter 1:4; I Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Lord's Day:

The early church met on the first day of the week, which we now call Sunday--this is the Lord’s Day. We observe this weekly through prioritizing corporate worship and exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. Activities on the Lord’s Day should be commensurate with the Christian’s conscience under the Lordship of Jesus Christ

The Christian Walk: 

We believe that we are called with a holy calling, to walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit, and so to live in the power of the indwelling Spirit that we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But the flesh with its fallen, Adamic nature, which in this life is never eradicated, being with us to the end of our earthly pilgrimage, needs to be kept by the Spirit constantly in subjection to Christ, or it will surely manifest its presence in our lives to the dishonor of our Lord.

Evangelism and Missions:

It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. The new birth of man’s spirit by God’s Holy Spirit means the birth of love for others. The Lord Jesus Christ has commanded the preaching of the gospel to all nations. It is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ. (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21; Acts 1:8; II Corinthians 5:20).

Last Things:

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring this world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13). We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord (Luke 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6). We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, in conscious punishment and torment until the resurrection, when the soul and body are reunited, where they shall appear at the Great White Throne of Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated but to suffer everlasting punishment and torment (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15).