What We Believe

Who we are

Matthew Road exists to see, know and experience the glory of God by honoring His Son Jesus Christ and by obeying Jesus' command to make disciples of all the world.

We accomplish this through our commitment to our core values.

Jesus Christ is the head of the church. As such, we submit our lives as individuals and the life of the entire community of faith to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ alone. The Gospel or Good News is that God has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to be the Savior of the world. We are saved on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ and not on the basis of our works.

Scripture is the final authority in life and in the church. We are committed to teaching, preaching, reading, studying and applying the Word of God. The Bible has been given to the church by God. Though human authors wrote the words with their own personal touch, God guided every word so that the bible is the work of God through human agency. It comes directly from God and is absolutely, perfectly and completely true. This means that our worship, fellowship, ministry and the way we conduct ourselves must follow what is prescribed in the New Testament.

Our goal is to worship God in everything we do. Sunday mornings, along with other special occasions provide the entire community of faith to worship Christ together. This encourages one another while also teaching us about the God we worship.

The church is described as a body, an interconnected, living, functioning organism. When we gather, it is unlike any gathering of people in the world. The Spirit of God unites us to Christ and to one another through Christ. We practice church discipline according to the prescribed approach given by Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter 18.

To know Christ and to make Him known to others. This is a personal calling and a corporate mission. We are each responsible to share the message of Jesus Christ with every individual around us. We are also to fulfill this calling as a community of faith, working together to carry the message of Jesus Christ to our community, our state, our nation and our world. We do this through participation in several areas of missions like planting churches, training and developing pastors in Mexico, supporting an orphanage, hosting medical and dental clinics as a means of evangelism. We also participate in short-term mission trips to assist recover efforts after natural disasters. Our church participates in the cooperative program where we, along with other like minded churches, give to mission agencies that focus on our county, state, North America or international missions. Ten percent of our regular giving goes to support missions. In addition, we have several special mission opportunities during the year to raise funds for specific mission endeavors.

Two Ordinances

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances given by God to the church. We practice the two ordinances given by Christ to the New Testament church.

Baptism is an outward expression of what God has done in a person’s life. Baptism serves to demonstrate that an individual has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Jesus is our example for living. As He began His public ministry, Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, so one aspect of baptism is following Jesus’ example. In addition to following Jesus’ example, we also follow His command. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells the disciples to go into the world and to teach and to baptize. In this command, Jesus tells the disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” So Christians are to be baptized to follow the example of Jesus and to follow His commands.

The Lord’s Supper is a beautiful picture of the work of Christ on the cross. Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper on the night He was betrayed. As He broke the bread and shared the cup, He instructed the disciples to continue to celebrate this meal together in remembrance of what He had done. The bread represents Christ’s body which was broken in our place. The cup represents the blood that He shed while paying the price for our sin. We celebrate the Lord’s Supper several times a year, including Good Friday and Christmas Eve. We practice semi-open communion, where all believers present are invited to participate in the Lord’s Supper. However, unbelievers should not participate. The final check is the conscience of each individual present though a word of caution is usually provided.

Our Beliefs About:

God

We believe that there is one eternal triune God, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all honor, obedience, confidence, and love; revealing Himself in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, without division of nature, essence, or being. All three persons are infinite and without beginning.

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, God in flesh, fully human, fully God, maker of all that is made. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, substitutionary death, burial, bodily resurrection, and visible ascension into heaven, where He now rules with the Father at the Father’s right hand.

Holy Spirit

We believe that God the Holy Spirit exalts Christ, illuminates humans to understand truth, convicts humans of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; calls people to the Savior, effects regeneration, and baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He indwells believers, provides them with spiritual gifts, and empowers them to bear good fruit. He seals believers unto the day of redemption.

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the Word of God, written by men under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and given as final authority to reveal the nature of God and His purposes, and the final authority over all faith and practices. The Bible is fully inspired by God and is, thus, free of error.

Humans

We believe all humans are specially created by God, made in His image, male and female, possessing infinite worth, for the express purpose of bringing glory to God and to enjoy God. Adam and Eve sinned against God, thereby bringing sin upon the entire human race. Since that day, every human being has continued to sin by nature and by choice.

Salvation

We believe that God in His infinite mercy, through the substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ, reconciles to Himself every person who receives the gift of salvation by repenting of one’s sins and believing in the atonement of Jesus Christ for sin. This is the only means of salvation. Humans, being dead in sin, are made alive by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby they are enabled to exercise this faith and be justified by God.

Purpose

We believe God’s gracious purpose for people is their sanctification, which includes repentance characterized by a changed life and saving faith evidenced by kingdom service and good works.

The Church

We believe that the church is a universal body of believers in all ages from all parts of the world. We also believe that there is a local church, an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers, associated by covenant. We believe the purpose of the church is to honor Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for us by worshiping, preaching the Word of God, celebrating the ordinances, giving of our resources, caring for widows and orphans, and seeking the salvation of the lost in our communities and around the world. Our congregation is the interpretive authority on the Bible's meaning and application for purposes of MRBC’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline. The Lead Pastor, in consultation with the Ministerial Staff and the Deacon Body, will provide interpretive leadership to the congregation.

The Family

We believe that the family is the first human institution given by God. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a loving covenant relationship for life. Any sexual expression outside the covenant relationship between husband and wife violates God’s standard. The relationship between husband and wife should be a portrayal of the relationship of Christ and His church. Children are to obey their parents, and parents are to lovingly raise their children to know God and honor Him with their lives.

Final Things

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the believer and the endless punishment of the unbeliever.

Our Church Constitution

Download to Read