What We Believe

Legacy 242 stands in a long line of confessional Christian tradition dating all the way back to Jesus and his apostles. Their teaching contained in the Scriptures has been preserved for us today in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments that we refer to as the Bible. The Bible is the foundation for all that we believe. Below we identify our core beliefs which are foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

The Bible was written by men under inspiration from God. It is completely true in all that it affirms. It is the source of God’s divine revelation and is the final authority for our belief and practice. From beginning to end, the Bible tells God's story of Redemption through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:12-13, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2 Peter 1:21

The Triune God is the completely holy and sovereign Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He exists as one God in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All three persons are co-equal and co-eternal but are distinct from one another. Everything that God does and says is good, right, and true.
1 Samuel 2:2, 1 Chronicles 29:11-12, Isaiah 6:3, 46:10, Matthew 28:19,
2 Corinthians 13:14

God created man in His image. Out of all of creation, man is set apart as God’s special image bearer which gives all people inherent worth and special responsibility. Man was created to know God and worship Him.
               Genesis 1:26, 2:7, Isaiah 43:7

Due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin entered the world and broke God’s good creation. Sin has infected and affected all of creation, especially people. Sin separates a person from God, from their true selves and from others. Because of sin, man stands guilty before God, deserves punishment, and is incapable of loving, worshiping or cherishing God.
Genesis 3, Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23, 5:12, 6:23, Ephesians 2:1-3

The sinful state that man is in cannot be overcome by any of his own efforts. God, according to his grace, offers salvation to man as a free gift that is obtained through faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Those on whom the work of Jesus is effective are born again: they are given a new heart that loves God, hates sin and desires to live an obedient life.
               John 3:16-18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:4-10

Jesus Christ is the Son of God; the second person of the Trinity. He is both fully God and fully man. Jesus lived a perfect life and died as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. He rose bodily from the grave three days after being buried to display His victory over sin, Satan and death. Jesus will one day return to earth to right every wrong, heal all brokenness, and reign as king.
Isaiah 42:1, John 1:1-5, 10:30, 14:6, Romans 6:4, Colossians 1:19-20

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He empowers believers to live the life God has called them to, inspired the Scriptures, illuminates the Word of God, and convicts people of sin. By the Holy Spirit believers are empowered to live a new life and are gifted spiritually to serve the church and advance the gospel.
John 14:26, 16:7-15, Romans 8:26, 12:6-8 Galatians 5:22-25

A church is a localized community of baptized believers committed to one another and the mission of God who gather regularly with recognizable leadership, practice the two ordinances (baptism and communion), and function as a team and family.
Acts 2:42, 1 Timothy 3:15, Titus 1:5-9, Hebrews 10:24-25

Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:19-20

Legacy 242 practices communion (aka the Eucharist) that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper before his crucifixion. Communion is taken to commemorate and symbolize the work of Jesus on the cross – the bread symbolizes His broken body and the wine or juice symbolizes His shed blood. Communion is an act of worship that honors Jesus and invites the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 26:17-30, 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

The kingdom of God is His rule, reign and authority. His kingdom is present in this world but not fully expressed. When a person is born again, in essence that person’s citizenship is transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God. One day, God’s rule, reign and authority will be perfectly expressed “on earth as it is in heaven.”
               Psalm 103:19, Luke 1:32-33, John 3:5-7, Romans 14:17

Marriage is a covenantal relationship instituted by God that is between a man and a woman and provides the foundation for a family. Sexual activity is to be enjoyed within a lifelong, covenantal, monogamous, heterosexual marriage only.
Genesis 2:23-24, Matthew 19:6, 1 Corinthians, 6:9-20, Ephesians 5:22-33

Man was created to exist forever. Those who are in Christ will spend eternity on the new heavens and new earth in new life under the rule and reign of the good king Jesus, forever. Those who reject Jesus will experience the wrath of God and spend eternity separated from God in hell.   
Matthew 25:41-46, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 5:11-12, Revelation 21:1-8