What We Believe

We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God.

That the 66 books of the Old and New Testament were inspired by the Spirit of God as originally written
That the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and conduct · 2 Timothy 3:16

We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

We believe in the absolute and essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ

• In His eternal existence, with the Father in pre-incarnate glory
• In His work of creation, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection
• In His triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry and personal return

We believe in the absolute and essential deity, and in the personality of the Holy Spirit

• Who convinces of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment
• Who regenerates, indwells, seals, sanctifies, illuminates, and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ
• Who baptizes believers at conversion into the Body of Christ and bestows upon them His gifts sovereignly as He wills and fills those yielded to Him

We believe that Adam was divinely created in the image of God

• That by the sin of disobedience he fell from that state
• That all his posterity inherited spiritual depravity and defilement
• That all men, therefore, are guilty before God and condemned to physical and spiritual death

We believe that salvation is by the sovereign grace of God

• That by the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered a propitiatory death
• That justification is by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ
• That those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and ultimately perfected in the image of the Lord

Marriage is a covenant relationship between a man and a woman that God initiated, promotes, intends to be life-long, and uses as a picture of the relationship between Jesus and the church (Eph 5). Within the liberating yet protective framework of marriage, a loving and selfless relationship includes sexual enjoyment and participation in the miracle of birthing children into the world.

Marriage is part of what makes up the healthy fabric of society, and the scriptures tell us that divorce is “hated” by God.  Although Jesus said divorce is “permitted” due to the infidelity of one partner, certainly restoration, healing and forgiveness is the preferred biblical approach in such cases.  In our fallen world, sometimes restoration does not happen for various reasons.  This does not mean that fellowship with divorcees should be avoided by the church, but rather we should embrace and love divorcees and not withhold fellowship from them.

Although there is no sin greater than another, due to the confusion in society and even among some churches, we feel it necessary to be clear about the specific sin of sexual immorality.

God loves every single person on the planet and has demonstrated that love to all of us.

Jesus said that through His mission on the earth, He came to “release captives, set free those who are oppressed, save that which was lost, give eternal life, forgive us of our sins, give us abundant life, destroy the works of the evil one and send the Holy Spirit to help us” (Luke 4:18, John 3:16, John 10:10, Matt 18:11, Matt 26:20, 1 John 3:8, John 16:7).  

In the beginning when God made the first man, He created Him to live forever, never to experience death.  When God recognized that this eternal man needed an intimate companion to live life with, He uniquely handcrafted a beautiful woman - a person significantly different from the man, but perfectly suited for him in every way, and he for her.  Adam and Eve were anatomically and emotionally opposites, but God designed them to fit together and complement one another physically and emotionally, in ability and purpose.  

A level of intimacy and love that God designed for a man and a woman to enjoy is sexual intimacy. Through enjoying one another sexually, man and woman also became participants in the greatest miracle on earth – the creation of another human being - a baby.  Marriage was one man and one woman enjoying one another physically, and emotionally, and through that enjoyment, life came forth miraculously. This is the natural way that God intended for marriage. Loving, committed, fun and life giving.  

When Adam and Eve chose to reject their Father and His ways by listening to and following Satan when he deceived them, they sinned.  This was the first sin.  Sin simply means to “miss the mark.” In other words, sin is to stray or rebel in thought, word or deed from what God created, intended, and communicated.  Sinning or missing the mark results in death. It’s a bit like someone being given a car and instructed to drive it on the road. However, if that person drives it off the road and over a huge cliff, they have missed the mark, strayed from the path and the result is death. Similarly, God created our bodies and the path for our bodies to live upon.  When Adam and Eve “drove” off of the path that God showed them, death (spiritually and naturally) was the result.  

After Adam and Eve rejected and rebelled against God, first in thought and then in action, sin quickly multiplied from there to include a multitude of “missing the mark” mindsets and behavior, all producing death and further enslavement. God has clearly shown us what kind of things are sin and off course from His design. Of the many things that are sin, such as pride and envy, the purpose of this writing is to focus upon sexual sin in particular:
“…You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife, to be defiled with her…..You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination.  Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.” Leviticus 18:20 & 22

In these two verses in the Old Testament, God addresses three specific sexual sins.  The first is adultery (sexual intercourse with another person’s spouse). The second is homosexuality.  To “lie” with a male means to have sexual relations between a male and another male. The third sexual sin identified here is bestiality, or sexual relations between a man and an animal, or a woman and an animal. Adultery, homosexuality and bestiality are the three sexual sins listed here in this passage that are clear variances or perversions from what God created and intended.  All three miss the mark.  

Moving from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the list of sexual sin identified includes not only physical sexual conduct, but any sexual conduct in thought, word or deed outside of marriage between a man and a woman. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says:  
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God: Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.”

In this passage that includes sexual and non-sexual sin, the Apostle Paul adds  “fornicators,” or anyone who engages in physical sexual activity outside of marriage. He also says “Do not be deceived” to warn the Corinthians that there may be some deception regarding people who embrace sin but still think they are going to inherit the kingdom of heaven. He is bringing clarity and highlighting the seriousness of unrighteous or sinful behavior.    

In the book Galatians, sexual sins are again discussed when the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 5:19:
“Now the deeds of the flesh (carnal, sinful nature) are evident, which are: immorality (“Porneia” in Greek, which means to indulge unlawful lust, homosexuality, fornication, adultery or incest), impurity (Defilement of Moral Character, Uncleanness in thought word or deed), sensuality (Licentiousness – flagrant disregard of sexual restraints “outrageous conduct”)…”  
“Immorality” covers a wide range of sexual sins that include those mentioned previously in the books of Leviticus and Ephesians. All sexual conduct outside of marriage between a man and a woman is considered “immorality” here in this Galatian passage, and fleshly activity that is contrary to behavior inspired by the Holy Spirit. “Impurity” and “Sensuality” refer to sexual behavior in fantasy or thought, along with physical sexual activity outside of marriage between one man and one woman.  

In Matthew chapter 5:27 & 28, Jesus raises the bar from the Old Testament description of physical sin by saying that it’s not just physical adultery that is sin, but also the adulterous thoughts in our hearts that is sin. Sexual thoughts, fantasies, and imaginations toward anyone that is not our spouse is sin – missing the mark, according to Jesus. We are instructed to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor 10:5).  God has always been after and interested in what is taking place in our hearts and minds, not just what we are doing with our bodies (1 Sam 16:7, 2 Chron 16:9, etc). He desires that we “love Him with all of our heart, mind and strength,” and if we love Him, we will align our minds and bodily behavior with His ways.  
Regarding homosexuality specifically, the book of Romans discusses that due to people rejecting God and not giving thanks to Him, degrading passions have emerged within them:
“… for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” Rom 1:26-27
This is another clear biblical passage that identifies homosexuality as something that was never intended by God, missing the mark and unnatural. Here, the Apostle Paul says that when God is not honored, people exchange natural for what is unnatural, committing indecent acts. This is also true today. When we don’t honor or recognize God and His ways, we exchange what is natural for unnatural things. Homosexuality is not what God intended for mankind. God knows and has the best and highest way to live for all people and that way is to either live as a single person or in a committed marriage between one man and one woman.

For many years, people who have identified as being a part of the LGBTQ community were mistreated, harmed, or rejected. This was wrong. Followers of Jesus are called to love all people and to view them as people made in the image of God, treated with dignity.  

Although we love all people, we also hold fast to the things that God values and one of them is how we conduct our own bodies.  We are told that our bodies are “the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor 6), and “our body belongs to the Lord.” Scripture also tells us that it is important to God how we behave in our bodies, who we have sexual contact with, and who we should not.  
In the last several years, both homosexual and adulterous behavior have been accepted by a growing number of people, including government institutions and many churches. However, the scriptures define morality, truth and what is natural -  not opinion, our feelings, or progressive thinking. Remember, we were warned in 1 Corinthians 6:9 not to be deceived about these very issues.  

Just as God loves every person, we here at United also love every person and we are all on a journey of freedom with God. All are welcome to attend United, and our desire is that every person would receive Jesus into their lives, enter into fellowship with their heavenly Father and experience His freedom in every way -  forgiveness of sin, clarity of mind, and restoration of the soul. This freedom is available. We recognize that people involved with adultery, homosexuality, bestiality or any other immorality need help and are the very people that Jesus came to help, save and set free. There is no judgment or criticism from us toward people involved with these sins, because all have sinned and every person is in desperate need of Jesus and the forgiveness, grace, and love that He gives. There is hope for every person involved in any sin, sexual or otherwise when we take ownership of our sin, repent from it and embrace Jesus and His ways.  
For those involved with or struggling with gender dysphoria, same-sex attraction specifically, we know that there are numerous reasons for this. Some people feel that they were born that way and have never felt “normal” or that they fit in anywhere else. Some with very sensitive natures and creative giftings may have just felt accepted by the LGBTQ community and possibly rejected by a church or Christians, causing them to question their sexual orientation.  For others, someone told them to explore their sexuality to see what they might be sexually and have come to the conclusion that they are gay. For many, they have been physically or emotionally abused or manipulated by another person during their lifetime, which initiated unnatural attractions toward people of the same sex. Regardless of the reason for being involved in homosexuality, we are very sorry for whatever damage, abuse or rejection that anyone has experienced during their life. We compassionately desire for them to be healed and made whole.  

Although the reasons vary for those who view themselves as a part of the LGBTQ community, what is the same for every person is this - Jesus has provided a way to be cleansed, freed, connected to their loving Heavenly Father, and healed in body, soul, and mind. He has made a way for our identity to not be wrapped up in our sexual orientation, but rather in our identity as a child of God. Jesus said that He came to “set every captive free”, to give us “life abundantly” and to reveal what the Father is really like. He has that introduction to a Father’s love and abundant life for every person who is involved with sexual sin or addicted to anything.  

This writing isn’t just a statement of what we believe, but also a heart-felt appeal and invitation for every person to experience the freedom and love that Jesus provides. We want to be a part of your freedom. Please let us know if you would like prayer, ministry, or someone to help you.

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