Broken Church

A. Unity in the Essentials and Freedom in the Non-Essentials.

Broken Church seeks unity in the essentials of the Christian faith while maintaining freedom in the non-essentials. The two main essentials and all of our doctrinal beliefs are centered upon our views concerning the Bible and the Person, work, and Deity of Jesus. Our doctrinal beliefs are consistent with Orthodox Evangelical Christianity.


B. The Bible

The Bible is the inerrant Word of God and it should be used in all matters concerning faith and practice. The term "inerrant" means without error. This does not mean that all translations are "inerrant," but rather the original texts are God breathed and inerrant. The Bible is verbally inspired by God. This means that the Holy Spirit guided and directed the human authors of Scripture to write according to His divine will. God utilized the personalities and writing styles of various human authors, but it is His revelation to mankind.

We believe in the Bible and we interpret using the grammatical-historical method. This means that we seek to uncover what the original author and recipients of the Bible understood the original text to say. We delve into the original culture and context of the New Testament and Old Testament. We also seek to understand how the words, sentences, paragraphs, books, and entire Bible is understood as a whole.

Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:9-11; Hosea 4:6; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21


C. Jesus Christ

Jesus was true God and true man. He was 100 percent Deity while maintaining 100 percent humanity. He has always been Deity and He has always co-existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Christ died for the sins of the entire world. However, this does not mean that all people are saved. Even though Christ’s death paid the sin debt for all of mankind, man must accept this free gift from God. Since Christ was sinless and fully God and fully man, He was able to offer Himself as a sacrifice for mankind. Jesus did what no other human could do in that He bore our sins and took our place. This is something that we do not deserve, but He did this out of His love for us.

John 1:1, 14, 8:57-59; 1 Corinthians 15:3, 14-17; 2 John 1:7; 1 Peter 3:18


D. God

There is one God who exists eternally in three persons. The three persons are the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each of these persons has always existed and they will always exist. The trinity is One God in substance, but three in persons. This is a mystery that we will never fully understand during this life.

God is infinitely perfect. God is infinite in that He never had a beginning and He will never have an end. God is perfect in all areas and attributes. Since God is already perfect and infinite, there is no need for Him to ever change. God is always the same and He is completely holy and separate from all things. This transcendent God has and does become involved in this world and in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person in that He is fully God. He has always co-existed with the Father and the Son. He is a Person and not just an arbitrary force in the world. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is different to believers and to the unbelievers. The main ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer is to lead them in truth and develop them more like Christ. The Holy Spirit’s ministry to the unbeliever includes brining them to Christ.

Genesis 1:1-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 16:8-11; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6


E. Mankind

Man and woman were specially created by God. Mankind did not evolve through a series of random acts of evolution or nature. People were specifically created by God and for God. Adam and Eve were the first people that God created and all humans are their descendants. Adam and Eve committed sin and rebellion towards God in the Garden of Eden and since then the entire human race is in rebellion towards God. The sin nature will always be a part of this life and it will be finally put to death when we are in Heaven.

Genesis 1:27; Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 5:22; 1 Timothy 2:13


F. Salvation

A person is saved through grace by faith when they believe. The term "believe" means that a person has fully put their trust and faith in Christ and His atoning sacrifice. It is not just an intellectual profession, but rather it is a commitment of the whole person which results in a change of action and attitude. Salvation is provided for all men in that Christ died once for all. He was righteous and He died for the unrighteous. This does not mean that all men are saved. Man must still accept this free gift of God in order to be saved. The human aspects of salvation are when men believe in Christ and initially receive salvation. Repentance is another human aspect, but it is not possible without divine intervention. The divine aspects of salvation include providing salvation, birth of the Holy Spirit, giving a gift of eternal life, and becoming a child of God. God also works in the believers' life so they can believe and repent.

Isaiah 64:6; John 1:12-13; Romans 3:10-12, 23, 6:23, 5:8, 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-5


G. The Church

The church is a gathering of professing believers who are under the authority of God’s Word for the worship of God, proclamation of the Gospel, and observance of the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is reserved for believers and it is an outward symbol of an inward change. The Lord’s Supper is to be taken by believers until Christ returns again to remind them of His sacrifice and point to His imminent return. There is nothing about baptism or the Lord’s Supper that gains any special grace or favor from God. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are both important ordinances that should be practiced by those who walk by faith.

The Church is the central tool that God uses to proclaim the gospel and edify believers. These are the responsibilities of each local church which only answers to Christ. Christ is the Head of the Church. It is important to establish local churches because Christ commands it. It takes various types of churches to reach and grow various people. Christians should seek to plant and grow the local church for God’s glory and for the purpose of evangelism and discipleship.

Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:41-42; Ephesians 4:4-6; Hebrews 10:24-26


H. End Times

Christ’s return is imminent and He will call believers up to be with Him. All those who have put their faith in Christ will spend all of eternity with Him. Those who have rejected Christ will spend eternal separation from God.

Daniel 9:27; Luke 16:19-26; John 3:16-18, 14:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4