DOCTRINAL FAQ
ARE YOU REFORMED?
The short answer is, “Yes”, but let's get a little more specific.
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We hold to the Five Solas of Reformed Doctrine: Scripture alone, which teaches salvation comes by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone for God’s glory alone.
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We are Calvinists in doctrine. ​​
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We do NOT believe in infant baptism.
CAN WOMEN SERVE AS PASTORS AT RBC?
We believe that scripture speaks clearly to this question. Scripture defines the qualifications for the office of pastor (also referred to as elder or overseer) in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These passages outline that the role of elder is to be held by a man fitting the qualifications. Furthermore, in speaking to the leadership of the church, 1 Timothy 2:12a states, “do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man;” rather, she is to remain quiet.” However, we are excited to see the women at Redemption serving in many other leadership and non-leadership roles.
WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT?
We believe there is one baptism of the Holy Spirit that occurs at the time a person is born again, placing that one into the body of Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit now indwells believers and empowers them for the work of the ministry. We also believe that He enlightens the Word of God to us as we read and study.
Though we do not deny that God can continue to use spiritual gifts still today, we believe these gifts are not normative for the church.
WHAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL?
We do not believe the prosperity gospel is a true or accurate biblical teaching. At its best iterations, it distorts the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. At its worst, it is a false gospel and heresy.
The biggest distortion the prosperity gospel makes is its misdiagnosis of mankind’s main problem. It teaches our main problem is poverty and sickness rather than sin and rebellion against God. As a result, the prosperity gospel promises health and wealth from God rather than salvation from our sins and restoration to God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The problem with the prosperity gospel is that what it offers is so cheap. It pales in comparison to what the message of the true gospel offers, eternal life and a relationship with God.
DO YOU SING SONGS WRITTEN, OR SUNG, BY PEOPLE YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THEOLOGICALLY?
We do not have a problem singing songs written by people who believe differently than we do as long as the specific song in question lines up with our theological viewpoint. We do not hold to a fundamental separation ethic at Redemption. In other words, we do not believe that if we sing a song, quote an author, etc. we endorse everything that the author has ever said or done.
We stand firm on the fact that truth is absolute and not relative. God is the standard of truth. God’s word is the primary way in which God reveals that truth to us. So regardless of motivation or theological position if it lines up with scripture, we believe we can sing it. Paul understood this in Philippians, as he spoke about people preaching the Gospel with poor motivations when he said “What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.” So we chose to train our congregation to be theologically literate, discerning Christians who understand the truth of the Bible and can accurately spot errors in various movements, even movements we may choose to sing songs from.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ABOUT CREATION?
We believe that creation, as stated in Genesis 1, took place in six literal 24 hour days. We believe that the book of Genesis is to be read and interpreted in a literal historical manner. We believe that this is the way that Jesus himself viewed and understood Genesis based on the manner in which he referenced it in the New Testament. (Matt 19:3-6), (Matt 23:35), (Matt 24:37-39), (Mark 10:3-9), (Luke 11:50-51)