Cornerstone Christian Church

OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Scriptures alone and in their entirety are our final rule for faith and practice. However, we do recognize the validity, value, and usefulness of the various church creeds and confessions that have been written throughout church history. But we do not subscribe to any one of them in particular as the rule for our church. We are firmly committed to the doctrines of sovereign grace and the “solas” of the Reformation, for they exalt the grace of God and humble the pride of man. We believe that the following brief statement of faith is a faithful expression of the most significant doctrines contained in the infallible and inerrant word of God.

1. God and the Trinity
We believe in the one true and living God, in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is invisible, personal, omnipresent, eternal, dependent on none, unchanging, truthful, trustworthy, almighty, sovereign, omniscient, righteous, holy, good, loving, merciful, long-suffering and gracious.

2. The Holy Scripture
We believe that Almighty God has revealed all that is necessary to life and salvation in the sixty-six books of Holy Scripture, which are the Word of God. All Scripture was given by inspiration of God, is infallible and inerrant, and is the final arbiter in all disputes. Its authority is derived from its Author and not from the opinions of men.

3. Election
We believe that God, before the foundation of the world, for His own glory did elect a great multitude of men and women to eternal life as an act of free and sovereign grace. This election was in no way dependent upon His foresight of human faith, decision, works, or merit.

4. Adam Our Representative
We believe that God made our first father Adam perfect, holy and upright. He was appointed representative and head of the human race, thereby exposing all his offspring to the effects of his obedience or disobedience to God's commands.

5. The Fall and Its Effects
We believe that Adam fell from his original righteousness into sin and brought upon himself and all his offspring death, condemnation and a sinful nature.

6. Man’s Inability
We believe it is utterly beyond the power of fallen man to love God, to keep His laws, to understand the gospel, to repent of sin or to trust in Christ.

7. Christ Our Representative
We believe that God sent His Son into the world, conceived of the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, unchangeably sinless, both God and man, born under the law, to live a perfect life of righteousness on behalf of His elect people.

8. Particular Redemption
We believe that God's Son died at Calvary to effect propitiation, reconciliation, redemption and atonement for His elect people. God bore testimony to His acceptance of His Son's work by raising Him bodily from the dead.

9. The Ascension of Christ
We believe that God's Son ascended to the right hand of His Father and is enthroned in glory, where He intercedes on behalf of His people and rules over all things for their sake.

10. Irresistible Grace
We believe that God the Son has poured out the Holy Spirit to work alongside the preached Word. The Spirit of God regenerates elect sinners and draws them irresistibly to faith in Christ the Savior.

11. Justification
We believe the elect, who are called by grace, are justified in the sight of God on account of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is received by faith alone.

12. Perseverance
We believe that all who are regenerated, called and justified shall persevere in holiness and never finally fall away.

13. Evangelism
We believe that it is the calling of every local church to participate in fulfilling the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded us.

14. The Church
We believe that the local church is under the authority of Christ alone. Nevertheless, He has appointed men to be elders (under-shepherds) to represent Him as they care for His body. Deacons also serve Christ as His ministers of mercy. Furthermore, the communion of saints requires the recognition of and fellowship with other local evangelical churches.

15. Church Ordinances
We believe that baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper are gospel ordinances belonging only to regenerated believers.

16. Eschatology
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ shall come again to raise the dead bodily, both righteous and unrighteous, and that the righteous shall enjoy everlasting life and the wicked endure everlasting punishment.

OUR IDENTITY

Cornerstone Christian Church of Long Island is a free and independent Baptist Church, standing in the tradition of historic protestant Christianity. Therefore, our church is at liberty to determine its own beliefs and practices within the doctrines and view points of orthodox Protestantism. Thus we look to the genuine work of God throughout the history of the church, and to the various creeds and confessions that have been developed along the way, as worthy models for the church today.

We also stand in the Baptist tradition that has always believed in and emphasized the autonomy of the local church. However, it is also our desire to be in close association with like-minded churches throughout the world. Our participation with any formal association of our choice is a statement of our commitment to the communion of like-minded churches for the purposes of edification, church planting and foreign missions.

OUR PURPOSE

Our purpose is to bring honor and glory to the God who created us and then redeemed us! This emphasis is worked out in our life together by the following:

First, it is our desire to glorify God by offering worship to Him in the Biblical manner, which is to worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24; Phil. 3:3).

Second, it is our desire to glorify God by building up the church of Jesus Christ through the systematic and practical teaching of the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 4:2: Acts 20:20-27).

Third, it is our desire to glorify God by building up each member of the body of Christ through the proper functioning of each member of the body (Eph. 4:11-16).

Fourth, it is our desire to glorify God by pursuing the holiness of life that is consistent with our high calling in Christ, through the separation from sin and worldliness (Eph. 4:1-6).

Fifth, it is our desire to glorify God by standing firm for truth and righteousness, and for the faith once for all delivered to the saints, and to warn against the preaching of “another gospel” (Gal. 1:6-10; Jude 3-4).

Sixth, it is our desire to glorify God by submitting to the Lordship of Christ over His church, and to seek His will in every matter of personal and corporate faith and practice (John 10:27; Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18).

Seventh, it is our desire to glorify God by proclaiming the gospel to the lost, thereby seeking to persuade all people everywhere to repent of their sins and to believe on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8).

OUR NAME

Our name is Cornerstone Christian Church and each word was carefully selected because of its biblical significance.

Cornerstone is defined as “a stone uniting two masonry walls at an intersection” or “a stone representing the nominal starting place in the construction of a monumental building.” In other words, a cornerstone is something that is essential and indispensable. Synonyms include words such as foundation stone and keystone, which express the ideas of bedrock or support. The Bible reveals that Jesus Christ is the “chief cornerstone” of the Christian faith and His own church. This was prophesied in the Old Testament (Psalm 118:22-24; Isaiah 28:16) and then fulfilled in the New Testament (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:6; Eph. 2:20). Since Jesus is the promised Messiah, He has become the “chief cornerstone” of God’s redemptive work in this New Covenant era through His death, burial, and resurrection.

Christian is defined as “belonging to Christ.” We are Christians because God has made us such by the power of the gospel in our lives. We belong to Jesus Christ because He has purchased us with His blood (1 Peter 1:18-19) and because we willingly submit ourselves to Him as our Lord (Rom. 10:9-10). As Christians we are also members of one another in the body of Christ (Rom. 12:3-5; 1 Cor. 12:12-14), and it is our desire to live and worship together in love and unity (Eph. 4:1-6; Phil. 2:1-8). Therefore, our primary identity is not denominational in nature, but rather is our identity with Christ as our Lord and Savior, and with God as our heavenly Father. As Christians we are His children and we look forward to spending eternity with Him (Rom. 8:28-39; 1 John 3:1-2).

Church is defined as “the called out ones for assembly.” The church is not all about a building, but rather the people of God. We are a church, the building of God (Eph. 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5), the body of Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 12:17; Col. 1:24). Jesus Christ so loved His church that He gave Himself for her, His people (Eph. 5:25), and He promises that He will build His church and even the gates of hell will not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18). Therefore, we are zealous for the church of Jesus Christ, and long to see her taught the truth; to worship God in spirit and in truth; and to serve the Lord with glad humility.