What is important to us
The Christian Church Southern Black Forest is an independent, non-denominational congregation that seeks to proclaim clearly the whole counsel of God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. To glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is our ultimate goal. The mission of the Church is to nurture believers in the Christian life so that they may
be able to fellowship with one another and, as Christ’s ambassadors, proclaim the Gospel and live virtuously in society.
Statement of Faith
We, the believers of the Christian Church Southern Black Forest, having been enabled by divine grace to entrust ourselves in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, and also to meet one another in love by the will of God, confess our faith and lead our lives to the honor of Christ and the glory of His name. Knowing that a man is declared righteous if he believes with his heart, and is saved if he confesses the faith with his mouth, we declare the following:
We believe that the Holy Scriptures, comprising the Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God and the only guide to faith and conduct.
We believe that there is only one living and true God from eternity; that there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in essence, power, and glory; and that the Son and the Holy Spirit are as truly God as the Father. We confess these three distinct divine persons to be the one true God whom we serve and worship.
We believe that before the foundation of the world God chose a certain number of people for eternal salvation, whom he predestined by his free grace and according to the good pleasure of his will to become his adopted children through Jesus Christ. In fulfillment of this gracious purpose, God made His Son Jesus Christ the Savior of these people. All spiritual blessings are present in Christ for the elect. Furthermore, they are placed in the hands of Christ and entrusted to His care and responsibility.
We believe that God created the first human couple, Adam and Eve, in His image as a righteous, holy, and innocent creature capable of serving and glorifying Him. But Adam, deceived by his wife Eve, sinned, and all his descendants in him sinned and fell short of the glory of God. Therefore, all his descendants received a corrupt nature through common and natural procreation, so that from their birth they are carnal and impure, averse to all spiritual good, and inclined to sin. As such, they are also by nature children of wrath and are under the judgment of condemnation; they are condemned not only to physical death, but also to eternal death, from which there is no deliverance except through Christ, the second Adam, who has his origin in heaven.
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was appointed from eternity to be the mediator of the eternal covenant and the guarantor for His people. When the time was fulfilled, He took on human nature and suffered and died as the representative of His people in their place on the cross of Calvary.
We believe that the eternal salvation that Christ obtained through the shedding of His blood was intended exclusively for the people of God. The Scriptures also metaphorically refer to the people of God as the sheep of Christ. Through faith, they will share in the special and unique blessings of the New Covenant.
We believe that the justification of God’s people takes place solely through the righteousness of Christ, which they receive by faith. The righteousness of Christ is imputed to them regardless of any “good works” they may have done. The full and free forgiveness of all their sins and trespasses-past, present, and future-is accomplished solely through the blood of Christ according to the riches of His grace.
We believe that the gospel must be preached to all creatures and that it is the means by which the Holy Spirit convicts, calls, and renews. Therefore, the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification, and faith is not a work of human will and power, but of the mighty and effective grace of God.
We believe that all who are saved will surely and finally receive the promised salvation in heavenly glory, so that none of them will ever perish, for they possess eternal life.
We believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both the righteous and the unrighteous, and that Christ will come a second time to judge the living and the dead. Then He will take vengeance on the wicked and lead the faithful into His kingdom and glory, where they will live with Him forever.
We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances of Christ that will continue until His second coming. The believer is to receive baptism in obedience to Christ, confessing his faith by immersion and being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We confess that the singing of spiritual songs is a command of the gospel to be fulfilled by believers.
This confession is not made as a mandatory creed to bind us, but as an aid in our dialogue with those of other faiths, as a confirmation of faith, and as a means of edification in righteousness.
We consider it our highest concern to accept, preserve, and defend each of these articles with reference to Christian doctrine. We desire to stand firmly together in one spirit and one mind, and to contend together for the faith of the Gospel. Recognizing that our conduct both in the world and in the church must conform to the Gospel of Christ, we strive to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world, to walk in wisdom toward those who are not of the church, and to be without offense before God and man. As for our fellowship with one another, let us walk in all humility and harmony, watching one another’s conduct, encouraging one another to love and good works, not neglecting the assembly, worshipping God according to His revealed will, and when necessary, warning, rebuking, and exhorting one another according to the Gospel.
We believe that we have an obligation to stand by one another in all the circumstances of life in which God providentially places us, to bear with one another’s weaknesses, faults, and infirmities, and especially to pray for one another, so that the Gospel and all its instructions may serve for the spiritual edification of believers and lead others to Christ.