CCG STATEMENT OF FAITH
- We believe that the one infinite and personal God has always existed in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
- We believe that God has revealed Himself to mankind in His creation, in the person of Jesus Christ, and in His word, the Bible. The Old and New Testament Scriptures are the inspired word of God, without error as originally given to humankind. They are a completely trustworthy authority for faith and life and contain God’s explanation of His way of salvation for men and women.
- We believe that humankind was originally created in the image of God and was declared to be “very good.” The first man and woman chose to rebel against God in the historic fall of humankind. As a result of this event, and as shown by our present rebellion against God and His creation, every person is now dead toward God in sin, and guilty before the righteousness and perfection of God’s own character.
- We believe that Jesus alone lived a perfect and sinless life on earth. Although eternally divine, He became fully human as well. It is only through His death as our substitute that the penalty for our sin and rebellion can be paid and we can become alive toward God and enter His presence. We receive forgiveness and eternal life only by turning from our sin and receiving Jesus personally by faith as Savior. Nothing that we can do will add in any degree to the finished work of Jesus’ death for our salvation; it is entirely the work of God, displaying His gracious love.
- We believe that the Holy Spirit of God convicts individual persons of sin, enables them to turn to God in repentance and faith, then takes up residence within the life of the individual. He becomes the Christian’s source of power to worship, serve and grow in godliness. Each Christian is then motivated increasingly to live in obedience to God’s standards, to express gratitude to God for His saving grace, and to live in union with Jesus Christ, both in this life and in the life to come.
- We believe that those who do not turn from their sin and receive God’s salvation through faith in Jesus continue separated from God and unfit to live in His presence. At the end of history, all people will be bodily resurrected and judged by God: the faithful to eternal life and the unfaithful to eternal condemnation.
- We believe that as Christian counselors we must continually study and search the scriptures to better understand God’s word and we must see, drawing on His power, to conform ourselves to God’s will. Since the work of Christian counseling is a ministry of the church of Jesus Christ, it is important that a Christian counselor be a member of a community of Christian believers who seek to follow God’s word faithfully, to proclaim the good news of the salvation which Jesus makes possible, and to ‘spur one another on toward love and good works.’ We must seek to base our counseling on the principles of God’s word, submitting to His authority the knowledge and techniques provided by our professional training. A Christian counselor must not be ashamed to introduce the Gospel into a counseling situation where it is called for. We must approach each client’s situation with humility and compassion, recognizing that we are imperfect and will not always be able to discern the best solutions to problems, and seeking wisdom from God as we ourselves live by His principles.
