Statement of Faith

What We Believe and Teach at Tampa Bay Christian Center

God & Jesus

We believe there is only one true God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, commonly known as the Trinity. Deuteronomy 32:39; Matthew 28:19; 1 John 5:7.

We believe that God created man for the express purpose of becoming a part of many brethren through the Son who is the Firstborn of a new eternal family.  Therefore, God does not desire anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance and be saved. Romans 8:29; 2 Peter 3:9; 1 Timothy 2:3-4.

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. That Jesus is actually God Himself who became his very own creation in the flesh. He is God and equal to God along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  1 Timothy 3:16.

We believe that Jesus was miraculously born from the virgin Mary.   Matthew 1:18-24.

We believe Jesus lived a sinless life. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

We believe Jesus was crucified, died and spent time in hell and rose from the dead on the third day. Ephesians 4:8-10; 1 Peter 3:18-19; John 20:19-20.

We believe Jesus ascended to heaven and will return to first establish His earthly and then His eternal kingdom. Acts 1:9-11; Matthew 25:31; Revelation 20:4-6.

The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is a Person, in the same sense of God the Father and Son having Personality due to his many qualities. The qualifications for a “person” are that they have 1. A mind  2. Their own will  And 3. emotions.  Human beings are also persons who have these qualities. Also a quality of being personal is that one has life.  A person is identified as a self-conscious being, cognizant of its own existence separate and distinct from the existence of others who also have a self-identity. A will indicates the ability to think, to reason, a choice to act, having desire, these are things we associate with self-consciousness which is exclusive to persons. All of these qualities the Holy Spirit have, just as the Son and Father.      John 16:7-8, 13; John 14:26; Acts 13:2

We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit which enables the believer to live a holy life.   2 Peter 1:2-4; Galatians 5:16.

We believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit and that it is not a necessary experience to receive salvation, but enables the believer to achieve additional spiritual empowerment and a special communication with God with evidence being manifested by the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  This baptism is separate from water baptism. Acts 8:14-17; Acts 10:44-48; 1 Corinthians 14:2-4

We believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and offices of Christ that they are in full operation in the church today. 1 Corinthians 12-14; Romans 11:29; Ephesians 4

The Bible

We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, authoritative word of God, and it is NEVER subject to Human interpretation, therefore it says what it means and should be taken literally, except where it explains itself as symbolism.   2 Timothy 3:15-16;  2 Peter 1:19-21.

Salvation & Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God but was yet immature in the full stature of Jesus.  Man had a perfect fellowship with God for as long as he remained obedient to His word.  

Disobedience brought sin into the world, and condemned all generations to be born into sin thereafter.  Sin is any violation of God’s law, by will or ignorance and separates humans from God. Because man fell into sin from his original right-standing relationship with God, each and every human ever born is considered to be in violation of God’s law due to their inherited sin nature.  Therefore, all people must be “saved” from the tragedy of a loss of destiny and the tragedy of an eternity spent separated from God in Hell.   Romans 3:23, 5:12; Psalm 51:5.

We believe in the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ.  We believe that complete trust and obedience in Him alone is the only way a person may be saved and delivered from the reward of sin –which is eternal death. We believe it is only through Jesus, the Holy Anointed Christ of God, can any man or woman enter into a right relationship with God, spend eternity in heaven and achieve their destiny. Daniel 7:13-14; Colossians 1:13-18; John 14:6; Romans 5:1.

We believe salvation is an undeserved free gift of God that cannot be earned or repaid and a person is saved by accepting this grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, thereby becoming a “Christian”. Ephesians 2:8-9.

True Christianity is expressed through repentance and faith, or completely turning away from one’s sin and putting trust in God.  Salvation is obtained by believing in one’s heart the Word of God, especially as it relates to Jesus coming in the flesh and being raised from the dead.  By publicly confessing this belief with their mouths that Jesus is the new King and Boss of their life, a person becomes a Son or Daughter of God. This gives them the security of an eternity in heaven and begins the fulfillment of their purpose in this life and the next.  This faith is continuously expressed by actions corresponding to the faith as an expression of our love for Jesus. Mark 1:14-15; Romans 10:9-10; John 1:12, John 3:16; 1 John  4:2-3; Galatians 2:16; James 2:14-26; John 14:23-24

Water Baptism

We believe in water baptism because of the example given by our Lord Jesus.  Although it is not a prerequisite for salvation, we believe it to be a required act of obedience that occurs after salvation. Matthew 28:18-20

Heaven and Hell

We believe that Heaven and Hell are real places. Revelation 20:11-15; Mark 9:42-48; Revelation 21:1-5; Ephesians 2:6

We believe in eternal life for the saved and eternal damnation for the lost; and unfortunately, just as the bible teaches, we do not believe that all humans will somehow ultimately end up in heaven. 1 John 2:24-25; Revelation 20:15; Revelation 14:10-11.