What We Believe Here at MorningStar:

The Scriptures are inerrant and infallible in the original manuscripts, and are the final authority in faith and life.

God exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons are identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and possessing precisely the same attributes and perfection.

Man was created in the image and likeness of God. Originally, man was created in innocence and without sin. However, in Adam’s sin the race fell. We all inherited a sinful nature and became spiritually dead and alienated from God. Man of himself is incapable of remedying his lost and depraved condition.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. He became man without ceasing to be God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. Jesus accomplished this redemption by voluntarily giving Himself as a sinless substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. In doing so, He satisfied God’s righteous judgments against sin. His bodily resurrection from the grave substantiated the accomplishment of that redemption. In His resurrected body, He ascended to the right hand of His Father, where He intercedes on behalf of those who trust Him.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is fully God. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, brings new life to those who are spiritually dead, and baptizes (or places) all believers into the one true Church. The church is the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit indwells each and every believer permanently. He also seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts upon them, and fills those who are yielded to Him.

Salvation is the gift of God’s grace. It is freely bestowed upon all who put their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary. Salvation comes apart from human meritorious works. All who trust the Savior are forgiven of their sins and born into the family of God by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. All the saved are kept by His power and are thus secure in Christ forever. It is their privilege to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation. This assurance must not be the occasion for sin; God in holiness cannot tolerate persistent sin in His children, and in infinite love He corrects them.

The true Church, called in Scripture the Body of Christ, is a spiritual organism. It is comprised of every person who has trusted Jesus Christ for salvation in this present age. Each one has been baptized by the Holy Spirit. The Scripture also teaches the establishment and continuance of local churches. These groups of redeemed individuals join together for worship, instruction, fellowship, and service.

There are two ordinances that were instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They are to be observed by all believers until His return. Baptism is the outward testimony of the inward spiritual transformation in the life of one who has trusted Christ for salvation. It is in no way a requirement for salvation. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of His death. It is to be observed regularly by all self-examined believers. The elements are used as emblems of the Lord’s body and blood.

We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His Church, and His subsequent premillenial return to earth to establish His kingdom.

At death, the souls of those who have trusted Christ for salvation pass immediately into His presence and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for the Church. At that point, the soul and body are reunited and shall be associated with him forever in glory. The souls of unbelievers remain in conscious misery after death, until the final judgment at the great white throne. This occurs at the close of the millennium, when the reunited soul and body of each unbeliever shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to be separated from God forever in conscious punishment.