First Congregational Church
of Essex, MA
Receiving and extending the hospitality of Jesus
as we connect with God, one another, & our community.
Our Beliefs
While the following statements of faith express our core beliefs and guide our teaching, you are not required to agree with every point in order to be welcomed into the life of our church. These statements are simply offered for clarity—so you know what we believe and teach as a church.
We also recognize that not every question or topic within the Christian faith is addressed here. Where Scripture allows for faithful differences, we seek to walk with humility, unity, and grace.
God Is
We believe God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present Creator of all things, including creating man and woman, in His image, as the pinnacle of His creative work. God is love; He is good, wise, strong, just, holy, gracious, merciful and intimately personal, engaging and pursuing us for relationship and joy. God eternally exists in the distinct persons of Father, Son and Spirit, each enjoying the same attributes and nature; yet God is one in essence (Trinity).
Deuteronomy 6:4. Isaiah 45:5-6, 46:9-10. John 17:3. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6. 1 Timothy 2:5. Psalm 45:6-7. Psalm 110:1.
Matthew 3:13-17, 28:17-20. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6
Sin & Death Are Our Problem
We believe sin is a universal problem with the dire consequence of separation from God, resulting in both physical and spiritual death. Human sin began in the Garden of Eden with the rebellion of Adam and Eve and is thereafter transferred to everyone who has lived. Moreover, we all inevitably enact our own rebellion against God and His will. Humanity is hopeless in this sinful state without the intervention and grace of God.
Genesis 3:1-19. Psalm 51:5. Jeremiah 17:9. Romans 3:23. Ephesians 2:1-3. Romans 5:12-19, 6:23. James 1:14-15
Jesus Is The Only Source Of Life
We believe the good news of God is that Jesus, God’s eternal Son, perfectly solved the problem of sin and death by His sacrifice on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Born of a virgin, Jesus lived a life perfectly free from sin, and finally took our place on the cross as a substitute, satisfying the penalty of sin. We believe Jesus physically rose from the grave to triumph over death. Because sin leads to death, we need a Savior who can bring us life. Jesus is the only answer to the problem of sin and death, and therefore the only source of life, eternal and abundant.
John 1:29, 10:1-18. Romans 5:8. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. 2 Corinthians 5:21. Galatians 1:4. 1 Peter 3:18
God Sent Us A Helper
We believe the Holy Spirit of God is fully God in every way, and is a Living Person, a “He,” not an impersonal “it” or force. The Holy Spirit, as the third member of the Trinity, active in Creation and all of God’s work in history, has been fully and specially given to the church after Jesus’ resurrection, and now fully indwells every person who trusts in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is our comforter, convictor, counselor, translator, intercessor and the one who forms us into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the good fruit in our lives of faith, gives special gifts to all believers, assures believers of their adoption into God’s family, and seals every believer in God’s secure love.
John 14:16,17,26, 15:26-27, 16:9-14. I Corinthians 2:10-11, 3:16, 6:19, 12:13. 2 Corinthians 3:6. 2 Corinthians 3:18. Galatians 4:4-7. Galatians 5:22-26. Titus 3:5. Romans 8:9,12-13. Ephesians 6:11-18
Jesus Is Coming Back
We believe that Jesus, the Living Savior, will physically return to the earth in power and judgment over evil. After His bodily resurrection, Jesus ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. We await His return when He will set up His perfect Kingdom on the earth and finally and forever eliminate the curse of sin, death, and the devil. He will perfectly redeem all things and become the center of complete worship in the new heavens and earth.
Matthew 24:1-42. John 14:3. Acts 1:11. 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Hebrews 9:28. 1 John 3:2. Revelation 1:7, 21:3-4
The Bible Is God's Word
We believe the sixty-six books of the Bible are a miracle of Divine revelation. God does not hide from us but has revealed Himself, generally through Creation and perfectly in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testament. Written by multiple authors over multiple generations, inspired by the Holy Spirit, the original manuscripts of the Scriptures are without error in all that they were given to communicate and teach.
By this we mean that Scripture is fully truthful in all that it affirms, communicating God’s truth faithfully through the language, literary forms, and cultural contexts of its time. Therefore, to rightly understand the Bible, we seek to discern the intent of the human authors as they were inspired by God. Reading each passage in light of its historical setting, genre, and original audience, we seek to understand what was being communicated to the original hearers, so that we may rightly discern and apply God’s enduring truth in our own time.
God has also faithfully preserved these Scriptures through history so that they remain our authoritative and sufficient guide for our knowledge of God, salvation, intimacy with Him, spiritual formation, love of neighbor, and growth in holiness. As we receive and apply God’s Word, we believe the Bible is living and active, telling the one true story of the world.
Psalm 19:7–11; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20–21