What We Believe
Calvary Chapel Tracy is a non-denominational fellowship of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our desire is to know Christ and be conformed into His image by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Church
We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the Body, His church, and the purpose of the church is to be a fellowship of believers in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The only true basis of Christian fellowship is through Christ's (Agape) love. God is spirit (Jn. 4:24), therefore our worship service is spiritual by the leading of the Holy Spirit and also places great emphasis on truth, that is, the teaching of the Word of God inductively and systematically.
Scripture
We believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, of both the Old and New Testaments, in their original manuscripts, as inspired, infallible and the complete and final written revelation of God. All scripture is God breathed and useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2Tim 3:16-17). We reject doctrinal viewpoints or spiritual phenomena, which are based solely on experience. We look to the Word of God as the basis of all our faith, practice, teaching and discernment. We believe in all the basic doctrines of conservative evangelical Christianity. On issues that have historically divided believers into denominations, we seek to find Biblically sound middle ground.
Trinity
We believe in one personal, loving, transcendent and holy God, the creator of all, Who is eternal, and Who exists eternally in three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
We believe that Jesus Christ, though fully God, became a man and suffering unto death. He is the promised Messiah, born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, provided atonement for our sins by His vicarious death on the Cross, was bodily resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit, ascended back to the right hand of the Father, lives and makes intercession for us. We believe that Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit on the believers in Jerusalem, enabling them to fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to the entire world, an obligation shared by all believers today.
Salvation
We believe that all people are by nature separated from God and responsible for their own sin, but that salvation, redemption and forgiveness are freely offered to all people by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person sincerely repents of their sin and accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior by faith, trusting Him alone to save them, that person immediately becomes "born again" and is sealed by the Holy Spirit. All his or her sins are forgiven, and that person becomes a child of God and has eternal life. Evidence of conversion is seen through conviction, fleeing from sin and the fruit of Spirit manifested.
Holy Spirit
We believe the work of the Holy Spirit in believers is to indwell, seal and empower, and baptize them into the body of Christ. We further believe that any believer can ask in faith and the Holy Spirit will come upon him, enabling him to preach the Gospel in power. We believe that all gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in scripture are valid for today, if they are exercised orderly and within scriptural guidelines. We believe that love is more important than all the gifts, and without love, exercise of the spiritual gifts is worthless.
Satan
We believe there is a devil called Satan who, along with all his evil angels, called demons, is destined to spend eternity in hell. He seeks to deceive believers and defeat the work of God. He is not all-powerful and can be resisted. God protects all believers from any powers seen or unseen and nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:38-39).
End Times
We believe and wait for the rapture of the church, and believe that the second coming of Christ will be personal, premillennial and visible. This motivates the church toward holy living, heartfelt worship, committed service, diligent study of God's Word, regular fellowship, participation in baptism by immersion and in communion.