What a church believes should be important not only to the people who attend, but also to those looking for a church home. Seaman Community Church is a non-denominational church, but adheres to the same basic foundational beliefs of many mainline denominations. For a taste of what is taught on a weekly basis at SCC, you can visit our RECAP page, where you’ll find our Sunday morning services archived. If you have any questions at all about doctrine, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Below are two lists that will help give you a general idea or picture of what we hold dear here at SCC.
THE FIVE SOLAS: Sola Scriptura, solus Christus, First, sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide. (Gratefully copied from Barry Cooper at the Simply Put podcast.)
First, sola Scriptura. Scripture alone is the highest authority, not some mixture of Scripture, tradition, and church teaching. That doesn’t mean there aren’t important things to be learned from tradition or other sources; it just means that if you put them together in the boxing ring, only one holds the knockout blow; only one remains standing at the end. Nothing can ever be allowed to override or overcome or overthrow what God has said in His Word.
Second, solus Christus, meaning “Christ alone.” Salvation is, and can only be, by Jesus Christ alone. We don’t get saved by anything we do, or a mixture of things we do plus Jesus. That’s because we are, as it says in Scripture “dead in our transgressions.” In other words, we are entirely up the creek, and we don’t have a paddle, not even a small one. We are truly powerless to save ourselves, which is why Christ—and only Christ—can save us.
Third, sola gratia, meaning “grace alone.” Salvation is by grace alone, meaning the whole thing is a gift from God, not just part of it. We can’t earn our salvation. Salvation is grace—an undeserved gift, freely given by God.
Fourth, sola fide, meaning “faith alone.” We receive this gift of salvation by faith alone. Simply by trusting in Christ alone for salvation. Simply by taking God at His word. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that “faith” is a nice little gift that we give to God in exchange for salvation. It isn’t. As it says in Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8, even faith itself is a gift given to us by God.
Finally, soli Deo gloria, meaning “to the glory of God alone.” It’s only when all of the above is true that we can truly cry out, as the redeemed do in Revelation chapter 7, that salvation belongs to God. It’s all Him, from beginning to end. Everything necessary for our salvation has been done already by God—we simply receive it as a gift, and even the receiving is made possible by Him. And that means that He gets all the glory. We don’t get to keep any of the glory back for ourselves by telling God that we bought a Toyota Prius, offset our carbon emissions, and volunteered at the donkey sanctuary so that He therefore owes us in some way. No. Quite rightly, the Author of the universe gets all the glory. Anything less ought to be a source of shame to us.
Our statement of faith is a more detailed and doctrinal look at the foundation for our ministry.
We believe:
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That the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life.
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In one God, the Creator; eternally existing in three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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That Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and that He was and remains truly God and truly man.
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That God created Adam and Eve in the divine image; that they sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that, as a result of Adam’s sin, all human beings are now born with a sinful nature and stand guilty before God.
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That the Lord Jesus Christ lived a life of perfect obedience and died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice; and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood and credited with his righteousness.
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In the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into Heaven, and in His present life there for us, as High Priest and Advocate as he sits at the right hand of the Father.
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In the blessed hope of the personal and imminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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That all who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and in this way become children of God.
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That the Holy Spirit indwells and gives spiritual life to all believers, enables them to understand biblical truth, empowers them for godly living, and equips them for service and witness.
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In the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the everlasting life of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost.