About St. Stephen
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Many of you who are visiting this page already know Jesus, and are familiar with the precepts of Christianity. If, however, the language of formal "doctrinal creeds" seems a bit strange or foreign to you, please be reassured - your uncertainty, doubt and skepticism are openly received here at St. Stephen in Monroe City, Missouri. As an expression of that welcome, we have outlined below some of the core concepts of our faith, in order to provide you with some simple reference points as you visit among us. We hope these will be 'conversation starters' and that you will halp us move the Christian conversation forwards.
At St. Stephen, we believe that Christ, by his obedience and death, fully discharged the debt of all those who are justified. By his sacrifice, he bore in our stead the punishment due us for our sins, making a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God's justice on our behalf. By his perfect obedience he satisfied the just demands of God on our behalf, since by faith alone that perfect obedience is credited to all who trust in Christ alone for their acceptance with God.
About Sin: We believe that man willfully sinned against God and is therefore lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:7; Acts 4:12)
About Love: God is love. He loves us and wants for us to spend eternity with Him. He also wants for us to express His love to others by meeting them where they are in life with the message of salvation.
