About Saint Stephen's UCC
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At Saint Stephen's UCC, Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, we believe what The Bible tells us, and The Bible says we have all sinned. Do you believe you are a sinner in the sight of God? As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says that the penalty of our sin is death, and that because we have sinned, we deserve the lake of fire (hell.) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
At Saint Stephen's UCC, we believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God's will for salvation, and the supreme authority in all matters to which they speak. We further believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that they are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct and harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.
About God The Son: Jesus Christ is completely human but, at the same time, completely God. He is the only plan for bringing people who are far from God back into a right relationship with God. He lived a perfect life, so that He could be a substitution for us in satisfying God's demands for perfection. He defeated death in His resurrection so that we can have life.
About Salvation: We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ; that this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God; that it was purchased by Christ on the cross; that it is received through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual; and that salvation results in righteous living, good works and biblically informed actions to bring about godly justice wherever we live.