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A bit about Restoration Church

Restoration Church exists to connect people to the restoring grace of Christ Jesus. We do this by teaching the Bible in its historical context, applying its truth to our daily lives, and living in a community that seeks to glorify God with all that we are.

Pastor James Appleby

James was born in Texas and received his call to ministry, advanced education (BA Houston Baptist University and MDIV Southwestern Seminary) there. After serving churches during his college and seminary career, the next thirty-five years were spent pastoring churches in Metro Atlanta, the Midwest and Upper Midwest and in the Seattle area.

James’ next chapter has been not to retire, but “to retread” serving as a “Transitional Pastor on Purpose,” loving, leading, and feeding congregations to look upward to God, inward to each other, outward to their community, and forward in finding their unique future and the pastor who will lead them into it.

What We Believe

 

  1. The Scriptures
    We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that men of God “were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture. The Bible is therefore without error (inerrant) in its original manuscripts. God has supernaturally preserved the Bible, and it is the sole and final authority for faith and life, providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and instruction for training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
  2. The Godhead (Trinity)
    We believe in one true God eternally existing in three distinct persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God; possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of our worship and service (Deu. 6:4;  28:19John 1:14John 10:302 Cor. 13:14).
  3. God the Father
    We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is the eternal, unchanging all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving, completely just and perfectly holy, sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the universe. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Father of all true believers ( 1:1Eph. 4:6John 1:12-13John 5:19-21John 17:1-5Isa. 40:21-28;Isa. 43:10-13Isa. 46:8-11Rom. 8:14-16).
  4. God the Son
    We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is the only begotten eternal Son of God Who became flesh to reveal God to man, to fulfill prophecy, and to become the Savior of the lost world. In becoming man Jesus did not cease in any way to be God so that He is fully God and fully man inseparably united in one person forever. Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit; born of the Virgin Mary; lived a sinless life; died on the cross as the substitutionary, all-sufficient atoning sacrifice for all of the sins of all men of all time; was buried; bodily rose from the dead; physically ascended into heaven in His glorified, resurrected body; is seated at the right hand of the Father performing His ministry of intercession; will return in the air to claim His bride the church; and will come again to earth in bodily form, personally and visibly, to conclude human history and consummate God’s eternal plan by executing judgment and ushering in His Millennial Kingdom reign to be followed by the eternal state (John 1:1,14,18; John 3:16Luke 1:30-35 2:5-8Col. 2:3,9Mark 10:45Acts 2:22-24John 1:29Rom. 3:25-26Heb. 10:5-14; 1 Pet. 2:24, 1 Pet. 3:18; John 20:20Phil. 3:20-21Heb. 1:3Rom. 8:341 John 2:1Acts 1:11Heb. 9:28; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; 2 Thes. 2:7; Matt. 24:44Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 21-22).
  5. God the Holy Spirit
    We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity Who specially came into the world on the day of Pentecost to glorify Christ and to enable men to appropriate the salvation wrought by Christ. He is the primary agent for the conviction of sin and for regeneration. Simultaneously with salvation, the Holy Spirit imparts new life, baptizes the believer into the body of Christ (His church), permanently indwells the believer, and securely seals the believer unto the day of redemption. The Holy Spirit fills and directs those believers who are yielded to Him, enables believers to bear fruit, and empowers believers to live a life free from sin’s dominion. We also believe that the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of edifying the church in accordance with the teachings of scripture (1 Cor. 13:8; 1 14:22John 16:7-81 Cor. 6:19; 1 Cor. 12:13Eph. 1:13-14Eph. 4:30Gal. 5:16-17; Gal. 22-23; Rom. 8:5-13; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Rom. 12:3-8).
  6. Humans
    We believe that men and women were created in the image of God by direct act of God and did not come into being as the result of evolution. Humans were created to glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. As part of His original, good design, God created humans as male and female. Gender is determined at birth by biology and genetics, and any attempt by an individual to reject or change gender is a sinful rejection of God’s good design. The human fell through sin by disobeying God, thus incurring both physical and spiritual death, which alienated each from God. The nature of humans was thus corrupted and they are utterly lost, “dead in trespasses and sins,” and totally incapable of saving themselves and coming back into right relationship with God by their own merit or effort ( 1:26-27Gen. 2:6, 17Gen. 3:17-24Isa. 59:1-2Rom. 3:9-19,23Rom. 5:8Luke 18:26-27Eph. 2:13).
  7. Satan
    We believe that Satan is the instigator of evil and a real spirit being, not simply the personification of evil. Satan is a fallen angel who, under the sovereign permission of God, has been given temporary rulership on the earth. Satan was utterly defeated at the cross, but the execution of his judgment has been postponed by God until after the Millennial Kingdom when he will be cast into the eternal lake of fire. In the meantime, Satan deceives the world and seeks to establish his counterfeit kingdom on earth to discredit and blaspheme God and to tempt, accuse, attack and destroy believers. Satan can be resisted by the believer through faith and reliance on the power of the Holy Spirit ( 3:1-5Isa. 14:12-17Ezek. 28:11-19; Job 1-2; 1 John 5:192 Cor. 11:141 Tim. 3:6; 1 Pet. 5:8-9; James 4:7Rev. 12:9Rev. 20:1-3; Rev. 7-10).
  8. Salvation
    We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the sole basis for forgiveness of sins and salvation, which is the free gift of God’s grace. Salvation is effected by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit and cannot be secured by a person’s works or personal merit. Salvation is only appropriated by a person placing his faith in the finished work of Christ. Repentance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is a part of but not separate from believing faith. “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,” and those who receive Jesus Christ by faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are a new creation in Christ, and “are sealed by the Holy spirit unto the day of redemption” being kept by the power of God ( 1:7:13-14; John 1:12-13John 3:1-7; John 14-16; 2 Cor. 5:17Rom. 1:16Rom. 10:9-10Eph. 2:8-10Rom. 8:14-17; Rom. 31-39; John 10:27-29Rom. 14:6Acts 26:20; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
  9. The Christian Life
    We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for himself and should, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to manifest His life through him to God’s glory. By ever increasing obedience to the Word of God, each believer should mature and progressively become more like Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a holy life; not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in making disciples to fulfill the great commission; perform good works and bear fruit to the glory of God ( 2:20; 1 Pet. 1:15-16; 1 Pet. 2:11; 2 Cor. 5:14-15Rom. 6:11-13Eph. 2:10Eph. 4:11-12Eph. 4:22-24; 1 Pet. 4:10-11; Acts 1:8Matt. 28:18-20Col. 1:10John 15:8, 16).
  10. The Church
    We believe that the church is the body of Christ of which Jesus is the Head and whose members are those who have truly received Christ by faith. The local church is a tangible expression of the body of Christ in a particular location. Since all members of the body of Christ are united in Christ by the same Spirit, they should live in love, harmony and unity, being intent on the same purpose and accepting those sectarian or denominational practices which are based on a sincere interpretation of the Bible and which do not in practice cause disunity or hinder the ministry. The purpose of the church is to make Christ known to lost men and to make disciples and to glorify God on earth (Acts 1:81 Cor. 12:12-27 1:20-23Eph. 4:1-6Eph. 4:12-16Matt. 28:18-20; John 17; Col. 1:24-29).
  11. Marriage
    Marriage is a biblical institution established by God as described by Scripture. We believe the biblical ideal for marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment. Accordingly, this Church’s pastors and staff will not officiate in same-sex unions or same-sex marriages, nor will its property or resources be used for such purposes (Gen. 1:27-28; Gen. 2:18-25; Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9; Eph. 5:22-33).