We believe that the Church is the only thing that represents
God’s activity in the world. In fact, it is the only thing that He says He is
building in this current age. (Matthew 16:18-20) To be involved in the activity
of our Creator is the most awesome thing anyone can do with life.
We believe that being part of the Church is essential to a
believer’s spiritual health. Often people will say that they do not have to go
to Church to be a Christian, and while that answer is correct in part, it
leaves off something fundamental to the health of every believer.
The apostle Paul writes to us in Ephesians 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved
the church, and gave himself for it” If Jesus gave his life for the Church,
then it is incumbent upon us to live our lives in connection with His Bride,
the Church. To not love His bride is to, in effect, not love Christ fully.
We believe active membership in the body of Christ, the Church,
is essential to your spiritual health. We do not believe we have the only
corner on the Truth. There are many other local churches who faithfully
represent the gospel of our Lord and there is not one right church for
everyone. Each church represents a unique perspective on the glorious diversity
in the body of Christ.
If you are looking to become a member of a Church, you are
welcome to check us out. Take a moment to listen to some of teaching on our web
site or through our weekly podcasts. Read the testimonies of those who have
accepted ministry positions here at Lakeland, and you can get to know us before
you even attend one of our gatherings.
If you have any questions that these articles do not answer and
would like more information you can send us an e-mail and we will be glad to
reply as soon as possible.
Now for the good stuff.
What do we, as a church, believe?
About God
Wow, this is a mouthful. How can anyone claim to know anything
about an invisible God who has never been seen by the human eye? Sounds sort of
audacious, doesn’t it?
Well, let’s say right at the start that we could never know
anything about God unless he reveals himself to us. So for starters, is there
any record that claims to be the very words of God?
The answer to this question is “Yes.” While there are many books
that claim divine inspiration. There is no book like the Bible in history that
has stood the test of time and the challenges hurled against it by the
non-religious and other religions.
At Lakeland, we believe the Bible to be the written record of
God as he spoke to men in times past. Whenever it speaks on any topic, it is
without error. It is accurate in all its claims about man, God, sin, creation,
or any other topic that it speaks.
The Bible gives us all we need to know about life and godliness
in this life. Any question concerning how to relate to God and other humans and
the creation are all contained in the written record of the Bible.
For further study, we invite you to consult the Biblical texts
listed in the following; Genesis 1:1; Romans 15:4; II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter
1:2-4; II Peter 1:16-21
Since the Bible is our source of authority for all matters of
belief and practice all of our understanding comes directly from the Scripture
as we seek to understand it with the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now to get to the point of what we believe about God. Remember
everything we will state will come right from the Biblical texts. The Bible
tells us that in the beginning, God, not in the beginning hydrogen. God is the
source of all life and all things created. Everything that has been made or
will ever be made has God as its originator. Nothing has come into this world
without the direct action of God. ( Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3)
Next time you look in the mirror, you can see the handiwork of
your invisible Creator. We understand through the very creation of our bodies
God has designed us for relationship and pleasure.
Some one said, “There are two sure things in life; There is a
God; You are not Him!” So next time you think you are hot stuff, remember next
to God you are not that impressive. I know this may sound a bit harsh, but
trust the Bible. If we get this right about who God is, everything else in life
will begin to make more sense and we will find more joy and gladness than we
ever dreamed.
There are a lot of other religions that believe this about God,
so why all the disagreement on this God issue? That is a great question. Up to
this point many religions may agree, but this is as far as it goes because the
Christian faith goes into some very mysterious territory when it starts talking
about a Triune God. God in three persons, but still only one God.
How is this possible? Can three ever be one and can one ever be
three? Not in any math class I have ever taken! So how can this be? Here is
where we must say, I am of dust and know nothing of such. So why do we believe
what we cannot understand or make sense? As we read the Bible, it speaks of God
being revealed in three persons but yet still commands us to believe in only
one God. (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
All throughout the Old Testament there are hints of this Triune
God, but they find their fullest expression in the New Testament when Jesus
enters human history and splits our calendar in two. Isaiah 9:6 indicated that
the Messiah would be called mighty God and everlasting Father. David writes of
a conversation he overheard in the godhead in Psalms 110:1-2 that indicates
that God is more than one in isolation.
But once the New Testament times arrive Jesus performs many
miracles and signs and then states as clearly as possible to the religious
people of his day that he was God in the flesh. John 8:48-59; John 14:5-14. The
evidence of his divinity was compelling. It was so compelling that those who
did not want to believe, were convinced by the preponderance of the evidence.
(Acts 2:22-41)
Because of the evidence of Jesus' divinity revealed in the
Scriptures, we believe that Jesus is equal with God the Father, in every way he
is God. (Hebrews 1:1-3) Likewise, we believe in the divinity of the Holy
Spirit, not because we can understand it but because the Bible teaches this to
be so.
Jesus revealed this truth in his last teaching to his disciples
before his crucifixion. In John 14:15-18 Jesus promises us the gift of another
comforter. He uses a very unique word for “another.” The word he uses is not
"another of a different kind," but "another of the same
kind." In essence he promised his disciples that the comforter would come
who would be just like him in every way, yet different.
All throughout the Bible the Holy Spirit is referenced as God
and worshipped as God. The Holy Spirit empowers every believer with spiritual
gifts at conversion for the purpose of building up the body of Christ and
making the gospel known in the world. This is one of the reasons why local
church membership is vital to your spiritual health if you are a believer. You
cannot exercise your gift outside of the workings of the church. Your gifts are
for the benefit of the church, and if you remain outside the church you will
suffer.
There is much more to be said on this topic, but I pray that you
are at least encouraged to grow in your understanding of your relationship with
this great God we worship in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit.
If you want to grow in your understanding of the Holy Spirit and
how he equips his children to worship and live in this world we invite you to
join us as we pursue this knowledge of our great Triune God.
Now that we have discussed briefly who God is and what we
believe about Him some of you may be wondering, “So how do I go about having
a relationship with this awesome God you have talked about?” We are glad you have asked that most
important question. The truth is that you would not be asking that question if
God was not already at work in your life drawing you to him.
The Bible tells us that there is no one who seeks after God, not
even one. (Romans 3:10-19) We are dead in our sins and transgressions
(Ephesians 2:1-3) Dead men cannot respond to God and will not respond to God
because they are DEAD. That’s right- dead. When is the last time you stood in a
cemetery and talked to the people buried there and they came up out of graves
and complemented you on your great speech? Sounds corny I know, but it is true.
Dead people cannot seek after God.
Somehow in the marvelous grace of God, God begins His work on
the human heart and the spirit that was once dead towards God, is now made
alive and finds itself longing for a relationship with the God who created it.
If you find yourself longing to know God, be assured that is God who is working
in your heart. That longing to connect with God has been placed in your spirit
by none other than God himself. No, I cannot define it any more than that, I
will leave it to the mysterious workings of God.
How is it that the dead heart is made alive towards God? By the
hearing of the Word of the Lord, the Bible. If you are hearing the Word of the
Bible and it is coming alive to you and you find your heart being strangely
warmed as someone teaches from it, cheer up, on your feet, He is calling you.
No one can be made right with God without hearing the Gospel
message from the Scriptures. Come to where the Bible is taught, hang around
places where people love the Bible and seek to obey it and you will find your
life being strengthened in the faith.
The next thing that will happen in the process of being made
alive towards God is that you will become very aware of the guilt you have
incurred by your rebellion against all that God has commanded. For many, they
will find themselves almost in total despair of ever being forgiven because of
the sheer weight of the guilt incurred.
In this despair, the Spirit of God will direct your attention to
our glorious Savior. He will point out that Jesus paid for your guilt and took
the punishment for all your sins for all time on his body on the cross. He
suffered in your place so you would never have to suffer the wrath of God.
Think of it for just a moment- the perfect, sinless Son of God willingly took
on his body the full vent of the holy wrath of God against all those who will
place their faith in Him so they will never have to face the anger and wrath of
our God, who is holy beyond description.
In short, you have rebelled against God and because of your sin
you were dead towards God. Not only that, but the wrath of God was abiding on
you while you were in your sin. (John 3:36; Ephesians 2:3)
Somehow, even while you were under the wrath of God, God in his
mercy, took steps to direct your path so you would hear the gospel and repent
of your sins and place your faith in Christ. Why did he do this for you?
Because he is rich in mercy! You would have never come on your own. So he
ordered your steps so you could hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ so
you could be rescued from the coming wrath and now enjoy the pleasures of God
for all eternity. Some cry that is not fair! And I say hallelujah! I am so glad
it is not fair. For if fairness is what I want, then hell is what I get.
No, it is not fairness we have received but mercy and grace and
peace. Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Because we believe that salvation is a work of God from
beginning to end, we believe that God will bring to completion all those who
have been saved by His Son and that none will be lost who have fully trusted in
his Son. (John 10:28-20; Romans 8:35-39; Ephesians 1:13-14; Philippians 1:6; I
Thessalonians 5:23-24; Hebrews 10:12-19. etc. etc. etc.)
Now that we have discussed what we believe about God and the
Bible and how to have a relationship with Christ, it seems the next question
would be, “How can a person who has trusted in Christ become like Him in
this world that is so fallen?”
This is a question that only those who have been made alive in
Christ would even care to ask. There are many who have prayed some prayer years
ago and think it is what has saved them, but if there is no ongoing concern for
holiness and purity in their life then all that prayer did was to harden them
in their unbelief.
A child of God will be concerned about holiness and purity in
his life. They will have a growing concern for those without Christ and a
growing desire to love God with all that they have. So how is it that believers
can grow and experience the fullness of joy in their lives while we wait for
our Lord to come from Heaven and take us home to be with him?
God has graciously given us several means of grace by which we
can grow in our love for God and his kingdom. If we do not take advantage of
them we will be fruitless and joyless Christians, but the great news is that if
we avail ourselves of these means we can experience the joy of Christ now while
we wait for his glorious appearing.
When we speak of the means of grace we do not mean if you do
these things you will be more acceptable to God, or that these disciplines in
any way make you a Christian. These are the things that God has revealed in his
Word that if we obey these principles we will find greater joy and fruitfulness
for our Lord while we live in this world.
A true believer will want to obey these because these are the
ways in which we can have our love for Christ increased and overflow to others.
I will not take the time to teach about all of the means of
grace in this article but you are welcome to read our publication on the Means
of Grace found in our resources on our website. Suffice it to say that God has
not left us without hope of growing in holiness and love for Christ in this
world, he has more than provided the means if we only obey.
What we believe about Missions: Missions is at the heart of what we
are about at Lakeland. Our core principles direct us to courageously proclaim
the infinite pleasures of knowing Christ in word and deed to all peoples. We
regularly send our members overseas to other cultures to share the gospel, to
see what God is doing in other parts of the world. We take men on marketplace
evangelism outreaches at Mardi Gras and Indy 500. We encourage High School and
College students to invest in some mission outreach both overseas and
nationally while they are in college. We encourage as many members as possible
to have active passports and help them connect with missionaries overseas so
they can join what God is doing in other nations.
From our Children’s ministries to our adults we actively promote
both giving and going to the nations. No one is exempt from God’s call to the
nations, at least not at Lakeland. We believe that without Jesus Christ men and
women will be lost and eternally experience the wrath of God from which there
is no escape. Our concern in missions is for the glory of God. We long to see
every tribe and tongue and nation and people worshipping our Lord in all their
diversity. What a day that will be when our Jesus we shall see when together
with all the nations we sing our praises to the great God who has saved us.
As a Southern Baptist Church we are connected with over 40,000
local autonomous churches who have partnered together to take the gospel into
all the world. Through the Cooperative Mission of other Southern Baptist
Churches we can literally reach around the world with our tithes and offerings
with the gospel.
Because of our commitment to missions we encourage increasing
our missions gifts every year so the gospel can be proclaimed to lands yet
unknown. To quote a great preacher in our day about missions
Missions is not the ultimate goal of
the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is
ultimate not missions, because God is ultimate not man! When this age is over,
and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before God,
missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides
forever.
(John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad)
What we believe about Evangelism: For the last one hundred years in the
Church in America the emphasis has been on how many conversions have you
recorded. There have been large city crusades and lots of evangelism methods
taught that have been designed to get some one to pray a prayer and if they
prayed that prayer they were told they were now a Christian and they possessed
eternal life.
The sad truth of the matter is that even though we have recorded millions of
“conversions,” the culture of the Church has not grown in holiness. In fact it
has grown more pagan in her practices. Because the emphasis has been on numbers
and growing large churches the concern for holiness was almost totally
neglected.
We believe that conversion is a work of God that brings about a change of life
that is accompanied with repentance. The Apostle Paul speaks to this issue in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the wicked will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual
offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you
were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
The new birth that God brings about in the life of Christian has
the distinctive mark of new life. The things that once were reveled in are no
more. The new believer desires to love God and live for His glory no matter
what. Any conversion that does not bring with it a new longing to love God and
live for his glory cannot be a conversion in the Biblical sense. Our Lord
speaks of such inMatthew 7:13-29
Enter through the narrow gate. For
wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter
through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will
recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A
good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every
tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus,
by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my
Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we
not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers! Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came
down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it
did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears
these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man
who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. When
Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the
law.
Peter implores us to do whatever we can to make our calling and
election sure, 2 Peter 1:5-11.
Perhaps you are facing the question, How can I know for sure that my
relationship with God is true? The very fact that you are concerned
about this issue is a point of great assurance. Those who do not have a love
for God or the things of God will not be concerned about this issue.
One of the most important tests I can find in Scripture is the
test of your heart’s desires. When you are all alone and there is no one to
impress with your actions what is the inmost desire of your heart? Do you truly
desire to love and please God, or are you just concerned about making it to
heaven?
The new birth is designed to cause you to fall in love with
Christ and to live for his glory and not your own. A better question to ask is
“If heaven was only about streets of gold and seeing your long-lost relatives
and having no sickness disease or death but Jesus would not be there, would you
still desire to go?
If all that concerns you is eternal life, but you give little
thought to loving Christ then it is highly possible that your conversion was
not real. This is not to say you cannot ever know if you belong to Christ. The
Scriptures tell us otherwise in 1
John 5:10-15 (NIV)
Anyone who believes in the Son of God
has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made him
out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about
his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son
of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name
of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the
confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his
will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that
we have what we asked of him.
May the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit confirm your relationship
with him so that you may overflow with great joy knowing you are secure forever
in Christ.
What is the first step of obedience for the new believer? At conversion, something happens
within a new believer that causes them to want to share the gospel of Christ
with others. The first step of this new relationship is to follow the lord in
Believer’s baptism. This is an act where the believer in front of witnesses is
placed under water as a symbol that they have died to their old way of life and
now they are risen to live for the glory of Christ. This is a public
declaration of love for God.
This step in no way makes them a child of God but it is the
first step of their new relationship. Consider the following passages; Matthew
28:19-20; Romans 6:1-6; I Cor 1:10-17.
There is much more to write to you about this great God of ours,
but we would instead love to meet with you face to face at one of our weekly
worship gatherings where you can see how we worship and do life together.