3 Essential Doctrines

GOD’S GLORY: God’s glory is a big deal in Scripture and therefore, a big deal for us here at RRBC. The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of God’s manifold perfections and character. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God”. What does this mean? It means nature itself is shouting at us the grandeur and greatness of God. Consider the volume with which the clouds, the blue expanse, the sun on the horizons, and the stars of the galaxies shout, “God is glorious!” Do we see it? Do we love it? Here at RRBC, we do! We are redeemed and saved for this very purpose, and it is with this purpose in mind that we do all we do as a church. Put simply, we celebrate and serve a Big God and seek to declare and proclaim His great fame and worth to all in life and ministry as a church. 

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY: We believe, with great humility and joy, that God is receiving a people which Christ died for on the cross. The Good News is about God’s work and not ours (Eph. 2:8-9). However, we must be clear that we believe His sovereignty in no way diminishes the responsibility for all mankind to repent and believe the gospel. Nor does it marginalize the necessity and power of prayer or our calling to be on mission for God’s glory and man’s ultimate good. Instead, it reinforces and further feeds our passion and zeal for each as the ordained means by which God is accomplishing His purposes. As Christians, we learn that God’s sovereignty does not make works unnecessary; it literally makes them possible! God’s sovereignty is the gasoline for the fire of our responsibility and work. His sovereignty literally stokes the fires of our prayer, evangelism, and missional zeal. Therefore, we find great joy in our dependence on God’s provision and care rather than man’s attempts – however commendable – to exist and operate apart from Him (Isa. 64:6).

GOD’S GOODNESS: We believe with great enthusiasm that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. In Scripture, the Psalmist states, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:25-26). Our deepest desire and prayer is for the psalmist’s pursuit of Joy in God’s goodness to become an expression of our worship corporately and a reality to those who watch and see us in everyday life. It must also be clearly stated and understood that this pursuit for joy in God’s goodness is counter-cultural, God-focused, and biblically defined.