Radiant Leadership

GOD

We believe in One God who eternally exists in three persons: The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and co-eternal, which is the Trinity.

Genesis 1:1-3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-3, 14; Colossians 2:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Timothy 1:17

HUMANS

We believe humans were created in the image of God and placed in a sinless paradise to have fellowship with Him. But because of disobedience to God’s Word, sin entered the world and fellowship with God was broken and relationship between humans became strained. Humans through their own efforts cannot restore this brokenness.

Genesis 1:26-27, 31; 3:1-8; 11:1-9; Romans 3:9-10, 23; 5:12-14; Ephesians 2:1-3

THE GOSPEL

We believe in the Gospel: that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. That He was crucified on a cross for our sins and raised from the dead three days later.

Matthew 16:16; Mark 10:45; Acts 26:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8, 20; Galatians 1:4; Colossians 1:15; 2:13-14; 1 Peter 2:24; Revelation 1:5

SALVATION

We believe that all who believe the Gospel are born again by the Holy Spirit and become children of God and heirs of eternal life. Thus, eternal life is totally a work of grace, a gift of God and not a result of any good works or human efforts on our part.

John 3:3, 5, 16; Romans 3:23-28; 5:1; 6:23; Galatians 2:16; 4:4-7; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5

THE WORD OF GOD

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. It alone is the final authority in determining how followers of Jesus should live their lives.

Matthew 5:17-18; Psalm 119:9, 11; John 10:35; 17:17; Romans 16:25-26; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Peter 3:15-16

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

We believe in the ongoing process of spiritual growth of the Christian through the Holy Spirit and God’s Word. Each person is to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and in developing and employing their spiritual gifts through the Church, so others may come to know Christ and the Church be built up into maturity.

John 8:31-32; 14:16-17; 16:13; 17:17; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12-14; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 5:11-14

THE CHURCH

We believe the Church is the Body of Christ that is made up of all Christ-Followers. Its mission is to glorify God and make Him known to the lost world. Every Christ-Follower is an integral part of the Church creating a spiritual unity of brothers and sisters. The initial evidence for joining the Church is water baptism and the continual evidence of unity with the church is the Lord’s Supper (communion).

Matthew 26:26-29; John 17:11, 20-23; 1 Corinthians 28:18-20; Acts 2:38; 8:12; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-25; 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:19-22

BIBLICAL MARRIAGE

Biblical Marriage has only one meaning and is clearly defined in scripture as a covenant, a sacred bond uniting one man (born a man) and one woman (born a woman) in a single, exclusive union for life, instituted by and publicly entered into before God (Matthew 19:4-6), and that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (I Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). The covenant is with God and should not be taken lightly or altered to fit personal preferences.

Genesis 2:22-24; Ephesians 5:22-33; Mark 10:6-9; Galatians 5:24-25

THE OTHER THINGS

We believe that Jesus Christ will return physically to earth to set up His Kingdom. This will occur at a time no one knows except the Father. At His return the resurrection of Christ-Followers and non-Christ-Followers will take place. Heaven will be the eternal dwelling place for all Believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The devil, who is working in the world to destroy the souls of people, along with all his angels, and all who do not receive Christ as their Savior, will eternally perish in the lake of fire, which is Hell.

Matthew 4:1-11; 5:3, 12; 6:20; 24:30; 25:34, 41; Mark 9:43-48; John 8:24, 44; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:27 Revelation 14:9-11; 20:1-15; 21-22

WATER BAPTISM

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new believer is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; Acts 10:47-48

COMMUNION

Observance of the Lord’s Supper is a unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.

Matthew 26:26-29; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25

What Is the Issue?

Sexuality provides a significant religious flashpoint in the modern Western world. Social views regarding sexual morals have changed dramatically within the last 60 years. Sex outside of marriage is now considered normal, divorce rates have increased significantly, and pornography and other sexually charged media are widespread. Homosexuality is widely seen as a social rights issue in modern society. These trends have placed culture on a collision course with the traditional teachings of the Church. 

Prior to engaging the immediate topic, we must first evaluate an even more significant question: Who holds authority? 

Modern secular voices teach that authority is relative, either entirely individualized or based on the social constructs of our society. These views place humanity in the position of authority, whether as individuals or as a collective. As such, they hold a fundamentally different view from the Christian faith, which teaches that God is the final authority and that His authority is seen in the person of Jesus as revealed in Scripture. 

Sexuality is a secondary topic, but with major implications. In other words, how we understand the question of authority will directly affect our view of sexuality. If we resolve the issue of authority, then the topic of sexuality becomes clear.  

Standing on the Authority of Scripture and Christian History 

In contrast to modern secular culture, we uphold the authority of God as our moral standard, as expressed in the person of Jesus and revealed in the Scriptures. God created us (male and female; Genesis 1:27), and He alone knows how humanity can best thrive. His standards provide boundaries to protect us, enable us to live a rich life and reveal God to humanity. We believe God calls us to live according to His ways in our treatment of others and in our personal lives—including our sexuality. 

Radiant Church holds as the final authority, as well as the nearly unanimous teaching of the Church since the New Testament era¹, and the majority of Christians around the world today in affirming the following: 

God-ordained marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. Sexual activity is a gift to be enjoyed solely within the context of marriage.² Extra-marital sexual activity, homosexuality, pornography, and other forms of sexually explicit media fall outside of the boundaries God placed on sexual behavior. 

Modern Application 

Regarding the topic of homosexuality, Radiant has consistently upheld a stance of clarity and compassion. Clarity that the practice of homosexuality is sinful, and compassion toward those who sin sexually, experience sexual confusion or deal with unwanted sexual desires. 

Unfortunately, many people with a homosexual orientation have been treated horrifically by both the church and society at large. We believe any form of hatred, bullying or abuse is sinful and call on Christians to show love and compassion toward each person, including active homosexuals and those questioning their gender identity. 

At the same time, we provide clarity regarding a Christian view of human sexuality. We believe humankind flourishes when we live under the authority of God as revealed in Scripture, and the world suffers when we reject His boundaries. We believe the Church is the pillar and support of truth and has a God-given obligation to uphold the teaching of Scripture, even in the face of societal pressure or cultural disagreements. 

1. A common argument for those supporting homosexual behavior is that some people are “born this way,” and thus have no control over their sexuality. The extent to which this is true is disputable, but either way, it fits within the Christian teaching that all humankind is born with a sinful nature.³ We believe all men and women have a sinful nature. This is manifested differently in different people. This does not validate sin, but instead reveals the need for a Savior.

Furthermore, we believe a Christ-follower’s most fundamental identity is found in their adoption as a son or daughter of God, not in their sexuality.⁴

2. Temptation is not sin and is common to all humanity.⁵ Jesus Himself was tempted by sin.⁶ Temptation, including homosexual attraction, is not sin and should never be a place of condemnation. Due to the social stigma surrounding homosexuality, many Christians have hidden their tendency toward same sex attraction. We believe the Church should be a safe place to share our temptation and support one another in our desire to live in freedom from all kinds of sinful behavior. 
3. Jesus provides grace to overcome temptation.⁷ Though we’re all tempted to sin, Scripture teaches us that God empowers us to overcome.⁸ This does not mean that everyone with homosexual attraction is guaranteed to develop heterosexual feelings (though many will), nor is this the goal of faith, but it does mean we can all live in freedom from sin. 

Freedom from sin is found first and foremost in the grace of God and is supported by Christian community.⁹ We joyfully support believers in their journey to freedom and growth in Christlike character.  

4. Homosexual behavior is not a “worse” sin than others, but it is still sin. We recognize that some manifestations of sin have received strong condemnation in Christian culture, such as homosexuality, while others have been rationalized or overlooked, such as greed or slander. We grieve over any place of hypocrisy in the church. We believe Jesus calls all believers to the life of a disciple.¹⁰ This life involves sacrifice and surrender for everyone, including, but certainly not limited to, our sexuality.

“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39 

“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.’” Matthew 16:24-25 

5. The Church should be a welcoming place for everyone, while also clearly teaching the Scripture.¹¹ We wholeheartedly believe the best way to love people is to introduce them to Jesus and then encourage them to live as a disciple.

As a result, we worry about attempts to normalize any lifestyle of sin,¹² including sexual activity outside of a marriage between one man and one woman. We also recognize everyone is on an imperfect journey of spiritual growth. We welcome anyone to attend our churches and pray they feel genuinely loved and accepted. We also call everyone to a life of surrender to Jesus and freedom from sin. 

6. We believe God created men and women as His image-bearers on earth and, as such, both men and women are of equal worth and dignity.¹³ Furthermore, we believe gender is an integral part of our humanity and is determined by our biological sex at conception.

We recognize some people struggle to embrace their gender. We strive to show them love and compassion as they discover their God-given identity, first as a child of God and then in their God-given gender. 

We also recognize others have a physical disorder in their sex development. They are of equal worth before God and are not “lesser” Christians in any way. 

Conclusion 

Our heart of compassion leads us to speak with clarity because we believe the clarity of Scripture guides us into the life of a disciple. At the same time, our clarity is never intended to condemn people and must always lead to compassionate support as the church community comes around those struggling to provide encouragement, comfort, mercy and hope. Additionally, we must humbly recognize every single one of us is saved by grace alone. 

In all of our teaching, we point people to Jesus—His love for us, the example of His life, His death to atone for our sin and His resurrection which empowers us to a new way of living. He is our hope, and He is our passion. 

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Notes 

1. See Unchanging Witness: The Consistent Christian Teaching on Homosexuality in Scripture and Tradition by S. D. Fortson III and G. Grams for a scholarly review of the subject
2. Matthew 19:4-6, Mark 7:21-22, Acts 15:20, Romans 1:22-27, I Corinthians 6:9-11, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, 1 Timothy 1:8-11
3. Romans 3:23, 5:12
4. Romans 8:12-17
5. 1 Corinthians 10:13
6. Hebrews 4:15-16
7. Romans 6:1-14, Titus 2:11-12
8. Galatians 5:19-25
9. James 5:16
10. Matthew 16:25, Luke 17:33
11. Matthew 9:10-13
12. Timothy 4:3
13. Genesis 1:27-28

VALUE: JESUS IS OUR ANSWER

We “pray first” knowing that a relationship with Jesus is the answer to whatever we are going through.

Application: I Seek God

As Christian leaders, we are set a part by our relationship with Jesus. That relationship is fostered by spending time daily in Scripture and prayer.

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VALUE: THE BIBLE IS OUR FOUNDATION

We build our lives on God’s word instead of the culture’s opinion. We do not bend the scriptures to match culture; we bend our lives to match the scriptures.

Application: I am teachable

Leaders are committed to growth. We exemplify humility and willingness to learn.

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VALUE: WORSHIP IS OUR LIFESTYLE

We get to glorify God through our giving, our singing, our serving, our spirit of excellence, and our life-giving attitudes.

Application: I live a life worth following
Leaders understand that people do not need a motto to say, but a
model to follow. We are committed to becoming more Christ-like every day and encouraging others to do the same.

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VALUE: COMMUNITY IS OUR COMMITMENT

We do not do life alone. True life change happens in the context of relationships with other believers.

Application: I take ownership

“If it’s to be, it’s up to me.” We are committed to investing in our community and creating opportunities for others to find community.

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VALUE: PEOPLE ARE OUR PURSUIT

We will do anything short of sin to reach people who are far from God. People are not our problem; people are our pursuit.

Application: I empower people

Leaders multiply themselves. We understand that our greatest success will not be what we do, but who we raise up.