What We Believe

The following are the essential beliefs of Reconcile LA based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

The Holy Bible, comprised of 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are the authoritative Word of God, in its original manuscripts. The Holy Bible has a dyadic source for its authorship. The Holy Spirit superintended the text and the human composers wrote as the Spirit dictated to them. The Holy Bible is God's express revelation of Himself to mankind. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and absolute truth, without any mixture of error, for its subject matter. Therefore, all the Scriptures are infallible, inerrant, and totally trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God will judge the world, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be scrutinized. All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation. The Bible is superior to conscience and reason, but not contrary to reason. The issue of hermeneutics and exegesis of the Scriptures is of paramount importance in ascertaining the word of God. For there is a singular, intended, original meaning of every pericope of the Holy Bible but many applications taking into account socio-cultural and anthropological factors.
Exodus 24:4; Psalm 19:7-10; 119:11, 89, 105; 2 Timothy 3:15-17;    2 Peter 1:19-21; Romans 16:25-26; Hebrews 4:12.

There is one God, eternally existing and manifesting Himself to us in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The triune God possesses distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. God is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful, impeccably good, and all knowing. His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

God the Father, is the first Person of the Trinity. He is the Creator of all things and He reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the outworking of human history according to the purposes of His grace. God is Father in truth within the trinity, in general to all of mankind, and in particular to those who become children of God by adoption, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; Leviticus 22:2; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Isaiah 43:3, 15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; Daniel 7:9-10;
Matthew 3:16-17, 6:9; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13, 19-26; 15:1-2,8; 17:1-26; Acts 1:7, 17:28-29; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6-7; Ephesians 1:2, 4:4-6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17.

The Logos, the second person of the Trinity, is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. In the incarnation the Son does not forfeit the essential attributes of His divinity, He remains coeternal, coequal, and consubstantial with the Father, but of His own prerogative He divests Himself of the privilege in appropriating those attributes during His earthly sojourn in order to accomplish God’s mission. The Logos is co-Creator of all things with the Father and the entire created order is held together by the Logos.
Genesis 22:11; Joshua 5:13-15; Psalms 2:7-9; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 52:13-53:12; Daniel 7:13, 9:24-27; Matthew 1:-2:12; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16, 27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,18-20; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18, 29; 10:30, 38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16, 28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20, 28;      Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5, 20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26;       5:6-21; 8:1-3, 34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8, 24-28;  2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20-23; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9;
1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:11-15, 24-28; 12:2; 13:8;
1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:12-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

The Holy Spirit or the Spirit of holiness, is the Spirit of God, the third Person of the Trinity, and fully divine. Though a non-corporeal spirit, He, like the Father, is a person in that He can be grieved and lied to; and as a person He possesses intellect and is a Teacher. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. The Spirit was a co-collaborator in bringing the created order into existence. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His indwelling presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, discipleship, missions, and service.
Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Psalms 51:11; 139:7-12.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4, 38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17, 39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6-7; 19:1-6;
Romans 8:9-11,14-16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14;
2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-8; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

Human beings are the acme, the prized jewel of God’s creation. Humans were created in the image and likeness of God. For God Himself formed Adam from the dust of the ground, breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and Adam became a living, rational soul. Humans are a dichotomous race: soul/spirit and body entities. From Adam’s side God created Eve to be a comparable spouse, companion, and life-long helper. Adam and Eve were created with supreme reasoning capabilities, moral excellence, spiritual convictions, and free will. God commissioned Adam and Eve, and by extension their descendants, to fill the earth, by way of human propagation and to rule over the earth as vice-regents in conjunction with God. The true, historical existence of Adam and Eve and their marital union is a paragon or quintessential model that exhibits from the very outset God’s ordering and Jesus’ subsequent affirmation in the Gospels that marriage is between one genetically born male and one genetically born female — for life. Lastly, God’s express intent in creating the human race was to extend His reign and rule on the earth, to have mankind glorify Him, and to enjoy a robust relationship with His creation.
Genesis 1:26-31, 2:7, 15-25, 5:3, 6:5-8, 11:1-9; Psalm 1:1-6, 8:3-6, 51:5; Isaiah 43:7; Matthew 19:1-9; John 3:16-21; Acts 17:28-29; Romans 1:19-32, 3:10-18.

The human race relinquished their holy standing and moral excellence when they, with the satanic baiting of the serpent, in full exercise of their free will, rebelled against the word and character of God in the Garden of Eden. The original sin and transgression of the prodigal, primordial parents Adam and Eve caused all of their posterity to inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God. Mankind’s intrinsic sinfulness is congenitally inherited and transferred from the father to the child. Mankind’s congenital moral and spiritual corruption vitiates, stains, or pollutes every conceivable undertaking that they set their hands to, with one exception, the Holy Bible. Furthermore, the Holy Bible teaches that mankind is dead in their trespasses and sins. Therefore, dead people cannot act either on their own behalf one way or the other. So the unregenerate person is rendered powerless to overcome their condition or to choose to do what is ultimately righteous, which is what God requires, apart from the work of God’s grace in the life of any person.
Genesis 3:1-19, 4:1-16, 6:5-8, 18:20, 19:1-29; Exodus 32;
Leviticus 4; Joshua 7:1-15; 2 Chronicles 7:12-14;
Nehemiah 9:16-37; Isaiah 1:16-31; Psalm 32, 5; Daniel 9:4-19; Jonah 1:1-2; Matthew 3:1-2, 5:29-30, 12:31; John 1:29, 3:16-21, 16:8-9; Acts 2:37-38, 5:1-10, 17:30-31; Romans 1:19-2:29, 3:23, 5:6-6:23, 7:7-8:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:1-5, 4:26;
1 Timothy 5:20; Hebrews 4:15, 10:26-27; James 1:14-15;
1 John 1:5-2:2, 2:15-17, 3:4-10, 5:16-18;
Revelation 2:4-5, 14-16, 20-23, 3:3, 3:19.

Mankind’s fall from innocence and into moral and spiritual decline led to physical and spiritual death, as well as an estranged, hostile relationship with God. In order to reconcile God and mankind, the Logos and eternal Son became human to atone for the sins of the whole world. Christ’s atonement begins with His virgin birth. In not being conceived by a human father, the sin nature that is inherited during the gestation process to every human being was not transferred to Jesus. Subsequently He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world, vanquish His enemies, and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord. As a result of the atoning work of Christ on the Christian’s behalf, each follower of Jesus has been freed from the power of sin, in the present — thus for the Christian, sin is a choice and is forever removed from the realm of unscrupulous impulse. In the last days, Christ Jesus will also do away with the penalty, punishment, the presence of sin, and its unprecedented effects on the created order.
Leviticus 17:11, 23:27-28; Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Matthew 1:18-23, 5:17-18, 20:28; Romans 5:12-21, 8:2, 19-25, 34;
1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:20-23; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; James 1:13-15; Hebrews 4:15, 9:22;
1 Peter 2:21-24, 3:18; 1 John 2:1-2, 3:1-3.

The Church is both visible and invisible. The invisible Church is the mystical, catholic (universal), apostolic family of God that consists of all those, in all times, and in all places, who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. The visible church is a localized group of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, discipleship, and church planting. The Church is not Israel, nor does the Church replace Israel in God’s historical plan of salvation — known as supersessionism. God will fulfill His covenant promise to national Israel, while cherishing the Church as God’s oikos (household), comprised of Jews and Gentiles, as the body and bride of Christ.
Matthew 16:18, 18:15-17; Acts 2:41-47, 5:11, 11:19-22, 14:23, 20:28; John 4:23-34; Romans 9-11, 16:1; Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22, 3:8-10, 5:23-32; Colossians 1:18; 1 Timothy 3:5, 14-15;
1 Peter 5:13; 3 John 1:6; Revelation 2-3.

The parousia or arrival of Christ for a second time will be unexpected, sudden, and spectacular. The arch angel will announce the arrival of Christ Jesus, the angel will blow the trumpet or shofar of God. There shall be a bodily resurrection of Christ’s followers who have died in Him, a resurrection unto eternal life, followed by a “catching up” or rapture with Christ’s followers who are alive on the earth during the parousia. At a later, undisclosed time there will be a bodily resurrection of those who rejected Christ as Savior and Lord, their resurrection will be unto judgment and eternal death. The promise of the future resurrection is the believer’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service. There will be an unprecedented, cataclysmic, global upheaval known in the Holy Bible as the Great Tribulation period, which will last for seven years. At some point, the millennial reign of Christ Jesus on be established on the earth. God’s cosmic enemies: Satan, the beast, antichrist, and death will be destroyed forever. Following this, God will initiate the glorious renovation of epic proportions known as the “new heavens and new earth.” God will take the existing realms and remake them anew.
Job 19:23-27; Daniel 7:9-28, 9:23-27, 12:1-2; Matthew 24:15-31, 25:31-46; John 5:28–29, 14:1-3; Titus 2:11–14;
1 Corinthians 15:12–28, 35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10;
1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-2:12;
Revelation 20:1-15; 21:1-27, 22:1-21.

There is an extensive list of what churches and denominations consider nonessentials of the Christian faith. Nonessentials simply means that there are Christian people who love God and desire to be faithful to the Holy Bible that have opposing views on certain issues. These issues are nonessentials not because they are trivial or insignificant, but rather because they do not jeopardize one’s ultimate standing before God. These are Reconcile Church Los Angeles’ positions on the these crucial matters.

Generally everyone agrees that women can, should, and are called of God to serve in ministry. The difference of opinions resides in the extent to which women can serve in ministry. More specifically can women serve in positions of pastoral leadership and exercise oversight in the local church. The argument is framed by two groups: Egalitarians and Complementarians. Egalitarianism asserts that men and women are “equal” in every way before God. The Eden curse, that set Adam as the head over Eve, was overturned as a result of the atoning work of Christ. Complementarianism on the other hand posits that men’s headship over women was not an unfortunate result of the Fall, but rather a permanent ordinance throughout human history. Complementarians affirm that the role of a woman is “complementary” to a man. A woman is comparable to a man, she completes and perfects him. Complementarians affirm that men and women are ontological and spiritual equals. Furthermore, the overwhelming weight of the Holy Bible bears out that God’s choice for leadership roles among His people are reserved for men. Finally, the proof text for the equality of persons while maintaining a headship is none other than the Trinity. God the Father and God the Son are equal in every way, yet the Apostle Paul reasons “that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:3) Counterarguments citing a male dominated society or a patristic preference for the historical, socio-cultural context of the Holy Bible are not only unconvincing, but create a slippery slope upon which any unfavorable reading of Scripture can be easily dismissed or explained away, as though God somehow was unable to overturn the patristic predominance in order to write a story of human history in line with His structure for mankind. Therefore, Reconcile Church Los Angeles’ position on the role of women in the local church is complementarian. The roles of pastor-elders, according to the Apostle Paul, is reserved for men who are called of God, known to possess godly character, and have demonstrated pastoral competencies.
Acts 1:12-14; 15:6-7, 12-13, 22; 1 Corinthians 14:33-35;
Galatians 3:27-29; I Timothy 2:9-3:7; Titus 2:3-5.

Traditionally churches have employed various systems of church governance or what is referred to as church polity. These systems began early on in the post-Apostolic Church. In contemporary times church polity is driven mostly by denominationalism and individual church preference. Some churches adhere to a democratic form of governance or congregational rule. In these churches, there maybe pastors, deacons, and or a church board who oversee certain decision making, but congregational voting on issues wields the most power. Some congregations are governed by pastor-elders, who either exclusively or in some cases with the deacons are the decision makers for their church. In some instances these churches are grouped together with other denominational churches and are overseen by a higher level of leadership knows as a presbytery, classis, bishops, or a synod. Reconcile Church Los Angeles is wholeheartedly committed to the pastor-elder model of church governance in accordance with the preponderance of the New Testament, Apostolic tradition.
Acts 11:30, 14:23, 15:1-29, 20:17-35, 21:17-19;
Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:1-13, 4:14;
Titus 1:5-9; James 5:14-15; 1 Peter 5:1-4.

Within the Evangelical church community there are varying views on the chronology of eschatological events. Regarding the Great Tribulation, as it relates to the parousia, there is a consensus that Christ will return for His Church, exactly when He will return is highly debated. Some are Pre-tribulationists, others are Mid-tribulationists, and even others are Post-tribulationists. There is also disagreement regarding the millennial reign of Christ. There are Amillennialists, Pre-millenialists, and Post-millennialists. Reconcile Church Los Angeles is researching this topic and will state its position when we arrive at one, in the meantime, we will be gracious to those in our church who have official positions, endeavoring always to preserve the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us
Ephesians 4:3

The Apostolic writings in the New Testament clearly affirm the employment of spiritual gifts in the Church. Where the proverbial line is drawn is on the issue of whether or not some of the speaking gifts (prophecy) and the sign gifts (tongues, interpretation of tongues, miracles, & healing) are extant or extinct, in other words are these gifts at work in the contemporary Church or were they only prevalent during the Apostolic era. Reconcile Church Los Angeles’ position is one of openness on this issue. There is no litmus test to determine one way or the other. A caveat for our church is that if the sign and speaking gifts are at work in today’s Church, then their usage would be exceptional and not normative. The Apostle Paul’s bottomline is that there be order in the Church. All gifts must operate in the manner prescribed by the Apostle Paul, if this is not the case, then the display of the gift in that instance is a counterfeit.
Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31, 13:8-10, 14:1-40;
Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:7-11.

The topic of divine election and human free-will is to a greater degree a theological and philosophical matter, than it is a biblical subject. The overwhelming weight of Scripture affirms the doctrine of divine election. Those who advocate for the position of divine election believe that God has predetermined in eternity past, before the world ever came into being, the people whom He would bestow the gracious gift of salvation. Further, God’s choosing was not based any virtue or vice on behalf of the person, but simply on the benevolent prerogative of God alone. Proponents of the free-will position believe that if human free-will is not the basis upon which a person’s eternal destiny is determined, then the character and justice of God can rightfully be called into question. They suggest that if God chooses who will be righteous and who will be reprobate, then how can He find fault with the reprobate if their destiny was predetermined before the creation of the world. Again, this moves into a theological, philosophical discussion. The Holy Bible has an answer to the question even if it is not directly. The Holy Bible’s answer to this question is simply that (1) salvation is a gift from God, it is a gift owed to no one ever; (2) Adam’s descendants are born dead in their trespasses and sins, therefore, dead people do not possess the ability to make themselves alive again, apart from the divine regeneration of God, man would never choose to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord; (3) this is more of a philosophical answer, but if God choose not to save any human being, then the entire human race would be destined to an eternity void of God; (4) while God chooses who will be righteous and reprobate, human culpability for sin, iniquity, and transgression is not mitigated, God as the righteous Judge will hold everyone accountable for every deed.  Our position at Reconcile Church Los Angeles is that the preponderance of the weight of Scripture affirms that God sovereignly, without preconditions, without merit or demerit on behalf of the individual, chooses the gracious recipients of His grace solely on the basis of His love. Because God’s choice is based not upon on the person at all, the Apostle Paul argues that boasting about having received the gracious gift of salvation is nullified.
Deuteronomy 7:7-11; Matthew 3:1-2; John 6:37-40, 10:25-29;
Acts 13:48; Romans 8:28-30, 9:6-29; Ephesians 1:3-11, 2:1-10;
2 Thessalonians 2:10-14; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:1-2.

Within Protestant Christianity there are three modes of baptism: immersion, affusion (pouring), and sprinkling. Baptism by immersion best conforms to the Jewish ritual known at mikveh. The writings of Moses known as Torah as well as Jewish rabbinical tradition all cite the significance of mikveh. To the Jew mikveh was a ceremonial washing or cleansing — it was spiritual in nature, with purity and holiness as its intended purpose. Affusion or pouring and sprinkling are later modes of baptism that were adopted, for instance, in places where water supply was scarce. Pouring symbolizes the “pouring out” of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Sprinkling points back the mode in which Moses sanctified the covenant and the Tabernacle, he sprinkled them with blood. Reconcile Church Los Angeles will employ the mode of immersion because it corresponds best with Judaism and early Christianity as best as we can tell.
Ezekiel 36:24-28; Matthew 28:18-20; John 1:24-34; Acts 1:5, 2:38, 41, 8:12-13; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27-28; Colossians 2:9-12; Titus 3:5.

The question of Christ’s presence when His church is gathered around the Communion table is a subject matter that the Scriptures give very little attention to, but yet Christ’s followers depending on their traditional background, can be fixated on. There are three views on Christ’s presence during the Lord’s Supper. First, there is transubstantiation. This view holds that the bread and wine are transformed into the actual body and blood of Christ upon the prayer of the priest or minister. Proponents of this view take literally Jesus’ words, “This is My body…this is My blood…” The obvious drawback to this view is that the actual body and blood of Christ are with His person as He is seated at the righthand of the Father in heaven. Because Christ, resulting from the incarnation, is now and forever a corporeal being (having the nature of a physical body), He cannot be physically present in heaven and physically present in every place where His followers gather around the Communion table. The second view is consubstantiation. This view believes that Christ’s presence so profoundly infuses the elements that they do not become the actual body and blood of Christ as in transubstantiationism, but His infused presence is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine. Therefore, the body and blood of Christ are with (con) the substance (substantiate) of the bread and wine. The benefit of this view is, among supporters, is that Christ’s presence is mystically, supernaturally, and powerfully present with followers in an unprecedented way. The final view is memorial or commemoration. Advocates of this perspective hold that Christ’s followers memorialize and commemorate His sacrificial death and atonement only during the Lord’s Supper. The bread the wine are emblems or symbols of Christ’s body and blood. Memorialists do not emphasize a unique or mystical presence of Christ as it relates to the elements. Reconcile Church Los Angeles’ position is that the Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion is an ordinance of commemoration. We take this view because it is the most plenary and historically attested viewpoint.
Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; John 6:47-58;
 I Corinthians 11:23-26.

Reconcile Church Los Angeles believes that you can differ with our positions on these nonessential issues and at the same time serve at Reconcile Church Los Angeles and realize God’s purpose for your life within our church family. However, the Pastor/Elders will not allow anyone who disagrees with our positions on these issues to divide, cause confusion, or assail the members, leaders, or the name and reputation of Reconcile Church Los Angeles.