| O u r S t a t e m e n t o f F a i t h |
The Holy Scriptures We believe in the verbal (words) plenary (all) inspiration of the Bible, that the Bible in the original writings are the complete, inerrant, and authoritative written revelation of God to man, and that the Bible is the supreme and final authority in all areas of faith and life. (Matthew 5:17-18; Galatians 3:16; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21; Jude 1:3; Ephesians 2:20; John 17:17; I Corinthians 14:37; Galatians 1:8-12, 20; Psalms 119:9, 11, 105). The Godhead We believe that God is the unlimited, perfect Spirit who created, keeps, and brings all things to completion, that God is one Being who exists in three co-equal Persons of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that there is no other God, nor anything nor anyone exactly like God (Luke 1:37; Deuteronomy 33:27; Matthew 5:48; John 4:24; Colossians 1:16-17; Ephesians 1:9-11; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 48:16; Matthew 28:19; Colossians 2:9; Isaiah 46:9-10). The Lord Jesus Christ We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, that He lived a sinless life and died a sacrificial death (shedding His precious blood) to pay the complete eternal penalty for the sins of mankind, that He was bodily resurrected, that He ascended into Heaven, that He is the believer’s advocate with the Father, and that He will personally and imminently return. (John 1:1-2, 14; 3:16; Luke 1:34-35; I Timothy 3:16; I Peter 3:18; Hebrews 10:14; II Corinthians 5:21; I John 2:2; John 20; Acts 1:9-11; Hebrews 9:24; I John 2:1; I Thessalonians 3:13; Philippians 3:20). The Creation and Fall of Man We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death which is separation from God, that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are totally depraved, and that, by himself, man is totally unable to remedy his lost condition (Genesis 1:27; 9:6; 3:1-19; Romans 5:12; Psalms 51:5; 58:3; Romans 3:10, 23; 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-3). The Provision of Salvation We believe that salvation is only received by grace through faith (trust) in the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in payment for the sins of mankind, that salvation is a gift of God, that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man, that salvation delivers a person from the penalty and the power of sin (although it does not eradicate the old sin nature), and that once saved a person is eternally secure (John 14:6; Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:11; I Timothy 2:5-6; Romans 4:25; I John 2:1; John 5:24; Romans 8:1; 6:13, 16; Galatians 5:16; John 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6; I John 5:13). The Christian Life We believe that a Christian should practice righteous living and good works as evidence and fruit of salvation, not as a means of obtaining or keeping salvation, that positional sanctification occurs at the moment of salvation and that practical sanctification is progressive throughout the earthly life of the believer, that confession of sin, yieldedness to the Spirit of God, and obedience to the Word of God is necessary to maintain fellowship with God, and that God corrects disobedient Christians (I Peter 1:15-16; Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 13:16; I Corinthians. 1:2; Philippians 1:6; I John 1:9; Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 5:16; I Corinthians 5; 11:30-32; Hebrews 12:5-11). The Holy Spirit We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the trinity of God, that He convicts, regenerates, baptizes, seals, and indwells all believers at the moment of salvation, that He fills believers as they yield to His control, and that He equips believers for service by giving them at least one spiritual gift (Acts 5:3-4; John 16:7-11; 3:3-8; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4: 30; I Corinthians 3:16; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 5:18; I Corinthians 12:1, 7, 11). We believe that certain spiritual gifts were foundational to establish the church (apostles and prophets), and other gifts were sign gifts to authenticate the message of the gospel (languages “tongues”, the interpretation of languages, healings, and miracles), and that these foundational and sign gifts were temporary and are no longer in the church today. (Ephesians 2:20; I Corinthians 13:8; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 14:22; Acts 19:11-12; II Timothy 4:20; Hebrews 2:3-4). The Church We believe that the Church began on the day of Pentecost with the descent of the Holy Spirit, that the Church is the body and bride of the Lord Jesus Christ of which He is the Head, that the universal Church is made up of every born again person on earth, that the local Church is a visible manifestation of the universal Church, that the purpose of the Church is evangelization and edification, that the practice of the Church is Bible study, fellowship, observing the ordinances, prayer, giving, and service, and that Church attendance and Church membership is important for every believer. (Matthew 16:18; John 16:7; Acts 1:8; 2:1-6, 47; Ephesians 1:22,-23; 5:23-24; II Corinthians 11:2; I Corinthians 12:12-13; Acts 13:1; Romans 16:5; I Corinthians 1:1-2; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; Acts 2:41-47; Hebrews 10:24-25; Acts 5:12-13). The Ordinances and Practice We recognize two ordinances which were commanded by our Lord to be observed by believers, water baptism and the Lord’s supper; that water baptism is to be by immersion, that it is to be practiced only by believers, that it is a step of obedience to the Lord and an outward sign of one’s inner Trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, and that it need only be practiced once in each believer’s life; that the Lord’s Supper is a memorial service remembering the broken body and shed blood of our Lord in payment for our sins until He comes again, and that it is to be observed repeatedly and only by believers (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; 8:31-38; Matthew 26: 26-29; I Corinthians 11:23-26). We recognize feet washing as a practice which the Church may participate in, but we do not recognize it as an ordinance, that feet washing is to remind believers of the humility of Christ and of His love to His followers, and that believers are to manifest the same type of love and humility to one another (John 13:1-17). The Second Coming We believe in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, that the Lord will come in the air at the rapture to take all living believers and the bodies of all dead church age believers back to Heaven with Him, that the rapture is imminent, and that the rapture will take place before the seven year tribulation, that at the end of the tribulation the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth bodily in power and great glory with His saints to rule and reign in a one thousand year earthly kingdom, and that this part of His coming is known as the revelation of Jesus Christ (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:20-21, Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 1:10; 5:9-10; Revelation 3:10; 6:16-17; Matthew 24:29-30; Jude 14-15; Revelation 19:11-20:6). Dispensationalism We believe in the basic dispensational view of the Bible which includes a recognition of at least three major dispensations (Mosaic Law, Grace or Church, and Kingdom) and implies others, that the Bible should be interpreted in a normal literal way, that a distinction should be recognized between the Church and Israel, that future prophecy will be literally fulfilled as has past prophecy, and that God will fulfill His promises to His covenanted people Israel which includes Israel’s future judgment, redemption, and regathering to the land of Palestine where she shall become the head of the nations and be personally ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:1-11; 1:10; Colossians 1:24-27; Luke 16:16; John 1:17; Romans 10:4; Matthew 24:15; Deuteronomy 29:29; I Corinthians 10:32; Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-21; Romans 11:25-29; Isaiah 60:1-3). The Eternal State We believe in the bodily resurrection of the Church saints at the rapture and of the rest of the saints at the revelation of Christ, that the unsaved will be resurrected at the great white throne judgment, that the saved are at death absent from the body and present with the Lord where they in conscious bliss await the first resurrection when their spirit, soul, and body will be glorified and forever abide with the Lord, that the unsaved at death remain in conscious misery until the great white throne judgment at which time they shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer eternal conscious punishment, and that Heaven and Hell are literal places. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 20:4-6; Daniel 12:1-3; John 5:25-29; Revelation 20:10-15; II Corinthians 5:8; Revelation 7:9-17; Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 20:10-15; Matthew 25:41-46; Revelation 21-22; Mark 9:42-48). The Personality of Satan We believe that Satan is a personal being, a fallen angel, and the author of sin, that he is the enemy of God and man, and that he will be eternally punished in the lake of fire (Matthew 4:1-11; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15; I Peter 5:8; Revelation 20:10). |
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| Copyright 2009 Hagerstown Bible Church, 203 Summit Avenue, Hagerstown, MD 21740 Phone: 301-733-3936 |
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