Statement of Faith in Christ - Continued
Who We Are | A Word from the Pastor | Prayer of Salvation
7. We believe in the priesthood of all believers: namely, that Jesus Christ is our Great High Priest, and through Him every believer has direct access to God himself; that every believer has the right and the responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scripture, guided by the Holy Spirit; and that, empowered and gifted by the Holy Spirit, we are called to minister Christ to one another in love. [John 14:6; Romans 12:1-21; Eph. 4:1-16; Hebrews 4:16; II Tim 2:15; I Peter 2:1, 5, 9]
8. We believe in the total lordship of Jesus Christ: that He alone is the head of the Body of Christ into which all believers are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit when we believe in Christ; that all members of this one spiritual Body should and will identify themselves in local churches, confessing and living our faith in Christ. "... God's solid foundation stands firm , sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." II Tim 2:19 (NIV) [I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23; 4:11-15; Col. 1-15-18]
9. We believe that the church is the Body of Christ, composed soley of believers. We believe in the autonomy of the local church under the Gospel. The local church gathers together for worship, fellowship, service, instruction and the spreading of the Gospel into all the world. The Church is the primary, God-established base of operation for the evangelizing of the world. Every believer is commissioned to preach the Gospel to all creation and to make disciples of all the nations. Therefore, the local church is the base of the mission of God in our world. [Matt 28:16-20; Acts 2:42-47; I Cor. 12:12-13; Eph. 1:20-23; 4:11-16]
10. We believe in two ordinances on sacraments: Believers' Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Both of them re-enact and dramatize the Gospel of Jesus' death and resurrection. Baptism is by physical immersion in water of the non-infant believer in the Name of the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is the initial ordinance which dramatizes our being united to Christ. The Lord's Supper exhibits our continuing dependence on the risen, living Christ. Both ordinances proclaim the objective and subjective reality of the Gospel: the death of Christ in history and our own death to sin; the present life of the risen Christ and our present life in Him through the power of the Holy Spirit. [Matt. 26:16-20; Luke 22:19-20; John 13:1-17; Romans 6:1-14; I Cor. 11:23-28; I Cor. 16:22]
11. We believe in and look forward to the personal, bodily return of Jesus Christ to earth. Having triumphed over all the powers of evil by His victory on the cross (Col. 2:15), Jesus Christ, the Living One, will crush and destroy all evil when He returns to earth to completely establish the final kingdom of God. Just prior to His return, Jesus will gather to Himself all those who believe, both dead and living, changing all who believe into the likeness of His resurrection. Thus, all believers will reign with Christ on earth. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! [Mark 13; I Cor. 15:51-58; I Thes, 4:13-18; II Thes. 2:1-15]
12. We believe in the reality of final judgement for each individual human being, for all the human race and for all angelic beings, evil and elect. We believe in the reality of hell, created to punish the devil and all the forces of evil (hell was never intended for human beings [Matt 25:41]). Any individual who willfully refuses to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and who willfully continues to do evil will be sent to hell for all eternity. We believe that those who belong to Jesus also love and obey Him; therefore, they will spend eternity with Him and with each other in the New Heaven and the New Earth. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- 1 Cor 2:9 (NIV) [Matt 25:14; Mark 9:41-46; Acts 17:31-32; Romans 2; I Cor. 6:3; Hebrews 9:27-28; Romans 8:18-27; I Peter 4:17; II Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1-22:6]
This Statement of Faith is by no means a complete and exhaustive treatise; it is intended accurately to summarize and affirm our faith in Christ.
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South Hills Community Baptist Church