Statement Of Faith

Statement Of Faith

CONFESSION OF FAITH

(1) The Scriptures: We believe that the Holy Bible is...

(a) verbally and plenarily (fully, completely, absolutely) inspired of God;
(b) perfectly and completely preserved;
(c) that it is truth without any error;
(d) therefore is and shall remain, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man; the final authority in all matters of faith and practice; the true center of Christian union and the standard by which all creeds and opinions should be tried.

(Explanation)

A. By “The Holy Bible” we mean that collection of sixty six books, from Genesis to Revelation, which does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but IS the very Word of God.

B. By “Inspiration” we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired (God breathed) and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired.

C. By “Preserved” we mean that God has divinely and providentially, despite the attacks of satanic forces and the tendency of human error, kept His Holy Word intact for TODAY’S age within the covers of one complete volume, that being the Authorized King James Version.

(a) II Tim. 3:16-17, II Pet. 1:19-21, Acts 1:16; (b) Psa. 12:6-7, Isa. 40:8, Matt. 5:18; (c) Psa. 119:105,130,Luke 24:25-27,44-45, John 17:17; (d) Psa. 119:89, Pro. 30:5, Rom. 3:4, I Pet. 1:23, Rev. 22:18-19, John 12:48,Isa. 8:20 Eph. 6:17, Rom. 15:4, Luke 16:31, Psa. 19:7-11, John 5:39, John 5:45-47.

(2) God: We believe that there is...

(a) one, and only one, living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and supreme ruler of heaven and earth;
(b) inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all honor, confidence, and love;
(c) that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

(a) Ex. 20:2-3, Gen. 17:1, I Cor. 8:6, Eph. 4:6, John 4:24, Psa. 147:5, Psa. 83:18, Psa. 90:2, Jer. 10:10, (b) Ex. 15:11, Rev. 4:11, I Tim. 1:17, Rom. 11:33, Mar. 12:30, (c) Matt. 28:19, John 15;26, I Cor. 12:4-6, I John 5;7, John 10:30, John 17:5, Acts 5:3-4, ICor. 2:10-11, Phil. 2:5-6, Eph. 2:18, II Cor. 13:14.

(3) Jesus Christ: We believe...

(a) in the deity and virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ;
(b) that He was begotten of the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, having no human father, and is absolute God and absolute man;
(c) He is humanity’s only means of salvation, being the lone Mediator between God and man;
(d) that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day for our sins
(e) He, only, is the Great High Priest;
(f) that He will imminently return for His Church, the Body of Christ, and remove it with Himself into Heaven;
(g) and that He will return to this earth to establish His millennial kingdom.

(a) Is. 7:14; (b) Luke 1:35, John 1:1-4; 10:30; (c) John 14:6; I Tim. 2:5-6; (d) I Cor.15:14; (e) Heb. 7:24-25; (f) I Thes. 4:13-18; (g) Rev. 20:4-6.

(4) The Holy Spirit: We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person...

(a) equal with God the Father and
(b) God the Son and
(c) of the same nature;
(d) that He was active in the creation;
(e) that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the evil one until God’s purpose is fulfilled;
(f) that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness;
(g) that He bears witness to the truth of the Gospel in preaching and testimony;
(h) that He is the agent in the New Birth;
(i) that He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses to, sanctifies, and helps the believer.

(a) John 14:16-17; (b) Matt. 28:19; (c) Heb. 9:14, John 14:26, Luke 1:35; (d) Gen. 1:1-3; (e) II Thes. 2:7; (f) John 16:8-11; (g) John 14:26-27, Acts 5:30-32; (h) John 3:5-6; (i) Eph. 1:13-14, Luke 24:49, John 16:13, John 14:26, Rom. 8:14,16, II Thes. 2:13, I Pet. 1:2, Rom. 8:26-27.

(5) Satan: We believe that Satan was once...

(a) holy, and enjoyed heavenly honors; but through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and
(b) drew after him a host of angels; that he is now
(c) the malignant prince of the power of the air, and the unholy god of this world,
(d) We hold him to be man’s great tempter,
(e) the enemy of God and His Christ,
(f) the accuser of the saints,
(g) the author of all false religions, the chief power behind superficial Christianity;
(h) the lord of the antichrist, and
(i) the author of all the powers of darkness- destined however
(j) to final defeat at the hands of God’s Son, and
(k) to the judgment of an eternal justice in hell, a place prepared for he and his angels.

(a) Isa. 14:12-15. Ezek. 28:14-17; (b) Rev. 12:9, Eph. 2:2, John 14:30; (c) I Thes. 3:5, Matt. 4:1,3; (d) I Pet. 5:8; (e) Zech. 3:1, I John 3:8, Matt. 13:25,37-39, Luke 22:3-4; (f) Rev. 12:10; (g) II Cor. 11:13-15, Mark 13:21-22; (h) I John 4:3, II John 7, I John 2:22; (i) Rev. 13:13-14, II Thes. 2:8-11; (j) Rev. 19:11,16,20, Rev. 12:7-9, Rev. 20:1-3; (k) Rev. 20:10, Matt. 25:41.

(6) The Creation: We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and...

(a) that it is to be accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively;
(b) that man was created directly in God’s own image and after His own likeness;
(c) that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms;
(d) that all animal and vegetable life was made directly, and God’s law was that they should bring forth only “after their kind.”

(a) Gen. 1:1, Ex. 20:11, Acts 4:24, Col. 1:16-17, Heb. 11:3, John 1:3, Rev. 10:6, Rom. 1:20, Acts 17:23-26, Jer. 10:12, Neh. 9:6; (b) Gen. 1:26-27, I Cor. 11:7; (c) Gen. 2: 21, 23; (d) Gen. 1 :11,24.

(7) The Fall of Man: We believe...

(a) that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker, but
(b) by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state,
(c) in consequence of which, all mankind are now sinners, by inheritance and by choice; and therefore under just condemnation without defense or excuse.

(a) Gen. 3:6,24; (b) Rom. 5:12,19; (c) Rom. 3:10-19, Eph. 2:1,3, Rom. 1:18, Ezek. 18:19-20; (d) Rom. 1:32,Rom. 1:20, Gal. 3:22.

(8) Salvation: We believe...

(a) in the foreknowledge of God and thereby His elective Grace;
(b) that the blessing of salvation is made free to all by the Gospel;
(c) that it is the immediate and urgent duty of all to receive it by a repentant faith and with a childlike trust; and
(d) that nothing prevents the salvation of any sinner on earth but his own voluntary rejection of the gospel; (e) which rejection condemns him eternally.

(a) I Thes. 1:4, Col. 3:12, I Pet. 1:2, Tit. 1;1, Rom. 8;29-30; (b) Matt. 11:28, Is. 55:1, Rev. 22:17, Rom. 10:13, John 6:37; (c) Is. 55:6, Acts 2:38; (d) Isa. 55:7, Joh. 3:15-16, I Tim. 1:15, I Cor. 15:10, Eph. 2:4-5, John 5:40; (e) John 3:18,36.

(9) The Atonement: We believe...

(a) that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace;
(b) through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins;
(c) that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinners place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ, the Lord, bearing our sins in His own body on the tree;
(d) that, having risen from the dead. He is now enthroned in heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, He is in every way the lone, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior.

(a) Eph. 2:8-9, Acts 15:11, Rom. 3:24; (b) John 3:16, Matt. 18:11, Phil. 2:7, Heb. 2:14, Isa. 53:4-7, Rom. 3:25, I John 4:10, I Cor. 15:3, II Cor. 5:21; (c) John 10:18, Phil. 2:8, Gal. 1:4, I Pet. 2:24, I Pet. 3:18, Isa. 53:11, Heb. 12:2; (d) I Cor. 15:20, Isa. 53:12, Heb. 9:12-15, Heb. 7:25, I John 2:2.

(10) The New Creature: We believe...

(a) that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again;
(b) that the new birth forms the new creature in Christ Jesus;
(c) that it is instantaneous and not a process;
(d) that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God;
(e) that the new creature is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly by the power of the Holy Ghost in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel;
(f) that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.

(a) John 3:3; (b) II Cor. 5:17; (c) Luke 5:27-28, I John 5:1, John 3:6-7, Acts 2:41, Acts 16:30-33; (d) II Pet. 1:4, Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:1, II Cor 5:19, Col. 2:13; (e) John 3:8, John 1:12-13; (f) Gal. 5:22, Eph. 5:9.

(11) Justification: We believe that the great gospel blessing which Christ secures to such as believe in Him is Justification...

(a) that justification includes the pardon of sin, and the gift of eternal life on the principles of the righteousness of Jesus Christ;
(b) it is not bestowed by any works of righteousness which we have done; but solely through faith in the Redeemer’s Blood, His righteousness is imputed unto us.

(a) Acts 13:39, Is. 53:11, Zech. 13:1, Rom. 8:1, 5:9, 5:1; (b) Tit. 3:5-7, Rom. 1:17, Hab. 2:4, Gal. 3:11, Rom. 4:1-8, Heb. 10:38.

(12) Eternal Security: We believe...

(a) that upon faith being placed in Jesus Christ the believer possesses eternal life; it is not merely a future endowment, but it is a gift bestowed at present;
(b) that no one has the power to take a believer out of the hand of God nor his Christ;
(c) that the believer is sealed unto the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit of God;
(d) that believers are kept by the power of God;
(e) that the promise of Jesus Christ is absolute in that all of which the Father would give to Him, would He lose none; (f) and that this eternal security is not to be used for an occasion to sin, but as an incentive to strive more every passing moment to serve the Lord who bought us with His own Blood.

(a) John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:47, Eph. 2:8,9; (b) John 10:28-29, John 6:37; (c) Eph. 4:30, Eph. 1:13-14; (d) I Pet. 1:5, Rom. 8:31-39; (e) John 6:39; (f) Rom. 6:1-2.

(13) The Church: We believe that a church of Christ is a congregation of baptized believers...

(a) associated by a common faith and fellowship of the gospel;
(b) observing the ordinances of Christ;
(c) governed by His laws; and
(d) exercising the gifts, privileges, and duties invested in them by His Word;
(e) that its officer of ordination is it’s pastor, whose qualifications, claims, and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures;
(f) we believe the true mission of the church is found in the Great Commission: First, to make disciple; Second, to baptize them; Third, to teach and instruct them, as He has commanded;
(g) we hold that the local church has the absolute privilege of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Ghost;
(h) that it is scriptural for churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the gospel;
(i) on all matters of membership, of polity, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church being founded upon the Infallible Word of God is final.

(a) Acts 2:41,42; (b) Acts 2:42, I Cor. 11:2; (c) Eph. 1:22; (d) Eph. 4:11, I Cor. 12:4,8-11; (e) Acts 14:23; 6:5-6; 15:23; 20:17,28, I Tim. 3:1-7; (f) Matt. 28:19-20; (g) Col. 1:18, Eph. 5:23-24, I Pet. 5:1-4; (h) Acts 15:22, Jude 3-4, II Cor. 8:23-24, I Cor. 16:1; (i) I Cor. 6:1-3, I Cor. 5:11-13, Matt.18:18.

(14) Church Ordinances: We believe that Christian baptism is...

(a) the immersion in water of a believer;
(b) in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;
(c) in order to show forth in a perfect emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its (our faith) effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life;
(d) that it is prerequisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord’s supper;
(e) in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and the fruit of the vine are to commemorate together the sacrifice of the loving Savior on the cross;
(f) preceded always by solemn self-examination.

(a) Acts 8:36-39, Matt. 3:6, John 3;23, Rom. 6:4-5, Matt. 3:16; (b) Matt. 28:19; (c) Rom. 6:3-5, Col. 2:12; (d) Acts 2:41-42, Matt. 28:19-20; (e) I Cor. 11:23-28; (f) I Cor. 11: 27-28.

(15) Tithes and Offerings: We believe...

(a) that Scriptural giving is one of the fundamentals of the faith;
(b) that we are commanded to bring our tithes and gifts into the storehouse (the common treasury of the local church) upon the first day of the week;
(c) that under grace we give, and do not pay, the tithe; an institution established 400 years before the law of Moses, and is confirmed in the New Testament by the Lord Jesus Christ.

(a) II Cor.8:7; (b) I Cor. 16:2, Lev. 27:30, Mal. 3:10, Acts 4:34,35,37; (c) Heb. 7:2-4, Matt. 23:23.

(16) Missions: We believe...

(a) that the command in Scripture to give the gospel to the world is clear and unmistakable, and that this commission was given to the local church.
(b) Therefore in obedience to this command, the local church sends and supports missionaries.
(c) These missionaries are to have divine callings upon their lives to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to people of our own nation and foreign regions.

(a) Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; (b) Acts 1:8; 13:1-4; Rom. 10:13-15. (c) John 20:21;  

(17) Human Sexuality: We believe...

(a) that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual activity outside a legitimate marriage is a sinful perversion of God’s gift of sex. Any employee of the church becoming pregnant or causing pregnancy as a result of consensual intercourse, outside the marital relationship shall be terminated from employment.
(b) that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman.
(c) that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God, but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home and men are to be the leaders of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church.
(d) We the members of Harbor Baptist Temple believe... immoral sexual activity to be any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, pedophilia, and pornography. These are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We further believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.

(a) Gen.2:24; Gen.19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; I Thes. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4. (b) Gen. 2:24; Rom. 7:2; I Cor. 7:10; Eph. 5:22-23. (c) Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:18; I Tim. 2:8-15; 3:4-5,12. (d) Deut. 22:5; I Cor. 6:9,10; Rom. 26,27; Lev. 18:22-25; I Cor. 7:2; Mark 10:6.

(18) Abortion: We believe that...

(a) human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living human being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexexcused, taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the mental well-being of the mother are acceptable.

(a) Job 3:16; Psa. 51:5; 139:14-16; Isa. 44:24; 49:1,5; Jer. 1:5; 20:15-18; Luke 1:44.

(19) Civil Government: We believe that civil government is...

(a) of divine appointment, for the interests and good order of human society;
(b) that its officials are to be prayed for, conscientiously honored and obeyed;
(c) with exception being made only when laws are created which are opposed to the written Word of God (the Bible) and its author the Lord Jesus Christ;
(d) who is the only Lord, over all, and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth.

(a) Rom. 13:1,3, II Sam. 23:3, Ex. 18:21-22; (b) Acts 23:5, Matt. 22:21, Tit. 3:1, I Pet. 2:17; (c) Acts 5:29; 4:19-20, Dan. 3:17-18; (d) Matt. 10:28; 23:10, Rev. 19:16, Phil. 2:10-11, Psa. 72:11.

(20) Lawsuits Between Believers: We believe...

(a) that Christians are prohibited from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members.

(a) I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32
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