HOPE CHURCH- ARTICLES OF FAITH

Jesus Christ

He is God’s unique Son; the only one of a kind. The Scripture teaches that He is God revealed in flesh. In His Divine nature He is truly God and in His human nature truly man. He is the One once crucified for man’s sin, the now risen and glorified Savior and Lord who mediates between God and man and who gives us access to the Father through His intercession. None can come to the Father unless they come through Him.

(Hebrews 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-19, John 1:1-3)

Holy Spirit

All of the attributes of God are ascribed to the Holy Spirit by the Scriptures. It is He who convicts and convinces men of their sin. He also convinces man of that which is right, and that a final day of judgment will come. He, it is, who comes to live in us at conversion, to open our understanding to the Scripture, and to lead us into the truth.

(John 14:26, John 16:18, Ephesians 1:13, 1 John 4:6)

The Bible

God used holy men to write the Scriptures. They are, in both the Old and New Testaments, the very words God intended us to have. They are, as given by God, without error and are our only rule of faith and practice. We profit from them by learning the truth about many things: they also speak to us about wrong doing; as well as instructing us in righteous living.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:19-21, 1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Man

God created man in a state of innocence. Man, being tempted by Satan, yielded and willfully disobeyed God, becoming a sinner and incurring God’s judgment upon sin. All of Adam’s descendants inherit his fallen nature and thus have a natural inclination to sin. When one comes to an age of accountability, he is guilty of sinning before God and in need of salvation. God’s Relationship to His Creatures and Creation-God exercises a wise and benevolent providence over all beings and things. He maintains the laws of nature and performs special acts as the highest welfare of mankind and His created order of things require.

(Romans 3:23, Romans 5:12-14, 1 Corinthians 2:14)

Salvation

Man receives pardon and forgiveness for his sins when he admits to God that he is a sinner, when in godly sorrow he turns from them and trusts in the work of Christ as redemption for his sin. This acceptance of God’s great salvation involves belief in Christ’s death on the cross as man’s substitute and the fact of God’s raising Him from the dead as predicted. It is a salvation by grace alone through faith and not of works.

(Mark 1:15, 2 Peter 3:9, Mark 16:16, John 10:9, John 14:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 5:9, Romans 10:9)

Who Can Be Saved?

It is God’s will that all be saved, but since man has the power of choice, God saves only those who repent of their sin and believe in the work of Christ on the cross. Those who refuse in this life to repent and believe have no later chance to be saved and thus condemn themselves to eternal damnation by their unbelief.

(2 Peter 3:9, John 3:16-17, John 8:24, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10)

Perseverance

We believe that there are strong grounds to hope that the saved will persevere unto the end and be saved because of the power of divine grace pledged for their support(a). We believe that any saved person who has sinned, but has a desire to repent, may do so and be restored to God’s favor and fellowship(b). But the Scriptures clearly state that it is possible for one to begin in faith but fall from His grace through sin and unbelief and therefore, forfeit their covenant blessing with God and be lost (c).  Since God in His sovereign power has granted unto man free will, man still has his choice to continue in faith.  

(a) 1 Peter 1:5, Philippians 1:6, 2:13, 1 John 2:1, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25  (b) 1 John 1:9, 2:1-2, Galatians 6:1, Matthew 18:15

(c) Matthew 13:18-23, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, Romans 11:20-21, 1 Corinthians 9:23-27, Galatians 6:7-9, 1 Thessalonians 3:1-8, 1 Timothy 4:1, Hebrews 2:1-3, Hebrews 10:26, James 1:12-15, 2 Peter 1:5-9, 1 John 2:15-28, Jude 5-12, Revelation 21:7-8

Gospel Ordinances

We believe the Bible teaches three ordinances for the church to practice: Baptism in water by immersion, the Lord’s Supper, to be perpetuated until His return, and the Washing of the Saints’ feet, an ordinance teaching humility.  (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:38, Matthew 26:26-29, John 13:14)

Resurrection

Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation.   (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, John 5:29)

Christ’s Second Coming

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, who ascended on high and sits at the right hand of God, will come again to close the Gospel dispensation, glorify His saints, and judge the world. (Acts 1:11, 1 Thessalonians 4:14)

Missions

We believe that Jesus commanded the church to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. We therefore commit to do all we can to share the Gospel with people in our city, our country and our world