What we believe
THE SCRIPTURES
HBC’S STATEMENT OF FAITH:
About God
We believe there is but one true God, infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, existing in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit each of whom possesses equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of personality. Having created everything out of nothing, God is sovereign in creation, revelation, and final judgment. He operates throughout history reconciling people to himself.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” — Ephesians 3:20-21
About Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God’s eternal Son. He came into the world to reconcile sinners to God. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He was fully God and fully man and lived a sinless life. He willingly suffered and died as our substitute to pay the penalty for our sins, thereby satisfying God's justice and accomplishing salvation for all those who trust in Him alone. He rose bodily from the grave and ascended into heaven where He is the only mediator between God and man and is now making intercession for those who believe in Him. He will return to earth personally, visibly, and bodily to judge all men and establish His kingdom.
“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4.
About the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit of God came into the world to reveal and glorify Christ, to convict mankind of their sins, and to impart new life to all who place their faith in Christ. He illuminates the Scriptures, indwells believers from the moment of their spiritual birth, seals them until the day of redemption, and empowers them to live a life pleasing to God.
“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” — John 14:26
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” — 1 Corinthians 3:16
About the Bible
We believe the Bible is uniquely, verbally, and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, and was written without error in the original manuscripts. It is the supreme and final authority in faith and life in every age and the sole basis for our belief and practice.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” — 2 Timothy 3:16
About Mankind
We believe God created mankind in His own image, innocent before God. But, Adam and Eve chose to sin by disobeying God. Therefore, all human beings inherited this sin nature, and are under divine condemnation. We are sinners by nature, alienated from God, and totally incapable of pleasing God in and of themselves. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled, and renewed.
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—” — Romans 5:12
About Salvation Through Christ
We believe that being forgiven and freed from the penalty for sins is God’s free gift to those who put their faith and trust in Christ alone for our salvation. Being made right with God is not something we earn or deserve, but is the undeserved favor of God. Christ died in our place, paying the penalty for our sin. When we put our trust in the finished work of Christ, our sins are forgiven and we become children of God. God assures us, in His Word, that genuine believers are fully assured of eternal life from the very moment they put their faith in Christ.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” — John 3:16
About the Church
We believe that the true church is comprised of all those who have been made right with God by grace through faith in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The visible church is a congregation of baptized believers associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel in local churches for worship, prayer, fellowship, and teaching, in order to become conformed to the image of Christ and to become equipped to carry out the ‘Great Commission’ that Christ gave His followers.
We believe the Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances for the church to practice, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer. Scripture teaches that those who repent and believe are to be baptized by immersion, picturing the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and publicly identifying themselves with Him. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedient worship wherein members of the Body of Christ, through partaking of the bread and fruit of the vine, remember the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ and anticipate His second coming.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’” — Matthew 28:18-20
About Family, Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
“Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” — Genesis 1:26-27
We believe God established the family as the foundational institution of human society. The family is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. We believe children are a blessing and heritage from the Lord.
We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. We believe that marriage between one man and one woman, for life, uniquely reflects Christ’s relationship with His Church. We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” — Genesis 2:18-25
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” — Ephesians 5:21-33
“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” — 1 Corinthians 6:18
“But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” — 1 Corinthians 7:2-5
“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” — Hebrews 13:4
We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, or use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.
“But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” — Matthew 15:18-20
“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” — 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Harleton Baptist Church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Harleton Baptist Church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Family, Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality.
“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16
“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” — Philippians 2:14-16
“reject every kind of evil.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:22
We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin,
seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” — Acts 3:19-21
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” — Romans 10:9-10
“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” — 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Harleton Baptist Church.
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” — Mark
12:28-31
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” — Luke 6:31
About Holy Living
We believe God’s people are to be different from the surrounding culture. To be holy means that all we are and all we have belongs to God, and that every aspect of our lives is to be shaped and directed toward Him. The faith of believers is to be lived out through the practice of God’s Word in holy living and obedience. Everything in the believer’s life should give witness to their commitment to God. God's call to be holy is a radical, all-encompassing claim on our lives and affections.
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” — Matthew 5:14-16
About Last Things
We believe every person has a soul that will last for eternity. We believe that at the moment of death, believers pass immediately into the presence of Christ and remain there in joyful
fellowship with Him and that those who have not accepted God’s salvation through faith in Jesus Christ will descend into a literal hell to be separated from the presence of the Lord forever.
We believe in the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is the anticipation of
Christ’s return that motivates us to live with expectancy, godly living, sacrificial service and
energetic mission.
“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” — 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
About Religious Liberty
We believe church and state should be separate; and that the state owes every church its protection and freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends — a free church in a free state.
“Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the
things that are God’s.’ And they marveled at him.” — Mark 12:17
About the Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of
inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or
mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life.
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I
praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul
knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in
your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet
there was none of them.” — Psalm 139:13-16
“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock
and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he
created them.” — Genesis 1:26-27
About Final Authority
This statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of the Church’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our congregation is the church’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s application.
“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” — Galatians 1:6-9
Additional Reference
Our theological positions are in agreement with the June 2000 Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention.
