Heritage Baptist Church

What We Believe:

Scripture
We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired of God, and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life (2 Peter 1:21, 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The Godhead
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1: 1, John 10:30, Matthew 28:19, Acts 5:34).

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten by the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, and is true God and true man (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1: 18-25, Colossians 2:9).

The Resurrection of Jesus
We believe in the physical resurrection of the body of our Lord, His bodily ascension into heaven and His bodily presence there for us as High Priest and Advocate (I Corinthians 15:14, 15:20-25, Acts 1:9-11, Hebrews 7:25).

Satan
We believe that Satan is literal and personal, the agent of the fall, the prince and power of this world, and that he shall be judged and eternally punished (Revelation 20: 1 -10, Ephesians 2:14).

Mankind
We believe that man was created in the image of God, that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also the spiritual death which is separation from God, and that all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are now sinners by birth and by choice, positively inclined to evil, and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse (Genesis 2:17, Romans 5: 12-2 1, Psalm 5 8:3, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Romans 1:20, Genesis 1:26-27).

Salvation
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood (I Corinthians 15:1-4, 2 Corinthians 5:2 1, 1 Peter 2:24, Romans 5:9, 1 Peter 1: 18-19). We believe in the universality of the Gospel (I Timothy 2:4-6).

The Holy Spirit
We believe that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit and are thereby children of God and are eternally saved (John 3:3, Galatians 3:24-26, 1 John 5:13).

End Times
We believe in the "blessed hope," the personal, bodily, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 2, John 14:1-3, Matthew 24:44).

Future Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead; both of the just and the unjust. We believe in a literal heaven and a literal hell; that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hades where they are kept under punishment until the final day of judgment (Luke 16:19-31, 2 Peter 2:9), at which time their bodies shall be raised from the grave, they shall be judged according to their works, and cast into the place of final and everlasting punishment (Mark 9:43-48, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18, Jude 13, Revelation 20:11-15, 21:8).

The Local Church
We believe that a New Testament Church is a body of baptized believers, assembled for worship, service, and the spread of the Gospel in all the world (Acts 2, Acts 1:8, Matthew 28:19-20).

Church Leadership
We believe that the Bible teaches that the following offices of the church should be held by men only: Pastor, Assistant Pastor, Deacon, and Moderator (I Timothy 2:12, Acts 15).

Church Ordinances

a. BAPTISM: We believe that immersion is the only form of baptism revealed and commanded in the Scriptures, that is has NO saving power, but is only for those who are already saved; and that the new birth, which comes through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, is the scriptural prerequisite to baptism; therefore, only those who are old enough to believe for themselves should be baptized (Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-5). So as not to distort the symbolism, the mode of immersion is traditionally laying back once.

b. COMMUNION/LORD'S SUPPER: We believe that the Lord's Supper is a memorial of the death of Christ and that only those who have been saved through faith in His atoning blood and are walking in obedient fellowship with Him ought to partake of it. We do not believe in closed communion (I Corinthians 11:23-32).

Sactification/Holiness
We believe that all believers are called into a life of holiness (I Peter 3:15-16). There are three aspects that are understood as the doctrine of separation: moral, personal, and ecclesiastical.

a. MORAL: We are commanded to perfect holiness (2 Corinthians 7:1) in the fear of God. The believer is never to live as an evil doer (I Peter 4: 15), but is to be clean in body and mind (2 Corinthians 10:5) and to adopt biblical and God-honoring standards in moral and ethical conduct. The Bible defines right and wrong for godly behavior as exemplified in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20).

b. PERSONAL: We are commanded to be representative of our faith in our lifestyle. new believer, under the teachings of Christian liberty and conscience (Romans 14:5), is to be faithfully responsible (Romans 14:23) to develop godly standards in preference and behavior that acknowledges the higher convictions of the Christian faith (I Thessalonians 5:21-22) and recognition of the error of worldliness (I John 2:15-17, 2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

c. ECCLESIASTICAL: While recognizing the unity of all true believers in Christ and in truth (John 17:11, 17), we believe that unbelief, doctrinal error and doctrinal differences must limit fellowship and corporate ministerial cooperation (Ephesians 5:11, 2 Corinthians 6:14, and 2 Peter 2). We stand in opposition to ecumenicalism and any corporate ministry outside those of like precious faith. Separation is a key element in protecting the testimony and reputation of the local assembly.

Sign Gifts
We believe that the healing and tongues movement of today is unscriptural and contrary to sound doctrine and those who believe and practice these are in error (I Corinthians 14:33, 40, 13:8-11).