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Our Statements
The statements of the 'Church of the Highlands' include the Inerrancy
of Scripture, the Apostles Creed and the Statement of Faith. These statements are subordinated
to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
THE APOSTLES CREED
I believe in God almighty (the Father almighty)
And in Christ Jesus his only Son, our Lord
Who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
Who was crucified under Pontius Pilate and was buried
And the third day rose from the dead, Who ascended into heaven
And sits on the right hand of the Father
Whence he comes to judge the living and the dead.
And in the Holy Ghost, the holy church,
The remission of sins; the resurrection of the flesh;
The life everlasting.
STATEMENT OF FAITH
1. The Scriptures
We believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God and that
men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit to write the very words of
Scripture. The Bible is therefore without error in its original manuscripts.
God has supernaturally preserved the Bible and it is the sole and final
authority for faith and life providing encouragement, guidance, comfort and
instruction for training in righteousness.
(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).
2. The Godhead (Trinity)
We believe in one true God eternally existing in three distinct persons
(Father, Son and Holy Spirit) each of Whom is fully and equally God;
possesses all of the divine nature and attributes, and is totally worthy of
our worship and service.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 1:14, 10:30; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
3. God the Father
We believe that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity and is
the eternal, unchanging, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-wise, all-loving,
completely just and perfectly holy, sovereign Ruler and Sustainer of the
universe. He is the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the
Father of all true believers.
(Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:21-28, 43:10-13; 46:8-11; John 1:12-13; 5:19-21;
17:1-5;
Romans 8:14-16; Ephesians 4:6).
4. God the Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the second person of the Trinity and is
the only begotten eternal Son of God Who became flesh to reveal God to man,
to fulfill prophecy, and to become the Savior of the lost world. In becoming
man Jesus did not cease in any way to be God so that He is fully God and
fully man inseparably united in one person forever.
Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin
Mary; lived a sinless life; died on the cross as the all-sufficient atoning
sacrifice for all of the sins of all men of all time; was buried; bodily
rose from the dead; physically ascended into heaven in His glorified,
resurrected body; is seated at the right hand of the Father performing His
ministry of intercession; will return in the air to claim His bride - the
church; and will come again to earth in bodily form, personally visibly, to
conclude human history and consummate God's eternal plan by executing
judgment and ushering in the eternal state.
(Matthew 24:44; Mark 10:45; Luke 1:30-55; John 1:1, 14, 18, 29, 3:16,
20:20; Acts 1:11, 2:22-24; Romans 3:26-26, 8:34 Philippians 2:5-8, 3:20-21; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18; 2 Thessalonians 2:7; Colossians 2:3, 9; Hebrews 1:3, 9:28, 10:5-14; 1
Peter 2:24,
3:18; 1 John 2:1; Revelation 19:11-21, 21:22).
5. God the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity Who
specially came into the world on the day of Pentecost to glorify Christ and
to enable men to appropriate the salvation wrought be Christ. He is the
primary agent for the conviction of sin and the regeneration. Simultaneously
with salvation, the Holy Spirit imparts new life, baptizes the believer into
the body of Christ (His Church), and permanently indwells the believer. The
Holy Spirit fills (directs and controls) those believers who are yielded to
Him, enables believers to bear fruit and empowers believers to live a life
free from sin's dominion. We also believe that the Holy Spirit gives
spiritual gifts to believers for the purpose of edifying the church in
accordance with the teachings of scripture.
(John 16:7-15; Romans 8:5-13, 12:38; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 12:13; Galatians
5:16-17,
22-23; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30; 1 Peter 4:10-11).
6. Man
We believe that man was created in the image of God by direct act of God
and did not come into being as the result of evolution. Man was created to
glorify God, worship and serve Him, and have fellowship with Him. Man fell
through sin by disobeying God, thus incurring both physical and spiritual
death, which alienated him from God. Man's nature was thus corrupted and he
is utterly lost, dead in trespasses and sins, and totally incapable of
saving himself and coming back into a right relationship with God by his own
merit or effort.
(Genesis 1:26, 2:6, 17, 3:17-24; Isaiah 59:1-2; Luke 18:26-27, Romans 3:9-19,
23, 5:6-8;
Ephesians 2:1-3).
7. Satan
We believe that Satan is the instigator of evil and a real spirit being,
not simply the personification of evil. He is a fallen angel who, under the
sovereign permission of God, has been given temporary rulership of the
earth. He was utterly defeated at the cross, but the execution of his
judgment has been postponed by God until the Day of Judgment when he will be
cast into the eternal lake of fire. In the meantime, he deceives the world
and seeks to establish his counterfeit kingdom on earth to discredit and
blaspheme God and to tempt, accuse, attack and destroy believers. He can be
resisted by the believer through faith and reliance on the power of the Holy
Spirit.
(Genesis. 3:1-5; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Job 1-2k; 1 John 5:19; 2
Corinthians
11:14; 1 Timothy 3:6; 1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7; Revelation 12:9, 20:1-3, 7-10).
8. Salvation
We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross provides the
sole basis for forgiveness of sins and salvation, which is the free gift of
God's grace. Salvation is effected by the regenerating work of the Holy
Spirit and cannot be secured by man's works or personal merit. Salvation is
only appropriated by a person placing his faith in the finished work of
Christ. Repentance is a turning toward God and away from sin and is a part
of but not separate from believing faith. The gospel is the power of God for
salvation to everyone who believes and those who receive Jesus Christ by
faith are born again, have their sins forgiven, become children of God, are
a new creation in Christ, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of
redemption, being kept by the power of God.
(John 1:12-13, 3:1-7, 14-16, 10:27-29, 14:6; Acts 26:20; Romans 1:16,
8:14-17, 31-39,
10:9-10; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 1:7, 13-14, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
9. The Christian Life
We believe that every Christian should live for Christ and not for
himself and should, by the power of the indwelling Spirit, allow Christ to
manifest His life through him to God's glory. By ever increasing obedience
to the Word of God, each believer should mature and progressively become
more like Jesus. In the power of the Spirit, each believer should live a
holy life; not fulfill the lusts of the flesh; exercise his spiritual gifts
to build up the body Christ; witness for Christ; be personally involved in
making disciples to fulfill the great commission; perform good works and
bear fruit to the glory of God.
(Matthew. 28:18-20; John 15:8, 16; Acts 1:8; Romans 6:11-13; 2
Corinthians 5:14-15; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:10, 4:11-12, 4:22-24; Colossians
1:10; 1 Peter 1:15-16, 2:11,
4:10-11).
10. The Church
We believe that the church is the body of Christ of which Jesus is the
Head and whose members are those who have truly received Christ by faith.
The local church is a tangible expression of the body of Christ in a
particular location. Since all members of the body of Christ are united in
Christ by the same Spirit, they should live in love, harmony and unity,
being intent on the same purpose and accepting those sectarian or
denominational practices which are based on a sincere interpretation of the
Bible, which do not relate to substantive doctrinal matters, and which do
not in practice cause disunity or hinder the ministry. The purpose of the
church is to make Christ known to lost men, to make disciples and glorify
God on earth.
(Matthew 28:18-20; John 17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:20-23, 4:1-6,
12-16;
Colossians 1:24-29).
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