Hebron Evangelical Statement of Faith

 

The membership of Hebron Evangelical Church, including its elders and trustees, believe the following:

 

1. God

We believe in one God who exists eternally in three distinct but equally divine persons – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. He is the almighty Creator, Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory. He is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom, grace and love.

2. The Holy Scriptures

We believe that the 66 books of the Bible as originally given are in their entirety the inspired and complete Word of God, wholly without error in all that they declare. The Bible, therefore, speaks with supreme and final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief, conduct and practice.

3. The Human Race

We believe God created human beings, male and female, in his own image, and as such every man and woman possesses an inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God.

4. Sin

We believe that through the sin of Adam, humanity fell from its original state of righteousness and communion with God and the whole created world was placed under the curse. As a consequence all men and women have inherited an utterly corrupted human nature. All are now sinners, responsible for their own sin, without spiritual life and opposed to God, and subject to his just condemnation and to eternal ruin. Every person needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.

5. The Lord Jesus Christ

We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is true and eternal God, the brightness of the Father’s glory, of the same substance and equal with the Father. Through him all things were created, and by him all things are sustained. He came down from heaven and became flesh, being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of a virgin. Thus two whole, perfect and distinct natures were inseparably joined together in one person, the Lord Jesus Christ being fully God and fully man. He lived a sinless life in obedience to God the Father. He was crucified, buried, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.

6. Salvation

We believe the salvation of sinners is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ who honoured the divine law by his personal obedience, and by his death on the cross made full atonement, bearing God’s punishment for our sin, redeeming us by his blood and reconciling us to God. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Jesus Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life. This is the sole and all-sufficient ground of redemption and is offered to all in the Gospel.

7. The Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit, who is God, has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and performs the work of sanctification. He empowers and gifts the members of the church for worship, service and mission.

8. The Church

We believe that the universal church is a body of which Christ is the Head and is made up of all who have received salvation. This body is made visible in the local church, which is a congregation of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the furtherance of the gospel, the administering of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Further, they are responsible for mutual care and discipline and for the administration of good works. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.

9. Baptism and the Lord's Supper

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, showing forth the believer’s faith in, and full identification with, the crucified, buried and risen Saviour, proclaiming their death to sin and resurrection to new life in Christ . The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all, and a declaration of the unity of the body of Christ. The Lord’s Supper is open to, and commanded of, all true believers.

10. The Future

We believe in the bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ which ensures the resurrection of all believers who have received God’s gift of eternal life. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return at any moment. He will come for his people and with power and glory. He will rule in righteousness and will judge the living and the dead. The wicked will be consigned to eternal condemnation and the righteous to eternal joy. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.

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