What We Believe
We Celebrate the Gospel of Jesus Christ…
“For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
The Gospel is the Good News that God’s grace has invaded the darkness of our world. It is the story that God made all that is. Human beings have plunged the universe into the darkness of sin and separation from our Creator-God. In His infinite grace and mercy, God has moved to rescue sinners through the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. In God’s sovereign wisdom, He has planned, not only the rescue of His people, but the restoration of all things.
The death of Jesus Christ is a substitutionary and propitiatory sacrifice to God for our sins. The just wrath of the holy God against sin and sinners is entirely appeased by the death of His Son. Because of who He is and what He has done for us, Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God has given us the ministry of calling all people to repent and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to be reconciled to God (See Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31; 2 Cor. 5:20).
At Blessed Hope Bible Church, we believe that the Gospel (the death, burial, resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of all that we do and believe. Our hope is happily built on Christ alone.
We Believe:
GOD – God is the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of the universe. He reveals Himself to us as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. These three Persons are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent and are One God (See: Gen. 1:1 26; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 13:14).
GOD THE FATHER –God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men. (See: Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:1ff; 20:1ff; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Matthew 6:9ff; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; Galatians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 John 5:7).
JESUS CHRIST – Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father and the Spirit. He lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He rose from the dead after three days to demonstrate who He is and His power over sin and death. He ascended into heaven and will return again to reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords. (See Matthew 1:22-33; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30, Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; 2 Timothy 6:14-15 and Titus 2:13).
THE HOLY SPIRIT – The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son as God. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He is present in the world to convict men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Savior, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and gives the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer for the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service. (See: Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalm 51:11; 139:7ff; Isaiah 61:1-3; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Luke 1:35; 4:1, 18-19; John 4:24; 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4:38; 4:31; Romans 8:9-11, 14-16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11, 13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; Hebrews 9:8, 14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17).
MAN – Man was made as the crowning beauty of God’s creation, made in God’s own image. He created them male and female. The gift of gender is thus a part of the goodness of God’s creation. Man was created innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with the freedom of choice. In his freedom of choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the world. Through the temptation of Satan man broke the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as men and women are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man back into holy fellowship with God and enable him to fulfill the creative purposes of God. The sacred nature of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every human being, including the unborn, of every ethnicity possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love. (See: Genesis 1:26-30; 2:5, 7, 18-22; Psalms 1; 8:3-6; 332:1-5; 51:5; Isaiah 6:5; Jeremiah 17:5; Matthew 16:26; Acts 17:26-31; Romans 1:19-32; 3:10-18; 23; 5:6, 12, 19; 6:6; 7:14-25; 8:14-18, 29; 1 Corinthians 1:21-31; 15:19, 21-22; Ephesians 2:1-22; Colossians 1:21-22; 3:9-11).
SALVATION – We believe that salvation is a gift from God to man. It is not earned but received by faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the believer. While we are called to walk in the good works prepared by God from eternity, we do not believe that men and women are justified by these Spirit-wrought works. We believe that good works are the necessary fruit of saving faith that unites us to Christ and by which we are justified.
ETERNAL SECURITY – We believe that because God gives eternal life through Jesus Christ, the believer is secure in that salvation, fully and forever. No amount of self-effort of the Christian can maintain salvation. Only the grace and keeping power of God in Christ is the ground of our eternal security. (See: John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25; 10:10-14; 1 Peter 1:3-5).
THE BIBLE – We believe that the Bible is God’s Word. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because it is God’s Word, inspired by Him, the Bible is truth. (See: 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Ps. 119:105; Prov. 30:5).