Our Most Important Belief
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At Horicon Baptist Church, the most important thing we believe and teach is the Gospel. The Gospel is the “Good News” of what Jesus has done to save and forgive humanity.
Why do we need saving and forgiving? Because God is good and one day He will judge all of mankind for the wrong things we have done. This is terrible news because Romans 3:23 says, "For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard." But here is the good news: God, being rich in mercy sent Jesus Christ to the world. Jesus was born of a virgin. He was truly God and truly man. Jesus lived a sinless life and He was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He was nailed to a cross (as a substitute) for all who would believe in Him. On that cross when Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied. But the story does not end there, because three days later He rose from the dead defeating sin, death, and the devil. Now all those who turn from sin and turn to Christ and trust alone in His sacrifice will be forgiven of their sins. This is what we believe, it is the most important thing we teach, and if you have never believed this Gospel, do so today. |
The Bible
We believe the Bible, the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament, is the written word of God. The Scriptures were written by men who were divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, and thus are inerrant (without error in their original manuscripts). The Scriptures are the supreme authority of all life, practice, and doctrine. The Bible leads us to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
God
We believe there is only one living and true God: infinite, eternal, almighty, and perfect in Himself and all His attributes. He alone is worthy of all possible honor, love, obedience, and worship. In the unity of the godhead there are three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, without division of nature, essence, or being, and executing distinct but harmonious roles in the great works of creation, providence, and redemption. One God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the foundation of Christian faith and life.
The Father
We believe God the Father is a personal spirit whom for His glory and by His word created the world out of nothing. He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, including the future free choices of all humans and other moral beings; concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of humanity; hears and answers prayer; and, by His unfathomable grace, gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for mankind’s redemption.
Jesus Christ
We believe Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is the eternal Word made flesh. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in His sinless life, miracles, and teachings. He is fully God and fully man. He is the only Savior for the sins of the world, having shed His blood upon Calvary’s cross. By His death in our place, He revealed divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having redeemed us from sin, on the third day He rose bodily from the grave, victorious over death. He ascended into heaven where, at God’s right hand, He intercedes for His people. He will visibly return to earth. He is the Head of the church.
The Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The Holy Spirit brings about the new birth and unites believers to Jesus Christ through proclamation of the gospel, compelling them to repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord. The Holy Spirit then dwells within them, cultivates godly character, bestows gifts by which they are to serve God and one another, seals them unto the day of redemption, comforts them in this present age, and leads them into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s word.
Mankind
We believe God created man and woman in His own image, as the crown of creation, that they might have fellowship with Him. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, from conception through natural death.
God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, two distinct, complementary sexes, and has commanded that sexual intimacy shall occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. As revealed in Scripture, marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, uniquely reflecting Christ’s relationship with His church.
We believe the Bible reveals a high calling for those who are Christians and yet remain unmarried. Spiritual maturity, usefulness, and giftedness are in no way dependent upon marriage, and those who remain celibate, in wholehearted dependence on Him, are an invaluable resource for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
We believe God created the first man and woman free from sin, but, through the temptation of Satan, they willfully transgressed the command of God and so fell from their original state of holiness and righteousness, thereby earning God’s wrath, dying spiritually and eventually physically, and coming under the dominion of sin and Satan. As a result, their posterity – all human beings – have inherited a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law, are sinners by choice, and are justly under condemnation to eternal damnation without defense or excuse.
God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female, two distinct, complementary sexes, and has commanded that sexual intimacy shall occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. As revealed in Scripture, marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, uniquely reflecting Christ’s relationship with His church.
We believe the Bible reveals a high calling for those who are Christians and yet remain unmarried. Spiritual maturity, usefulness, and giftedness are in no way dependent upon marriage, and those who remain celibate, in wholehearted dependence on Him, are an invaluable resource for the advancement of God’s kingdom.
We believe God created the first man and woman free from sin, but, through the temptation of Satan, they willfully transgressed the command of God and so fell from their original state of holiness and righteousness, thereby earning God’s wrath, dying spiritually and eventually physically, and coming under the dominion of sin and Satan. As a result, their posterity – all human beings – have inherited a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law, are sinners by choice, and are justly under condemnation to eternal damnation without defense or excuse.
Salvation
We believe the salvation of sinners is wholly by grace, through faith in the one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ; who by appointment of the Father, freely took on our nature, yet was without sin, having personally and perfectly obeyed all of God’s commands. By His voluntary, substitutionary, and sacrificial death on the cross, He made a full atonement for the sins of all who submit to Him as Lord. Having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven. Uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfections, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, compassionate, and all-sufficient Savior.
We believe salvation requires genuine repentance and faith, which follow upon God’s drawing of sinners through the gospel. Repentance occurs when, by the Holy Spirit, a person is made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, detests and forsakes it, humbles himself with godly sorrow and self- abhorrence, and endeavors to walk before God so as to please Him in all things. Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatever is revealed in His word concerning Christ and accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is accompanied by all other saving graces and leads to a life of holiness.
We believe salvation requires genuine repentance and faith, which follow upon God’s drawing of sinners through the gospel. Repentance occurs when, by the Holy Spirit, a person is made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, detests and forsakes it, humbles himself with godly sorrow and self- abhorrence, and endeavors to walk before God so as to please Him in all things. Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatever is revealed in His word concerning Christ and accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is accompanied by all other saving graces and leads to a life of holiness.
The Church
We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which the Lord Jesus Christ is the head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe that baptized believers who have given a credible profession of faith should covenant together as a local church for worship, edification, discipline, fellowship, and spreading of the gospel, governing themselves under Christ’s lordship. The local church’s scriptural offices are elders and deacons.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is obligatory upon every believer, wherein a person is immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of their fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ and of remission of sins.
The Lord’s Supper is in no sense a sacrifice, but was instituted by Christ to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a pledge and renewal of their communion with Him and with each other. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is obligatory upon every believer, wherein a person is immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of their fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ and of remission of sins.
The Lord’s Supper is in no sense a sacrifice, but was instituted by Christ to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a pledge and renewal of their communion with Him and with each other. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.
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If you would like to read our full statement of faith, check out this document:
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