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. |
Distinctives
- Gospel-centered – We believe that the Gospel of Jesus is the power behind everything we do as a church. The Gospel isn’t just how Christians are saved, but how we grow and so every everything we do is done with an eye on the good news of Jesus.
- Theologically Conservative – We believe that the Holy Bible was written by divinely inspired men and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. For that reason, we are committed to expository preaching (meaning that we will typically preach through whole books of the Bible on Sunday mornings verse-by-verse.
- Complementarian – We believe that men and women are equal in dignity, value, and worth but have different yet complementary roles within the church and the family.
- Covenant Church Membership – We believe that every believer should commit through membership to a local church. This commitment begins at baptism, is reaffirmed every time we take communion, and is protected through church discipline.
- Doctrines of Grace – We believe that man is born totally depraved, dead in sin, unable to do good, and unwilling to come to God, but God chose to save a people for His own possession from before the foundation of the world - not because of anything good in us, but solely based on His sovereign, unconditional grace. We believe that Jesus came to die, not to make everyone potentially savable, but to definitively save all who would believe. We believe that God effectually calls the spiritually dead to life by the power of the new birth so that everyone whom God calls will find Christ irresistibly glorious and freely choose to believe in Him. We believe that when God saves someone, God secures their salvation so that they cannot lose it and they will persevere to the end by His grace. The reason we call these truths "The Doctrines of Grace" is because we believe that every Christian's salvation is totally of grace from start to finish.
What if I disagree with the doctrines of grace? Join the club! We have had many members, church leaders, guest preachers (and even some past pastors) who have not held to these doctrines. So long as we believe in the same Gospel, you are welcome here. On secondary issues, our goal is always to disagree with respect and in love.
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If you would like to know more, here's a sermon from our pastor on the subject. Also, feel free to email us at [email protected] if you have more questions.
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Statement of Faith
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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Note: Many non-essential sections of our official statement of faith have not been strictly enforced for many years and are in the process of being revised. For instance, premillennialism, a pretribulation rapture, the role of Israel today, and the qualifications for a divorce. The statement of faith found on this website much more accurately reflects what we believe today, but if you have any questions about these issues, please email us at [email protected] and our pastor will follow up as soon as he can.